Removal of the final 9 WWll prisoner war huts at Camp Perry

[ADMIN]

Contractors removed the final nine WWII prisoner of war huts in the southeast section of Camp Perry last week of the approximately 965 huts that were constructed in 1943 to house German and Italian POWs. The last POWs were repatriated to their home countries in 1946. The nine remaining huts were saved for a period of time as historic examples and hopefully will be used as a models for the construction of a replica in the future.

There were 380 huts that housed more than 1,600 Italian POWs located on the west side of Camp Perry and 585 huts that housed about 2,500 German POWs (some of them from Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korps) on Camp Perry’s east side. The final nine wood-framed structures survived 78 years of Camp Perry wind and weather and served the housing needs of countless participants in the annual National Matches each summer in the post-war era until the recent decade.

View photos at https://cmp1.zenfolio.com/p575104660.

[champ0608]

In a way, I'm sad to see them go, but its long past inevitable. It would be cool to see a replica installed and turned into a small museum display. The huts are on the long list of reasons why the National Matches belong at Camp Perry, and honoring their past would be a nice touch. Obviously the matter is not in any of our hands...just a sentimental thought.