Did you know that an hour past Tuscaloosa in Pickens County, Alabama, there was a POW camp during WW2. It housed 6,100 soldiers and was called Camp Alice. In 2021, our family was visiting family in Birmingham, Alabama. When staying in Birmingham, we love to stay at the Ross Bridge Golf Resort and Spa. Although the museum is small, our family of history lovers enjoyed our visit.

I lived in the state of Alabama for 18 years, I did not hear about the POW Camp until after I moved. I listened to a podcast about the internment camp on Radiolab called Nazi Summer Camp. Our family decided to spend a few days in Birmingham to visit family and friends. While there, we decided to drive to Aliceville to learn more. Most of the camp is gone, but the history in the building and the stories we heard were worth the drive.

The Aliceville museum used to be a Coca-Cola bottling plant. Not only does it include what is possibly the only remaining intact small town bottling plant in the United States. It also has the largest collection of WWII POW artifacts in the US. When you first arrive, I highly recommend you watch the video that includes oral histories. Also, our docent was incredibly nice. His commentary enhanced our visit.

We found the museum fascinating. None of us had any idea that there were POW Camps in the US. From our tour, we learned that the POWs were treated with respect. They had time for art and sports. Many former POWs have returned to visit the site. They have donated a lot of the memorabilia.

Other posts I have on WW2 include our visit to the Caen Memorial Museum and the D-Day Beaches tour.

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Dive into the Past: Discovering Alabama's POW Camp

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