Escape from Fort Stanton facts for kids
German internees working in their garden at Fort Stanton.
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| Date | November 1–3, 1942 |
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| Location | Fort Stanton, New Mexico, United States |
| Outcome | 1 wounded |
The Escape from Fort Stanton was an exciting event that happened on November 1, 1942, during World War II. Four German sailors, who were being held at an internment camp in Fort Stanton, New Mexico, managed to escape. While there were other small escape tries from the fort, this one was the most famous. It was the only escape that ended with a shootout, where one German was hurt. All four sailors were caught and sent back to Fort Stanton.
Contents
Life at Fort Stanton Camp
Fort Stanton is an old United States Army post located about seven miles northeast of Capitan. It was once a place from the Wild West days. When World War II began, a special camp was built there. This camp was for German and Japanese people who were living in the United States but were considered "enemy aliens" during the war. They were called internees.
Who were the internees?
Most of the German prisoners at Fort Stanton were crew members from the SS Columbus. This was a fancy luxury liner ship. Its own crew sank it on December 19, 1939, about 400 miles off the coast of Virginia. They did this to stop the ship from being captured by British forces.
The camp at Fort Stanton was first built just for the Columbus crew, which was over 400 men. It was also the very first American internment camp for civilians opened during the war. Instead of soldiers, the guards were members of the United States Border Patrol.
Why Fort Stanton?
Fort Stanton was chosen for a few reasons. There were old buildings from the Civilian Conservation Corps nearby that could be used. There was also a hospital close by. Plus, its remote location in New Mexico meant that any activities by people who supported the Nazis would be kept isolated.
Building the Camp
The first internees arrived at Fort Stanton in January 1941. At that time, the camp was still being built. So, the Germans helped construct places for everyone to live. They built four barracks (sleeping areas), a kitchen, a dining hall, a laundry room, and bathrooms. They also built shops, officers' quarters, and a medical clinic. The camp even had gardens for fresh food, a recreation hall, and a swimming pool. They even held "mini-Olympic" competitions there with local people!
Camp Rules Change
At first, the camp felt more like a small town than a prison. The Germans had a lot of freedom because the United States and Germany were not yet at war. They could even go to Capitan or hike in the nearby mountains.
But everything changed after Adolf Hitler declared war on the United States on December 9, 1941. After that, the Germans were no longer allowed to leave the camp. They had been waiting for two years to go home. Now, they were not just "distressed seamen" anymore. They were considered enemy aliens. This meant they could only be released when the war ended. It was at this time that guard towers and barbed wire fences were built around the camp.
The Escape Attempt
There were a few escape attempts both before and after the big incident in November 1942. Germans tried to "climb fences, walk off work details, or dig tunnels." But all of them were caught and brought back to the camp. After a while, many Germans probably felt that escaping was pointless. The area was very remote, and besides Mexico (which was over 100 miles south), there was nowhere to go. Even so, four men decided to try.
The Plan
On the night of November 1, 1942, four men named Bruno Dathe, Willy Michel, Hermann Runne, and Johannes Grantz, managed to sneak out of the camp. They used the darkness to hide and started heading south towards the border.
The Manhunt
Their absence from the camp was quickly noticed. A large search began, involving police from New Mexico, Texas, and even Mexico. The Germans did not get very far.
On November 3, a rancher named Bob Boyce spotted the escapees. He was part of a group of local citizens helping with the search, called a posse. Boyce immediately sent word to the main posse, which had about twenty-five men and was led by Deputy Joe Nelson.
The Capture
After tracking them for a short time, the posse found the Germans. They were about fourteen miles south of the camp, on a hill inside the Lincoln National Forest. News reports from that time said the Germans were either bathing in a stream or sleeping on the grassy hill when the posse rode up on horseback.
There was a brief shootout. One of the Germans was wounded. All four were quickly captured and taken back to Fort Stanton. It was later confirmed by one of the escapees that they did not have any guns. They had no way to get weapons and had simply run away.
