An Iowa historian begins a series of talks Wednesday on how the lives of Iowans and Germans crossed paths during World War Two. Michael Luick-Thrams says captured German soldiers were sent to ten camps across Iowa. Luick-Thrams has gone to Berlin to hear the stories of many ex-prisoners of war. He says he also interviewed their family members.Of the Germans who were held in Iowa, Luick-Thrams says they were very generous with their stories and their belongings from six decades ago.Their journals, woodcarvings, music books, paintings and photographs will be on exhibit “The Third Reich in Iowa” at the Muscatine Art Center starting in October. Luick-Thrams has also interviewed Iowans who were taken prisoner in Germany. He says there were more Iowans as Nazi POWs than any other state after the 34th Division from southwest Iowa was captured in 1943.Luick-Thrams also interviewed Juanita Wagner of Danville (Iowa) who was pen pals with Anne Frank. Luick-Thrams will be speaking Wednesday at 2 P-M in Marshalltown and at 7 P-M in Des Moines at the State Historical Society. He has more talks planned in the next two weeks in: Fort Dodge, Ames, Clear Lake, Mason City and Cedar Rapids. For more information, go to his website “www.traces.org”.
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