Camp Ellis Prisoner of War Index
This link will take you to Karl Scholz a German POW at Camp Ellis. This information comes via his grandson Herbert Scholz.
Camp Ellis was primarily a training base for Army service units. It did also serve as a Prisoner of War site. High barbed wire fences and guard towers surrounded approximately 60 barracks and support buildings were in the original Camp Ellis plans and had been completed in time for the Camp's dedication ceremonies July 4, 1943.
The first official announcement concerning POWs came the end of August when it was announced a thousand German POWs were coming. They arrived August 29, 1943. The 475th and 476th Military Police were assigned the duty of guarding the POW portion of the Camp.
September 8, 1943 a Colonel Hans Minuth became the Commander of the POW portion of the Camp. He was a linguist and had long studied the customs and background of the German people.
107 of the POWs of Polish descent were interviewed by people from the Free Polish Government and later transfered to England where they became part of the Polish Forces.
In order to separate Austrians and Anti-Nazi from the Nazis, a new stockade some distance from the old one was set up by simply enclosing an area with wire fence. No guards were assigned to this area and the 330 POWs assigned here were given cards allowing them to go anywhere on the base during working hours.
The POWs received the same rations as the American soldiers assigned to the Camp although certain items like ice cream, sodas and candy were special treats and not regularly available.
Work for POWs were divided into two categories. Category 1 provided a $0.10 a day allowance for work was in the maintainance of the POW portion of camp. This would have included basic cleaning, washing of clothes and other similar chores. Category 2 work was paid at the rate of $0.80 a day. They could use this money to buy things, view movies, etc. (I am still looking for costs and so far have only found that one movie admission was $0.10) No work was done on Sunday. Other types of work included work in the Camp's Victory Garden, lumber yards, clothing, warehouses, Post Engineer Motor Pool, cutting grass, digging ditches, service clubs, K. P. duty and work on the railroad tracks within the camp.
A large field for sports and recreation was provided. Equipment for sports such as volleyball (faustball), soccer, and others. Movies were shown and prisoners received a monthly physical inspection. Both Protestant and Catholic services were performed and a German POW who was a Catholic priest often said mass.
The German POWs selected their own spokesman to be liaison between them and the Americans. They chose a Private who had been a corporate lawyer instead of the normal NCO.
Prisoners were allowed to send a censored letter and card each week back to their homeland. Mail to other POW camps was not allowed. Personal visitors were not allowed without permission.
Several "satellite camps" were established around the area and some POWs were assigned there.
The only German officers at Camp Ellis were six medical officers who were brought in to undertake medical treatment of the POWs. Three wards at the east end of the Camp Hospital were set up to care for POWs and enclosed by barbed wire.
Only 4 POWs died at Camp Ellis. Three took place at the camp and one at Percy Jones Hospital. All were buried with military honors at a small cemetery (Dobbins or Clements - both names are used) at the south east portion of the Camp near Ipava. (These were moved to the Fort Sheridan cemetery near Chicago when the Camp was closed).