Camp Algona POW Museum — Attraction in Algona

This is a great, small town museum. It's amazing what artifacts and information the museum has been able to accumulate, especially considering the museum opened more than 50 years after the end of WWII. Really enjoyed the pictures and stories of the former POWs who were housed there. The museum gave me a whole new understanding of the Geneva Convention for Prisoners of War. We visited on a Friday afternoon and there was only one other couple in the museum. We spent about 90 minutes going through the museum. After we visited we watched Pioneer PBS' "Held in Minnesota: Untold WWII POW Stories" (available on YouTube). The POW camps in MN, SD, and ND were satellites of the main camp in Algona and the video provided more info about the Algona camp. Most interesting were the number of former POWs who kept in touch with local residents and even immigrated to the US. One former POW was an early financial contributor to the Algona Museum. Incredibly...

Today, I stopped in to see the POW Museum, I was impressed with the place, until I saw the interactive station for all the Kossuth County Men who served in WW2. My Fathers name was missing from the list, but my Uncle John Vaske was easy to find. Can we see about adding my father to the list of names on the wall. I am attaching a photo of my dad in uniform and his name and service dates. PFC Melvin Joseph Sifert US Army 1942-1945, Dad served during "D" Day the Normandy Invasion and drove a Tank across France and into Germany. My dad was born on North Thorington St.in1912, Algona Iowa and lived all his live in kossuth County, except for a short 3 year stint during WW2. Photo attached is from his boot camp in TexasDad earned a purple Heart and 3 combat...

A special little Museum, it tells the story of German POWs during World War II. Museum both the impact the prisoners had on the population, and the impact the population had on the prisoners. Several forms of Art are on exhibit that the prisoners produced.

Also included is a small section on the armaments of the time (rifles, sidearms and knives), Iowans who were imprisoned in Germany and the local women who served in the armed forces as well.

The group that runs this Museum it's pretty passionate about the story they have to tell. That's worth...