Camp Papago Park

During World War II, Arizona was the destination for many German and Italian prisoners of war. The two main camps were at Florence and Papago Park, but many sub-stations were scattered in other places around the state. The camps had a similar design to military camps, with barracks and a central dining room, or mess hall. The Florence camp was built specifically as a POW camp for up to 6,000 prisoners, and was dismantled entirely soon after the war ended. The Papago Park camp, which had been built during World War I and housed nearly 1,500 men, remained in use for other purposes for several decades more. Today, next to nothing remains of the sites where so many prisoners were held.