Silent Night in Algona - Movie

[ICCYFAN]

I thought it was about the ISU basketball recruit, Audi Crooks!

My wife dragged me to this limited release film about a WW2 German POW Camp in Algona. I went willingly because I like history and have seen several old businesses which employed German POW’s in MN and the Dakota’s, so I was familiar with the subject.

Anybody else seen it? I wasn’t a fan - bad acting, slow moving and couldn’t be bothered to locate period specific props, like coffee decanters in the local diner!

 

[CyCrazy]

I have seen it and agree with you, it should have been much better.

 

[Mr Janny]

I thought it was about the ISU basketball recruit, Audi Crooks!

My wife dragged me to this limited release film about a WW2 German POW Camp in Algona. I went willingly because I like history and have seen several old businesses which employed German POW’s in MN and the Dakota’s, so I was familiar with the subject.

Anybody else seen it? I wasn’t a fan - bad acting, slow moving and couldn’t be bothered to locate period specific props, like coffee decanters in the local diner!

I haven't seen the movie, but I have been aware of it. I grew up in that area, and visited the nativity that the POWs built multiple times during my childhood, mostly on school field trips. It's an interesting story. The prisoners had pretty decent treatment, all things considered. I can remember hearing stories about bussing them around to assist local farmers with fieldwork and chores. Barely under supervision, let alone lock and key.

Definitely a perspective on WW2 you don't hear very much about.

 

[mred]

I remember learning about the POW camp from an episode of the genealogy show "Who Do You Think You Are?". In Chelsea Handler's episode, she visited Algona as part of the research into her maternal grandfather, who was drafted to fight for Germany in WWII and became a POW there.

There's a recap of the episode here: http://www.ancestraldiscoveries.com/2013/08/who-do-you-think-you-are-chelsea-handler.html

...and a clip of her visit to Algona here:

 

[buf87]

From Algona, haven't seen it yet, but want to. Lots of filming was done in nearby Whittemore, I was told. I don't expect the acting to be very good, lots of extras were local residents.

Great story. Have heard a lot of talk about the relationships the farmers and POW's had, Some are pretty entertaining. I heard some came back to live in the area when the war was over.

 

[VeloClone]

Mrs. Velo's grandfather was a farmer not far from Algona. He himself was a German immigrant who came over between the wars. There were a lot of German speakers in the area who could relate to the prisoners when they were there.

 

[CoachHines3]

trailer looked awful

cool story though so it could be made much much much much much better im sure

 

[BCClone]

Mrs. Velo's grandfather was a farmer not far from Algona. He himself was a German immigrant who came over between the wars. There were a lot of German speakers in the area who could relate to the prisoners when they were there.

Go about 15-20 miles north and you have German Valley (where my ancestors came to) so there were large groups of German ancestors.

Saw the film, it is a local, low budget film. Knew several in it. It’s slow movie

 

[Mr Janny]

Go about 15-20 miles north and you have German Valley (where my ancestors came to) so there were large groups of German ancestors.

Saw the film, it is a local, low budget film. Knew several in it. It’s slow movie

I've spent considerable time in German Valley. It was little more than I wide place in the road when I was young. I can't imagine it's any bigger, now.

 

[Dawn Pheeble]

I thought it was about the ISU basketball recruit, Audi Crooks!

My wife dragged me to this limited release film about a WW2 German POW Camp in Algona. I went willingly because I like history and have seen several old businesses which employed German POW’s in MN and the Dakota’s, so I was familiar with the subject.

Anybody else seen it? I wasn’t a fan - bad acting, slow moving and couldn’t be bothered to locate period specific props, like coffee decanters in the local din

I thought it was about the ISU basketball recruit, Audi Crooks!

My wife dragged me to this limited release film about a WW2 German POW Camp in Algona. I went willingly because I like history and have seen several old businesses which employed German POW’s in MN and the Dakota’s, so I was familiar with the subject.

Anybody else seen it? I wasn’t a fan - bad acting, slow moving and couldn’t be bothered to locate period specific props, like coffee decanters in the local diner!

I'm from Iowa and previously knew of the WWII PW camps but, looking at it objectively, this is one of the worst produced and cringeworthy movies I've ever seen. There are just so many things bad about it-- acting, directing, screenplay, editing, dialogue, cinematography, etc. The score is oppressive at best and tries to sound too much like "Saving Private Ryan." There are so many historical/period mistakes that I had to laugh at times. Anyone else notice the picture on the wall of the cafe? I think it was of the Roof Garden at Arnolds Park and had a 60's-era Ford Mustang parked in front. Yeah, about those modern glass coffee pots with both orange and green plastic spouts. You wouldn't find those, or the cafe furniture, in a small-town Iowa cafe in 1944. It was way too long, had way too many purpose-less and unlikeable characters, and the plot/story (if there was one) was incomprehensible most of the time. I have two thumbs and they're both down for this. The story of the camps deserves better. If you're interested in historical fiction set in Algona during WWII, try the book "My Mother's Friend" by Sally Jameson Bond.

