Prisoners on the Prairie

Following a viewing of the PBS Documentary, Held in Minnesota: Untold WWII POW Stories, Simmons will speak about the camps in Minnesota and South Dakota during World War Two.  Held in Minnesota: Untold WWII POW Stories, a recent documentary by Pioneer Public Television in Minnesota, earned a Midwest Emmy as the best documentary in 2025.
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Dean Simmons is the author of Swords into Plowshares: Minnesota’s POW Camps During World War Two.  Simmons has researched and written about multiple aspects of Minnesota history, in particular stories related to World War Two.  He has been a featured speaker at the Minnesota World War Two History Roundtable Series held at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul.  He was born and raised in Olivia, Minnesota, the site of Minnesota’s first POW camp.