Mobile museum shows history of WWII POW camps in Mo.

Cape Girardeau Central High School is inviting the community to a mobile museum visiting the school today. The TRACES Center for History and Culture is bringing its buseum to provide perspective on a part of history that gets little attention.

While soldiers were fighting World War II on other continents, there were prisoner of war camps in the United States.

High school librarian Julia Jorgensen said the closest camp to Cape Girardeau was in Weingarten, Mo., which is between Farmington and Ste. Genevieve. She said area camps held German prisoners who helped farm. Prisoner camps in the Bootheel mostly held Italian prisoners.

She said it is a topic that is gaining more attention, but has been flying under the historical radar.

"Very few people know about this, and I don't know why that is," she said.

The 40-foot bus will be parked in front of the school from 7:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. today. It is on a 26 state tour and comes to Cape Girardeau from a stop in St. Paul, Minn. The docent and driver, Irving Kellman, will be on hand at the exhibit. There will be artifacts and a video.

Students will be touring the bus throughout the day but it is also free and open to the public.

Pertinent address:

100 S. Silver Springs Rd. Cape Girardeau, MO