 

[Mr Janny]

I'm confused. I'm not going to watch it but is it essentially about Nazi POWs? Why make this in the first place? Hopefully it's supposed to be about the Iowans dealing with the camp, but seems really off/cringe at the surface level even before considering it's just terribly made as most are saying.

Admittedly, that's an angle that was glossed over, on the field trips we used to take there, when I was in school. Certainly not every German soldier was a Nazi, but there were 10,000 of them that went through Camp Algona, so it stands to reason that a good number of them were, and at the end of the day, they all fought for the Nazi cause.

The perspective that was always focused on was that a lot of the locals were of German ancestry, and despite being prisoners, an unlikely bond was forged between captor and captive

There's no discounting your point of view, though. It's definitely there.

 

[Cytasticlone]

Admittedly, that's an angle that was glossed over, on the field trips we used to take there, when I was in school. Certainly not every German soldier was a Nazi, but there were 10,000 of them that went through Camp Algona, so it stands to reason that a good number of them were, and at the end of the day, they all fought for the Nazi cause.

The perspective that was always focused on was that a lot of the locals were of German ancestry, and despite being prisoners, an unlikely bond was forged between captor and captive

There's no discounting your point of view, though. It's definitely there.

I ended up deleting my post because after a few minutes I was thinking I should maybe see it before making too many assumptions. I appreciate your response to it though.

 

[VeloClone]

I ended up deleting my post because after a few minutes I was thinking I should maybe see it before making too many assumptions. I appreciate your response to it though.

Also keep in mind that Germany had a draft and the penalty for refusal was harsh. The draft began spring of 1935 and continued through the war. There were a lot of Germans who were stuck between a rock and a hard place when it came to military service.

Look up Wehrkraftzersetzung to learn more.

 

[Mr Janny]

Also keep in mind that Germany had a draft and the penalty for refusal was harsh. The draft began spring of 1935 and continued through the war. There were a lot of Germans who were stuck between a rock and a hard place when it came to military service.

Look up Wehrkraftzersetzung to learn more.

It's a fair point. The "just following orders" argument has been hashed and rehashed for 80 years, and I'm not sure we're any closer to a consensus on it.

 

[pourcyne]

I grew up near Charles City, and had always heard that German POW's had built Wildwood Park in Charles City (apparently the clubhouse at the golf course). More precise info from Iowa PBS:

Tracy: When I was 6 years old, my mother brought me out here. I do remember—I have some very vivid memories. There was barbed wire. I do remember seeing the soldiers milling around. But some friends of mine remember that they were building houses, the prisoners were, in Charles City. And their parents said, "Don't go over there. There's German prisoners over there." So that's right away where the kids went to see them. And everybody in the town got along with them. I never heard anything bad about anything that happened. They were good workers. They were clean. I heard that this floor in this room, they kept it so clean that they had to refinish it afterwards because they wore the varnish right off the floor by keeping it clean.

Traces of POW History in Iowa

www.iowapbs.org

 

[VeloClone]

It's a fair point. The "just following orders" argument has been hashed and rehashed for 80 years, and I'm not sure we're any closer to a consensus on it.

There is a lot of green between some grunt drafted into military service and someone in the SS working in their concentration camp machine. I'm pretty sure nobody from the concentration camps made it to Algona.

 

[BCClone]

Also keep in mind that Germany had a draft and the penalty for refusal was harsh. The draft began spring of 1935 and continued through the war. There were a lot of Germans who were stuck between a rock and a hard place when it came to military service.

Look up Wehrkraftzersetzung to learn more.

Could you imagine a German spelling bee with words like that?

 

[RLD4ISU]

I've toured the CCC/POW Museum in Eldora, which was a branch camp for Algona. The museum is the original rec hall used for the CCC and then POWs. Italian and German POWs were at Eldora. The museum has tons of information and documentation for both. If you like history and have time, I recommend it.

One POW story I remember seeing at the museum was of a German POW whose brother immigrated to the US prior to WWII and lived not far from Eldora. The two brothers were able to get together and see each other, something they hadn't been able to do for years. Seems like another POW actually came back many years later...not sure on that story since - like I said - there was so much information in this museum. Plus I was mainly interested in the CCC documentation/stories since my Great Grandpa was a mechanic there.