Author Linda McCann: Prisoners of War in Iowa

Iowa had about 25,000 German, Italian and Japanese prisoners of war from 1942 to 1946. There were two main camps; Algona and Clarinda, with each housing about 3,000 POWs. There were 19 branch camps around the state, where the prisoners worked in farm fields, canning factories, and seed corn companies. Iowa needed the POWs as the men had gone to war, and there was a shortage of people to work and harvest crops. Linda spoke with families all over the state who had the POWs work on their farms. Many families have stayed in contact with the prisoners.

Linda will have copies of all her books for sale. The books are $20 each and she can only take cash or checks.