I worked for Cecil Eaton. He had one dozen prisoners working for him. I was over the prisoners. I had to tell them what to do and make them do it right. They were very hard to make mind. All of the prisoners were from Germany because that's where we were fighting. At the prison camp they had fences 12 feet tall all around the camp. The prisoners couldn't escape. One did escape though. He was found in Texarkana and brought back here, There were three boys from Knobel killed in the war, Pepper Martin, the Green boy & the Reynold's boy.
Back in the years 1943-46 Knobel was a pretty large town. On the board, up town, it said there were 735 people counting the prisoners of which there were 300 or 400.
Knobel had a depot. Trains were coming and going all the time. There was a big post office. Back then there was plenty of forrests. That's what Knobel mostly was. We had alot farmers, Jim Smith, Mr. Ricker, and Cecil Eaton.
After the war all the prisoners were sent back to Germany where they had origally came from.
Twelve of the German prisoners worked for me. They shocked rice, what ever I wanted them to do. They were not good workers. They did what you made them do, because they did not know how to do anything. We hired them because we didn't have any labor, so we picked on them. Lots of people around here worked them. I paid them a dollar and ten cents a day. The money went to the government. They were not allowed to spend their money at town, because it went to the government. The people did not like their coming here to the prison.
I believe there were two hundred prisoners kept at the prison. I did not know any of them, but they were mistreated there.
The camp had one eating shack and long buildings for them to sleep in. I helped build them. It had guards, they were military officers.
When the war was over, they all had to go back to Germany. I guess some went back to Frankfurt. I think a couple of them were from there, and they were fairly intelligent people.
They used some of the German POW's to help with their farm.
I never knew any of the workers or guards there and I never saw any of the prisoners because I was afraid to go down there.
Two of the prisoners broke out and were caught Texas and brought back to the camp here.
I don't know what place in Germany they came from but they were Germans.
The did farm work, and I don't know how much they were paid. Some people complained. Saying they had to stand right over them and make them work.
They were kept in something like a pen. It was fenced up really high so they couldn't get out. The guards were good to them. They weren't free to come to town anytime.
The prisoners were here from about 1943-45. After the war they were released and were sent back to Germany. I don't think any of them stayed here because the US Government made them go back.
