
Hardly anyone alive today is aware that the first U.S. troops sent to fight in WWII came from the Upper Midwest, or that the region’s 34th “Red Bull” Division served the longest uninterrupted duty in U.S. military history—about 600 days. Even fewer know that, some 1,800 mostly Midwest soldiers were captured in one night in North Africa in February 1943. Until the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944 the most U.S. POWs in Nazi-German camps came, per capita, from same region.
“Behind Barbed Wire”, a new exhibit that is touring the Great Plains states in fall 2007, explores the experiences of Midwest prisoners of war (POWs) who were imprisoned in Hitler’s Third Reich, and the human context in which their experiences took place. The St. Paul-based, non-profit educational organization TRACES is bringing these stories to life through the creation of its BUS-eum a 40 foot school bust converted into a mobile museum.
The exhibit consists of narrative display panels illustrated with photographs and documents, audio and DVD documentaries, artifacts and more. This exhibit will bring the stories of Midwest POWs in Nazi Germany to both large and small communities around the region. Remembering the experiences of the POWs in their communities of origin is a unique adventure in U.S. history. The BUS-eum is the only known mobile museum in the nation focused on the experiences and related historical contexts of U.S. POWs. TRACES will bring it to both Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma between Labor Day and Veterans Day, fall 2007. The BUS-eum will visit the seven other Midwestern states in the next two years.

The Bus-eum will be in Garnett from 10:00-1:00 on Saturday, Oct. 27th; it will be located in the parking lot beside the fire station. In addition tot he tour we will also be hosting a "Community Conversation" about the five primary questions that "Behind Barbed Wire" poses:
1.) Why did some Midwest POWs survive certain conditions or experiences, while others did not?
2.) What roles did art, free-time, and religion play in helping those men who did survive imprisonment by the Nazi regime?
3.) Why did some Germans or Austrians assist U.S. POWs, while others did not?
4.) How did the liberated POWs later come to terms with their own experiences, and
5.) How do nations and the individuals who constitute a nation come to reconciliation?
The "Community Con

versation" will be held at 11:00 on Saturday, Oct. 27th, in the meeting room of the fire station. If there is enough interest, additional discussions will be held during the viewing time.
Admission to the BUS-eum is free and everyone is welcome to attend. The Garnett stop is made possible by the Friends of the Library and the local VFW Post 6397. For more information contact Andrea at 448-3388 or
garnettlibrary@yahoo.com You may also go online at
http://www.traces.org/.