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"Behind Barbed Wire"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Person: Sheila Sallen, North Lee County Historical Society
P.O. Box 285; Ft. Madison, IA; 52627; 319-372-7363 (alt. phone)
or 319-372-8773
Contact Person: Michael Luick-Thrams at BUSeum Tour@yahoo.com or 515-255-4836.
BUS-eum Website
"Behind Barbed Wire", a new traveling exhibit, housed in a
converted school bus explores the experiences of Iowa prisoners of war (POWs) who were
imprisoned by Hitler's Third Reich. Until the Battle of the Bulge in 1944, the most U.S.
POWs in Nazi-German camps came, per capita, from Iowa. This "BUS-eum" will be in
Ft. Madison from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm on Thursday, April 8, 2004. It will be hosted by the
North Lee County Historical Society and parked in front of the Santa Fe Depot-Historic
Center and Museum at 814 10th Street (near Riverview Park). The local contact person is
Sheila Sallen at 319-372-7363 or 319-372-3887. The Museum also receives email at
sheila@nlchs.org. The Des Moines based, non-profit educational organization TRACES created
the exhibit. Director Michael Luick-Thrams and guest historians will travel with the
mobile exhibit to all 99 Iowa counties through the spring of 2004.
Early arrival is encouraged at the exhibit, as the tour is tightly
scheduled and showings will begin and end promptly at the times indicated. Elderly or
evening visitors may wish to bring small flashlights. TRACES seeks volunteers in each
community along the 205 stop, 55 day state-wide tour, to help make each stop as effective
as possible: would-be volunteers should contact the local hosts in a given town, or TRACES
directly.
"Behind Barbed Wire" poses five primary questions
why did some Iowa POWs survive certain conditions or experiences, while
others did not
what roles did art, free time and religion play in helping those
men who did survive imprisonment by the Nazi regime?
why did some Germans or Austrians assist Iowa POWs, while others
did not?
how did the liberated POWs later come to terms with their own
experiences? and,
how do countries once in armed conflict reconcile with each other; how do nations and the
individuals who constitute a nation get beyond war?
As the opening panel of the exhibit reminds viewers, "The prisoner
of war experience is one few men or women know directly. Being taken prisoner is, in
itself, neither dishonorable nor heroic. Capture is largely an accident; often, it comes
as a complete surprise and is frequently accompanied by injury. Usually, the confinement
is painful; too often, it is fatal. In war, not everyone is lucky; some lose Those taken
captive are part of the unlucky ones."
This exhibit has attracted special attention and enthusiastic support.
Contributing partners include the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva, the
Bildarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz in Berlin, the Iowa Gold Star Military Museum and
Firestone Agricultural Division in Des Moines. Former Midwest POW and best selling author
Kurt Vonnegut has given TRACES free and unqualified use of his book "Slaughterhouse
Five", which tells of Vonnegut's and other POWs' experiences during the firebombing
of Dresden. The Iowa Arts Council granted TRACES major funding for the project and
numerous individuals have donated generously.
TRACES invites former POWs to join the BUS-eum tour at any point to
talk to exhibit visitors and speak about their experiences. It also would welcome
contributions of narratives about or artifacts from individuals it not yet has located.
Michael Luick-Thrams, TRACES' executive director and creator of "Behind Barbed
Wire" says a logical future step following the touring exhibit would be to establish
a permanent memorial "A museum in Des Moines would honor former WWII POWs and
preserve their legacy for the benefit of future generations."
To confirm the complete BUS-eum itinerary or to learn more about
TRACES, see www.TRACES.org You may also visit the North Lee County Historical Society's
web page at www.NLCHS.org. The exhibit's introductory texts and photos of the exhibit can
be previewed on the TRACES website; reading the main texts in advance will facilitate
easier visitor flow in the BUS-eum.
As the exhibit's first text explains, "There were three main waves
of Iowa POWs: those captured in North Africa in 1943, those pilots shot out of the sky
during the air war over Europe, and those soldiers captured at the Battle of the Bulge (a
mere six months before the Second World War ended). Each wave of Iowa POWs in Nazi Germany
had its own experiences. All of the men who survived them, however, left a provocative
legacy for those alive today--one involving the very nature of war itself; how does armed
conflict between groups of people play out, face-to face, when the guns are lowered; how
'should' humans treat each other, and ultimately, live together?"
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