FACT NO. 2
LEE COUNTY HAS PRODUCED MANY PEOPLE OF RENOWN
Whether they were born or educated in Lee County, many people of renown have lived here. Here are five notables of Lee County.
1) Frederick Chapman Robbins—Pediatrician, Virologist, Nobel Laureate in Medicine, 1956
2) Kathryn C. Thornton—Space Shuttle Astronaut, 2nd American Woman in Space
3) General Lloyd Austin—Chief of Staff United States Central Command
4) Robert Gibbs—28th White House Press Secretary, Obama Administration
5) Timothy D. Cook—Chief Executive Officer, Apple Corporation
FACT NO. 3
CAMP OPELIKA SERVED AS A PRISONER- OF- WAR CAMP DURING WORLD WAR II
Camp Opelika was chosen as one of four prisoner-of-war camps in Alabama. This 800 acre prison site was constructed by the Army Corp of Engineers during the winter of 1942-1943 for primarily German prisoners of war who were part of General Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korp. During the height of the war 3,000 POW called Camp Opelika home.
Although there were a small number of Italian prisoners
and other European nations which included citizens of
Belgium, former Czechoslovakia, Latvia, the former Soviet Union, the Netherlands, and France. There was also a number of Arab prisoners from North Africa. Army officials separated the prisoners in two groups after conflict arose between the Nazi and Anti-Nazi prisoners. There were very few escapes as the prison was very humane according to the Geneva Convention of 1929. The prisoners were given a balance diet which create some resentment among Alabamians who were receiving rations. They were employed inside the camp and outside in various farms and businesses. They were paid $.80 a day to purchase “luxury items” (especially chocolate and American cigarettes) in the commissaries within the camps.
Camp Opelika was well maintained. Cultural, educational, and sport activities were organized for the prisoners. One German POW described his internment as “the golden cage.” They were soccer leagues, a prison orchestra that included professional musicians and directed by a professor from the Musical Conservatory of Hanover. Prisoner used their creative talents to paint, sculpt, and carve works of arts.