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Lesson Plans
| Topic |
| Camp Stark, New Hampshire, World War II Prisoner-of-War Camp |
| Focus Question |
|
X
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Boundaries |
|
Technology and Science |
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X
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Natural Environment and People |
X
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Nongovernmental Groups |
|
X
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Cultures, Races and Ethnic Groups |
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Material Wants and Needs |
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X
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Politics |
X
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Self-Expression |
| Era |
|
|
Beginnings to 1623 |
Different Worlds Meet |
|
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1623-1763 |
Colonization and Settlement |
| |
1763-1820s |
Revolution and the New Nation |
| |
1801-1861 |
Expansion and Reform |
| |
1850-1877 |
Civil War and Reconstruction |
| |
1870-1900 |
Development of the Industrial United States |
| |
1890-1930 |
Emergence of Modern America |
|
X
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1929-1945 |
Great Depression and World War II |
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1945-early 1970s |
Postwar United States |
| |
1968-present |
Contemporary United States |
| Social Studies Standards |
| Civics 1, 2, 3; Economics, 7, 8, 9; Geography 10, 11, 12, 13, 14;
History 16, 17 |
| Grade Level |
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Elementary |
X |
High School |
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Middle/High School |
| |
Middle |
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Elementary/Middle |
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All |
| What Students Learn |
- Students should be able to describe or identify political,
personal, and geographical boundaries created by World War II (WWII) to the citizens and prisoners of war (POWs)
assigned to Camp Stark;
- Students should be able to describe natural and man-made environments
created by the development and location of the camp and should be able to explain how the environment affected
the everyday life of POWs, guards, and local citizens;
- Students should be able to compare and contrast POWs from Camp
Stark with residents of the Camp Stark area;
- Students should be able to describe and distinguish the different
political groups that organized the population of POWs and describe how this organization affected the political
and economic climate at the camp;
- Students will research the effect of nongovernmental groups
on the political, physical, and social environment of the camp.
|
| Procedures |
Question 1. What political, personal, and geographical
boundaries did the prisoners at Camp Stark experience? Answer the same question in relation to other United States
POW camps during WWII.
Methods:
- Use maps of New Hampshire and Stark to locate the camp. Then
use that information to form opinions on the area's influence on the function of the camp and on the prisoners'
reaction to the environment. Trace the route by train that the prisoners took to get from Fort Devens to Percy
Station, near Camp Stark.
- Use Moore's article, "Hitler's Afrika Corps . . .",
to continue working with map skills by locating the other POW camps in New England.
- Also use Moore's article and students' responses to the study
sheet for the article to help address the issue of political and personal boundaries in the POW camps, particularly
Camp Stark.
- Since many POW camps were formed from old CCC camps, read "History
of the Corps Movement."
Question 2. What was life like for prisoners at Camp
Stark? Compare a day in the life of a cadet at a CCC camp to the typical day of a prisoner.
Methods:
- Read "Strife in a Bitter Place" (Koop, 40-75) to
answer the above question.
- Consult Salmond's The Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933-1942,
to make comparisons between the everyday life of a corpsman and that of a prisoner.
Question 3. What was the relationship between the POWs
at Camp Stark and their keepers and local townspeople?
Methods:
- Read "From Barriers to Bonds" (Koop, 76-96) for a
discussion of the changing relationship between prisoners and keepers. Also find and play a rendition of the song
"Don't Fence Me In," which ironically became the camp song.
- Discuss why American conscientious objectors, who also were
confined to camps, were not treated as well as POWs.
- Discuss POW strikes. Why did they strike? Were they justified?
Research and discuss the POWs' reasons and the results of their strikes.
|
| Materials Included in the Lesson |
| Study sheet
to accompany John Hammond Moore's article, "Hitler's Afrika Corps . . .
in New England," Yankee Magazine (June, 1976): 83-88+. |
Bibliography
Most entries listed below, as well as other teacher resources, are available through the New Hampshire Historical
Society's Tuck Library
and its museum store. Links to outside web sites are provided for the
convenience of New Hampshire educators and students. The New Hampshire Historical Society is not responsible for
content once you leave our site. |
Croteau, Madeleine. German-American Friendship Day: 10th Anniversary
Reunion. Stark: Stark Improvement Fund, Inc., 1996.
Dearborn, Ned. Once in a Lifetime: A Guide to the CCC. New York: Charles E. Merrill Co., 1936.
Federal Security Agency. The CCC at Work. Washington: US Government Printing Office, 1941.
Gurney, Allen. "Former Foes Became Fast Friends in New Hampshire," As We Are (Premier Issue, 1994):
27.
"History of the Corps Movement," NASCC: The National Association of Service and Conservation Corps. 1999
[accessed 17 July 2000]. Available on the World Wide Web:
http://www.nascc.org/history2.shtml.
Holland, Kenneth and Frank Hill. Youth in the CCC. Washington, D.C.: American Council on Education, 1942.
Koop, Allen V. Stark Decency: German Prisoners of War in a New England Village. Hanover: University Press
of New England, 1988.
Kramer, Arnold. Nazi Prisoners of War in America. New York: Stein and Day, 1979.
Maps a la Carte, Inc. "Topozone: The Web's Topographic Map." 2000 [accessed 24 July 2000]. Available
on the World Wide Web: http://www.topozone.com/.
Moore, John Hammond. "Hitler's Afrika Corps . . . in New England," Yankee Magazine (June, 1976):
83-88+.
Salmond, John A. The Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933-1942. Durham: Duke University Press, 1967.
Stark [NH] Bicentennial Commission. History of Stark, New Hampshire, 1774-1974. Littleton: Courier Printing
Co., 1974.
UNH Dimond Library. "Percy, NH Quadrangle," Historic USGS Maps of New England. 17 September 1999
[accessed 24 July 2000]. Available on the World Wide Web:
http://docs.unh.edu/nhtopos/Percy.htm. |
| Assessment Tools and Techniques |
| Research, writing, and discussion activities are associated with
each question. |
| Credit |
| This is an adaptation of a lesson created by Chris Lewis, a participant
in the New Hampshire Historical Society's 1998 Summer Institute for Teachers. |
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