Fort Oglethorpe (prisoner-of-war camp)

Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia was a military facility in the US state of Georgia, in Catoosa County. After it was deactivated in 1947, its facilities formed the basis for the present town of Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia.

During and after World War I, facilities at this fort were used to detain some 4,000 enemy military personnel as prisoners of war and civilian detainees, from 1917 through 1920.

"The War Prison Camp of Fort Oglethorpe consisted of a huge, somewhat hilly plot of land approximately a mile square. The entire area was surrounded by two barbed-wire fences, about ten feet high." Tripod watch towers were located outside the barbed wire perimeter. Each tower was equipped with a search light, telephone and machine-gun.

The camp was divided into two component parts. Camp A, the "millionaire's camp," housed wealthy prisoners in private rooms who paid for their own food, and also retained cooks and servants recruited from the stewards and sailors of the German maritime fleet. Camp B consisted of some thirty barracks which housed the majority of the 4,000 prisoners. It was dominated by an immense mess-hall.

The military prisoners included crews from the German raiders SS Prinz Eitel Friedrich, SS Kronprinz Wilhelm and the British-origin/German-seized steamship Appam. The civilian internees included businessmen denounced by their American commercial rivals, and individuals of German, Czech, Polish and other nationalities charged with a variety of offenses under the Espionage Act of 1917.

Prominent prisoners included Count Albrecht von Montgelas, Dr. Karl Muck, conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Dr. Ernst Kunwald, conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Professor Richard Benedict Goldschmidt, biologist Dr. Isaac Strauss, and Professor Zenneck. Dr. Karl Muck was accused of having refused to perform "The Star-Spangled Banner" in an October 1917 concert. Theodore Roosevelt and other US citizens were furious with him. Despite ending future concerts with the national anthem, Muck was still arrested later on. Dr. Kunwald was arrested as being an "enemy alien" citizen of Austria. He was held at Fort Oglethorpe for a year before being deported to his home country. This deportation was on condition of his being set free. Professor Goldschmidt was arrested due to his German citizenship; he was not released until after the war. Dr. Isaac Strauss was a German spy who was arrested at the beginning of the war. He was part of a German Jewish spy organization. Professor Zenneck was arrested for being a German radio spy. His activities made him extremely feared by the US government.

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