Adams County Pa. Related Historical Articles
Gettysburg's WWII
Prisoner of War Camp
Sara Fuss
Residents who have moved
to the county in the
past 50 years are
sometimes unaware that a
German prisoner-of-war
camp was located on
Gettysburg battlefield
land during 1944 and
1945. The first camp,
located along the west
side of the Emmitsburg
Rood just south of Long
Lane and the Home Sweet
Home Motel, was built by
50 German prisoners from
Camp George G. Meade,
Maryland, in June of
1944. They were housed
in the National Guard
Armory until the work
was finished. This camp
was to be a temporary
camp, so the prisoners
were housed in tents.
Nearly 500 POWs and 90
guards occupied the
camp.
The prisoners were
brought to Adams County
to work in the fields,
orchards, and canning
factories to replace
that part of the local
labor force that was
serving in the armed
services. They picked
peas, beans, cherries,
tomatoes, and apples.
They not only worked in
Adams County but also in
York and Franklin
counties and Frederick
County, Maryland.
The employers paid the
prisoners hourly wages,
a large portion of which
was taken by the U. S.
Government. Ten cents
were credited to the
prisoners' accounts.
They were given coupons,
instead of cash, which
they could spend on
cigarettes, soap, milk,
and other items at the
post exchange.
Following the harvest of
apples in the fall of
1944, some prisoners
were moved to other
camps, leaving only 200
men. The approach of
cold weather
necessitated the
movement of prisoners to
warmer quarters. These
men were removed to Camp
Sharpe, which was
located in the area of
Pitzer's Woods along the
west side of West
Confederate Avenue. The
camp's barracks had
housed workers belonging
to the Civilian
Conservation Corps (CCC)
during the 1930s. During
the winter months, the
prisoners cut pulpwood
in Adams and Franklin
counties.
The next spring,
additional prisoners
were moved into camp. A
headline in the
Gettysburg Compiler
dated July 28, 1945
stated "350 Prisoners
Arrive Today." They had
traveled to Gettysburg
in coaches attached to a
regular passenger train
out of Harrisburg and by
train from Baltimore.
They would work in the
canning factories and
cut pulpwood.
After the war ended, all
German POWs were shipped
back to Germany.
Some of the former
prisoners at Gettysburg
have returned to visit
the area in recent
years. Carl Brantz
visited Gettysburg in
July 2001. He was a
member of the German
army, serving under
Field Marshall Rommel in
North Africa. He was
captured during the
Battle of Tunisia. He
knew the English
language and was used as
an interpreter in the
camp. He was quoted in
the July 16, 2001
Gettysburg Times; "I had
and experience and what
I learned in life was
[during] this time. I
would not give back not
one little thing." He
said, "I learned a lot."
If anyone has memories
of the POWs in Adams
County, the historical
society encourages you
to write them down and
give them to the society
for our files.
If
you have any memories of
the WWII Prisoner of war
camp,
please
send it to us at: History@myGettysburg.net