It isn’t a well-known piece of history, but Iowa was one of the few states to hold prisoners of war from all three major Axis nations.

The 10,000 Axis POWs were held at Camp Algona and 34 branch camps throughout the Midwest.

Thursday, the Ames Public Library will host a presentation called “Iowa and the Third Reich,” which will highlight Iowa’s connections to World War II.

“Iowa and the Third Reich” is a historical presentation by Michael Luick-Thrams, executive director of TRACES, an organization that collects the stories of those in the upper Midwest and Germany who met each other during the WWII.

The TRACES Web site states the organization’s purpose: “While it is not TRACES’ goal to rebuke Germans alive today, we believe that both Americans and Germans can benefit from critically examining this shared past. To facilitate that process we have gathered, preserved and now present – before they are lost to the world – stories of German and Iowa POWs as they were imprisoned on each other’s soil during WWII.”

“What we do is tell of Iowa’s connection to the Third Reich,” Luick-Thrams said.

Among the stories to be presented are German POW experiences at Camp Algona, he said. Starting last year, a TRACES research team collected hundreds of photographs, letters, journals and other artifacts from former German POW experiences in the Iowa camps.

In January 2001, the Algona City Council approved the Camp Algona POW Project. This nonprofit organization is also trying to collect as much history as they can from this time, including a nativity scene carved by prisoners at the camp.

According to the Camp Algona POW Project’s Web site, the German prisoners were used for manual labor in the surrounding areas. The camp used an internal economy as wages that paid for work and many former POWs returned to the former site of the camp after the war ended.

“We also tell the story of Iowa soldiers taken prisoner in Germany,” Luick-Thrams said. “Until December 1944, there were more Iowa soldiers per capita in camps in Germany than any other state.”

Another highlight of Luick-Thrams’ lecture focuses on the story of Anne Frank, a Jewish girl whose family hid from the Nazis for several years before being captured and sent to a German concentration camp.

“Many people are aware of the story of Anne Frank, but don’t know she had a pen pal in Iowa,” Luick-Thrams said. “This presentation will give listeners a new piece of the story.”

In 1940, 10-year-old Juanita Wagner from Danville had the opportunity to write to students in war-torn European countries, he said.

A few weeks after sending an introductory letter overseas, Wagner received two responses. One letter came from Anne Frank, and one from Margot Frank, Anne’s older sister. Sadly, Wagner never received a response to her second letter to the Franks, Luick-Thrams said.

Lynne Carey, Adult Program Coordinator at Ames Public Library, said the Iowa connection made the presentation a major consideration. This presentation has been traveling throughout the country, and the library scheduled an appearance along the way.

This presentation is uncommon, as the library usually doesn’t feature speakers over the summer, she said.

“They’ll hear stories that they wouldn’t hear anywhere else about their local history that would otherwise be lost,” Luick-Thrams said. “These are very rich stories; they’re Iowa histories.”

“Iowa and the Third Reich” will be presented at 7 p.m. in the Farwell T. Brown Auditorium at the Ames Public Library.