Unable to return these men home, the government leased the luxurious Mountain Park Hotel in Hot Springs, N.C., to house them. Each of the hotel's steam heated rooms with electric lights accommodated between 3-5 German officers from those interned ships. (Many of these ships were turned into troop ships during the course of the war).
Rows of barracks and accessory buildings were constructed on the resorts grounds and golf courses to house crew members.
When not farmed out for lumbering or road building, homesick internees inside the barbed wire enclosed camp created a Bavarian village using driftwood from the French broad River, tin cans and whatever else they could find.
They also grew gardens, crafted furniture and played sports. A German brass band provided concerts for townspeople every Sunday afternoon.
The internees remained there for 17 months, until the end of the war. Many even returned after the war to visit.
If You Have to be a Prisoner, This Isn't a Bad Way to Go. --Cooter
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