World War II -German POWs on the American Homefront?

I just finished facilitating the May Page Turner's book discussion of the book entitled The Cherry Harvest by Lucy Sanna. It's a memorable, suspenseful coming-of-age and love story which explores a hidden side of the home front during World War II when German POWs were put to work in the Wisconsin farm community of Door County. Struggling to feed their family while keeping their farm going, Thomas and Charlotte Christiansen persuade local authorities to allow German prisoners of war from a nearby camp assist with their upcoming cherry harvest.This is a great book for readers who like historical fiction and family drama. I decided to blog about this when I discovered that the majority of our group, myself included, did not realize that during WWII thousands of WWII prisoners ended up in mills, farm fields and even dining rooms across the United States, especially in the Midwest. Once military base camp labor needs were met, POWs were placed in other areas to be employed by private business owners. In Wisconsin, POWs worked primarily in seasonal agricultural employment, although some worked in the lumber industry or manufacturing. Their labor filled a desperate worker shortage. In fact, there was a prisoner-of-war camp, Camp Skokie Valley in Glenview.

This realization piqued my interest in other books on this topic.

For nonfiction, check out -

Nazi Prisoners of War in America by Arnold Krammer which tells the full story of how the U.S. government between 1942 and 1945, detained nearly half a million Nazi prisoners of war in 511 camps across the country. Krammer describes how the handling of these foreign prisoners led to the hasty conversion of CCC camps, high school gyms, local fairgrounds, and race tracks to serve as holding areas.

For fiction books similar to The Cherry Harvest that share the same genre (historical fiction) and subjects of the World War II and family relationships, check out -

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
This novel is about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of WW II.

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
This novel is about two sisters struggling to survive during World War II in France. One sister is rebellious and intent on fighting for France while the other simply wants to survive the war with her family intact. Both sisters learn who they are and what they are capable of as the war wages on.

The Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly
This is about the Ravensbruck Rabbits: seventy-four women prisoners in the Ravensbruck concentration camp. Using alternating first-person narratives, the characters relate their experiences from 1939 through 1959. Drawing upon a decade of research, Hall reconstructs what life was like in Ravensbruck. More than a war story, this is a tale of how the strength of women’s bonds can carry them through even the most difficult situations

The Orphan's Tale by Pam Jenoff
This is an emotional, heartwarming, and heartbreaking story about a traveling circus in Europe during WW II and the friendship and sorrow of two women aerialist performers.