New historic marker memorializes Idaho POW camp

Minidoka County Historical Society President Gus Bryngelson told a story that, upon arriving at the World War II prisoner of war Camp Rupert, the first groups of Germans were told by guards that if they tried to escape north across the desert toward the railroad that a band of Indians were camped out ready to take their scalps.

As it turned out it was a group of Jamaican nationals in the area working in the beet fields, but the message worked for a time to keep the POWs at the camp, located about five mile west of Paul along present-day Idaho 25. The camp operated for four years between 1943 and 1946 and housed as many as 4,000 POWs and 1,000 Army personnel and civilians during and after WWII.

The latest in the series of highway historical markers was posted this week to commemorate the camp, and the Minidoka County Historical Society hosted a short presentation at the new turnout on Aug. 30.

“This is a history that is unknown by many in the area and it needs to be known,” former historical society president Arlo Lloyd said.

Camp Rupert housed primarily German and Italian POWs and included more than 170 buildings on 300 acres of public land. The camp provided education classes, provided medical and mental health services, and allowed the prisoners to take part in music, sports, theater, a camp newspaper and trade classes. But the most notable activity was the labor the prisoners performed for the farming community.

As allowed by the 1929 Geneva Convention, the prisoners were put to work thinning and harvesting beets and potatoes. The POWs were compensated for the labor that was equal to the standard pay for the time.

The camp closed in July, 1946, was dismantled and surplus property sold. The eventual owner of one of the guard towers, John Firth, led the charge to find the original site of the camp and get it recognized with the highway sign.

“This was one of the more important camps in the northwest as the base camp for 24 other camps,” Firth said. “There should be something here to tell the story because now it’s just a farm and people need to know about this and where it’s at.”

For more information about the Idaho Highway Historical Marker program, or to order a guide to the more than 240 historical markers statewide, go to http://itd.idaho.gov/hmg/. The last historic marker guide added to Idaho's inventory was installed near Potlatch on Idaho 6 in 2008.

The wording on the new historical marker is below:

Camp Rupert

1943-1946
Camp Rupert was the largest prisoner of war camp in Idaho, housing some 4,000 POWs. Most were German and Italian.  
The Camp was built at an initial cost of $500,000 and maintained by nearly 1,000 army personnel and civilians. Over 170 buildings were constructed on 300 acres, including a field house, hospital, mess halls, barracks, chapel, commissaries, large warehouses and recreation centers.

It also served as a base camp for 24 branch camps in Idaho, Oregon and Montana.

Published 9-7-2012