Axis Prisoners of War in Kentucky: Coerced Labor and the Home Front in World War II

During World War II, Kentuckians rushed from farms to factories and battlefields, leaving agriculture throughout the state--particularly the lucrative tobacco industry--without sufficient labor. An influx of Axis prisoners of war made up the shortfall. Nearly 10,000 German and Italian POWs were housed in camps at Campbell, Breckinridge, Knox and other locations across the state. Under the Geneva Convention, they worked for their captors and helped save Kentucky’s crops, while enjoying relative comfort as prisoners--playing sports, performing musicals and taking college classes. Yet, friction between Nazi and anti-Nazi inmates threatened the success of the program. This book chronicles the POW program in Kentucky and the vital contributions the Bluegrass State made to Allied victory.

Antonio S. Thompson is a professor of history at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee. He is the author of two books on World War II German prisoners of war in the United States, has co-edited two volumes on American history, and has also published on zombie popular culture.