On Wednesday, Oct. 26, at 5 p.m. in the Wiscasset Public Library, Hank Lunn of Camden will present a talk titled “German Prisoners of War in Maine: From Foe to Friend.” He will tell his personal story of what it was like for him as a boy to have German soldiers working on his family farm in Littleton, Aroostook County, Maine during World War II.

In 1944, the U.S. Army Air Base in Houlton, Maine, became the site of a prisoner of war internment camp for German soldiers captured in North Africa and France. The prisoners could not be forced to work, but could volunteer.

Those who wanted to work helped the local farmers harvest peas, pick potatoes and cut wood in the forest during winter. The prisoners were paid a dollar a day in scrip that they could spend at their post exchange for toiletries, tobacco, chocolate, even beer. College courses were offered to those who wished to study.

 In the fall of 1945 Lunn’s father decided to request prisoners to help with the potato harvest because the people he usually hired were not available due to the war.

There will be no charge for admission to the talk.  Light refreshments will be available. The library is located at 21 High Street in Wiscasset.