TEMPE, Ariz — The Tempe Historic Preservation Foundation has announced that the two old structures will be going on a four-mile journey to an interim location as the structures potentially prepare to be rehabilitated and installed at the Arizona Heritage Center.
The barracks were used to house German prisoners of war at Camp Papago, which was located near 64th Street and McDowell Road. A group of prisoners notably attempted to escape from the camp in 1944 through a tunnel they had spent months digging.
The foundation salvaged the two surviving barracks and they were placed on a city-owned public works yard in Tempe. Now the foundation is moving forward with proposed plans to turn the barracks into an immersive museum exhibition.
The relocation effort to be started this week is a critical step in advancing this initiative, the foundation said.
The restoration and installation of the barracks is estimated to cost $900,000 and the foundation is asking the community for support in helping to complete the project. Author: Kevin Reagan; Published: 5:00 PM MST February 12, 2026
Arizona Historical Society: Great Papago Escape is considered the largest Axis POW escape from an American facility – and it happened in Arizona!
Camp Papago Park, originally intended to hold Italian POWs, was designated to hold members of the German Kriegsmarine in early 1944. At its peak, over 3,000 German prisoners were detained there, and they tended to have reputations as difficult, devoted Nazis, or as escape artists. Beginning in the fall of 1944, 25 POWs concocted and executed a plan to escape: dig a tunnel and float down the river. On December 23, the men left the camp, only to have their hopes of escape quickly dashed: there was very little water in the Salt River, and definitely not enough to get to the Colorado River. Many of the POWs surrendered a couple of days after escaping and within fairly close proximity to Camp Papago Park, but others made it within miles of the US/Mexico Border. Eventually, all POWs either surrendered themselves or were captured.
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