Скачать или смотреть German POWs in Ohio Refused to Return to Germany After the War

German POW Refused to Go Home After WWII - Here's Why

At 2:47 PM on May 8th, 1945, Unteroffizier Lukas Reinhardt stood behind barbed wire at Camp Perry, Ohio, watching Americans celebrate Victory in Europe Day. The war was over. Germany had surrendered. Within weeks, he'd be shipped back across the Atlantic.

But Reinhardt told his bunkmate that night he'd rather stay in Ohio than return to Germany.
The sergeant processing repatriation paperwork thought he was joking. He wasn't.

What happened next reveals one of the most fascinating untold stories of WWII - how German prisoners of war held in American camps experienced treatment so different from what they expected that thousands of them fought to return to America after the war ended.

This is the story of Lukas Reinhardt, a 23-year-old soldier from Dresden captured in North Africa, sent to a POW camp in Ohio, and given a choice that would change his life forever.

In This Video:

Why German POWs didn't want to leave America
What life was really like inside Camp Perry, Ohio
The shocking food German prisoners ate (better than American civilians)
How POWs worked on American farms for 80 cents a day
What Reinhardt found when he returned to Dresden in 1945
The legal loophole that allowed former enemies to become American citizens
Why 5,000+ German POWs eventually immigrated back to the United States

Based on historical records, veteran interviews, and archived documents from Camp Perry and the National Archives.

Sources & Further Reading:

National Archives - German POW Records
Camp Perry Historical Archives
"Stalag USA: The Remarkable Story of German POWs in America" by Dale Maharidge
Ohio Historical Society POW Documentation
Displaced Persons Act of 1948 Records

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⚠️ Note: This narrative is based on historical events and archival sources. Some details have been dramatized for storytelling. For academic research, consult professional historical archives.

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