WWII Prisoner of War Camps in Minnesota - Colleen Gengler
Coleen Gangler, co-author of the book "Under Minnesota Skies" will be at the library to talk about WW11 prisoners of war camps in Minnesota. Her interest in the topic comes from her parents using POW labor on their farm south of Owatonna. In presentations of her family memoir "Under Minnesota Skies," the story of her father's experience with POWs always generated questions and comments as many people are not familiar with this piece of Minnesota history. She will share stories and give background on WWII POWs.
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Individuals will learn about WWII's effect on Minnesota with a focus on how it affected the local economy in terms of demand for increased food production as well as labor shortages. Individuals will also have a greater understanding of what life was like in rural Minnesota for both residents and prisoners of war during the years of conflict. Individuals beliefs on the banality of history will change because of the obscure nature of the presentation's subject, as well as how personalized the subject is in our region. Anecdotal responses will be collected.
Our patrons asked lots of questions after the program was over, and expressed interest in taking a field trip to the Algona base camp in Iowa. Because Colleen did some research prior to the program on POW activity in Redwood County, she came up with names of farmers who hosted POWs and organizers who helped set up the POW workers program in the area, some of the older patrons recognized the names Colleen mentioned and talked about who they were and what they were like. It triggered a lot of discussion, to the point where even Coleen was learning things from the patrons.
KLGR Radio, Wabasso Standard