Central New York POW Collection

During World War II, more than 350,000 German prisoners of war were sent to the prison camps scattered across the United States.  Under the Geneva Convention prisoners were to be treated by the same standards as American servicemen.  Some 511 German prisoners were located in Central New York and were allowed to work for wages in order to buy items at the camp store.  POWs seemed to have an unusual degree of freedom in some of the camps and escaped frequently, only to be quickly recaptured.