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Home > Forsyth Library > Special Collections > Osswald Collection

Lawrence E. Osswald Photograph Collection
The Lawrence E. Osswald Photograph Collection features 17 photographs of a German prisoner of war camp that was located on the grounds of the Fort Hays Branch of the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station (now the Agricultural Research Center – Hays). It was one of two POW camps in Kansas, with the other one being in Concordia. The first group of prisoners, 100 in all, arrived at the camp in September 1943. Others came in 1944-1945 and many were put to work on area farms to help alleviate the shortage of farm labor caused by World War II. A smaller number of prisoners worked at the Station.

The prisoners were housed in the barns located near the cattle feeding facilities. The Department of the Army received $3.25 per day from the Station and the farmers for each man that did labor. When the war with Germany ended, the prisoners returned to their homes. The last group of the prisoners left the Station in November 1945.

For more information see A History of the Agricultural Research Center – Hays: The First 100 Years by Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service.

Lawrence E. Osswald, Corporal US Army 480th MPEG Company, from Wilmington, Delaware, served at the camp during the fall of 1943. L. C. Aicher, superintendent of the Experiment Station, was the photographer. Mr. Osswald had copies of the photos among his possessions when he passed away. His son and family donated them to the University Archives in his memory.
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  • Aerial view of the Experiment Station by Louis C. Aicher 1887-1977

    Aerial view of the Experiment Station

  • A group of Army non-commissioned officers posing by a large tree by Louis C. Aicher 1887-1977

    A group of Army non-commissioned officers posing by a large tree

  • A group of Army non-commissioned officers posing by a large tree by Louis C. Aicher 1887-1977

    A group of Army non-commissioned officers posing by a large tree

  • Cattle grazing on a pasture at the Experiment Station by Louis C. Aicher 1887-1977

    Cattle grazing on a pasture at the Experiment Station

  • Five men in military uniforms by Louis C. Aicher 1887-1977

    Five men in military uniforms

  • German prisoners of war outside of camp mess hall by Louis C. Aicher 1887-1977

    German prisoners of war outside of camp mess hall

  • German prisoners of war stand outside their barracks by Louis C. Aicher 1887-1977

    German prisoners of war stand outside their barracks

  • Guard detail at prisoner of war camp at the Hays Station by Louis C. Aicher 1887-1977

    Guard detail at prisoner of war camp at the Hays Station

  • Large barn on Experiment Station by Louis C. Aicher 1887-1977

    Large barn on Experiment Station

  • Officer standing on steps in front of office by Louis C. Aicher 1887-1977

    Officer standing on steps in front of office

  • Soldiers marching in formation by Louis C. Aicher 1887-1977

    Soldiers marching in formation

  • Soldiers marching in formation by Louis C. Aicher 1887-1977

    Soldiers marching in formation

  • Soldiers marching in formation by Louis C. Aicher 1887-1977

    Soldiers marching in formation

  • Soldiers standing at attention during a ceremony by Louis C. Aicher 1887-1977

    Soldiers standing at attention during a ceremony

  • Three men are standing in front of an office by Louis C. Aicher 1887-1977

    Three men are standing in front of an office

  • War prisoners digging pit silos - south end unit by Louis C. Aicher 1887-1977

    War prisoners digging pit silos - south end unit

  • War Prisoners Returning to Compound in Nebraska for the Winter by Louis C. Aicher 1887-1977

    War Prisoners Returning to Compound in Nebraska for the Winter

 
 
 

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