Aliceville Museum Cultural Arts Center

When Allied forces subdued their enemies, they captured close to 425,000 prisoners of war. The captured were dispersed throughout 46 states, but Alabama took in the largest number of inmates. These troops were weren’t placed in complete exile, however, but were assigned work that actually helped grow the local economy. Some became farmhands, others took jobs with the local Coca Cola bottling company. After the war ended and prisoners were released, the site of the internment camp was destroyed. In 1989, however, the Aliceville Chamber of Commerce assembled a collection of paintings, books, letters, and photos taken from the town’s POW camp in hopes of building a reconciliation monument. They invited former POWs, American guards, and townspeople who had experienced the internment camp firsthand. That collection found a more permanent spot when the local Coca Cola Bottling Company donated a building to be used as a memorial.