Prisoners of War: Filling the Labor Shortage on the Homefront Exhibition

During World War II, approximately 12 million soldiers served from the United States. This affected the labor industry throughout the country. The exhibit "Prisoners of War: Filling the Labor Shortage on the Homefront" uses the 75th Anniversary of the ending of World War II to explore how 600,000 prisoners of war were brought stateside and eventually used to offset the labor shortage. Throughout the United States, prisoners were used in various industries from canning factories to lumbering and cherry picking. This exhibit looks at this history and the communities the branch camps were located in. For example, Reedsburg, Wisconsin housed more than 100 prisoners who worked locally in various industries that range from farming to canning.

Funded project of the Wisconsin Humanities Council, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.