Date of Award
1-1-2016
Document Type
Masters Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.
Organizational Unit
College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, Anthropology
First Advisor
Bonnie Clark, Ph.D.
Second Advisor
Dean J. Saitta
Third Advisor
Gabi Kathöefer
Keywords
Daily life, Gardens, Modified artifacts, Prisoner of war, World War II
Abstract
From 1943 to 1946, the U.S. government held over 3,000 German POWs at Camp Trinidad in southern Colorado. In 2013 and 2014, archaeological fieldwork, interviews, and archival research were conducted in order to better understand the daily lives of those incarcerated at the camp. The information gathered about artifacts, environmental features, and personal narratives, reveals insights into the lesser known details of the prisoners' lives. Despite the U.S. military rules and regulations and efforts by American personnel within camp, prisoners created goods they wanted or needed. Acquiring the necessary goods was accomplished through modification of available goods, through scavenging the local built or natural environment to craft desired items, and through exchange of goods between the prisoners and their captors. By creating the goods the prisoners wanted or needed, they were not only able to exert their own power within institutional confinement, they also coped and made-do in their temporary home.
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Rights Holder
Christopher Michael Morine
Provenance
Received from ProQuest
File Format
application/pdf
Language
en
File Size
150 p.
Recommended Citation
Morine, Christopher Michael, "German POWs Make Colorado Home: Coping by Craft and Exchange" (2016). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1145.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/1145
Copyright date
2016
Discipline
Archaeology, American History, Military History
Included in
Archaeological Anthropology Commons, Military History Commons, United States History Commons