WWII German POW Interpretive Center

The feature that sets Nebraska Prairie Museum apart from other museums is its unique POW display. German POW’s were housed at Camp Atlanta during W.W. II. These prisoners told stories of their exceptional treatment and lifelong friendships that developed through the adversity of war.

The WWII Interpretive Center exhibit displays a scale replica of the original WWII German POW Camp Atlanta which was located five miles southwest of Holdrege by Atlanta, Ne. Also exhibited are items donated by former military personnel who worked there, letters and photographs of POWs who were interned there, and local families and businesses who hired the POWs during the war. Videos of interviews and books are available for purchase. The Thomas F. Naegele art gallery, In the Eye of the Storm, tells the story of those years, witnessed and described in paintings and words by a budding artist and his senior self, a little known, but poignant chapter in the history or war and peace.

Extensive collections of prairie history are on display throughout the museum complex.. Home and business period rooms, dish collections, a quilt collection, arrowhead collection, antique farm machinery and tools, and a genealogical library are on display. Out buildings include a Lutheran Church, one room school house, early farm house, POW guard tower replica, and windmill.