American History Tellers

Daring Prison Escapes | Nazis in the Arizona Desert | Episode 4

Podcast: American History Tellers (Wondery)
Host: Lindsay Graham
Release Date: September 24, 2025

Overview

This episode explores one of the most ambitious and dramatic prison escapes on American soil: the 1944 breakout from Camp Papago Park, a POW camp for German U-boat sailors outside Phoenix, Arizona. Host Lindsay Graham tells the story of the camp’s troubled history, the personalities at play—especially the determined Nazi officer Jurgen Wattenberg—and the audacious plan that led 25 POWs to momentarily taste freedom across the harsh Sonoran Desert. The story is set against the broader context of the U.S.’s internment of enemy POWs in WWII and asks what happens when discipline, ingenuity, and desperation collide under the Arizona sun.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Scene: U-Boat Capture and POW Life

[00:00 - 05:30]

• Dramatic reenactment of a German U-boat crew’s capture in September 1942, establishing the resolve of Captain Jurgen Wattenberg and his men.
• The intent of POWs to continue resisting Allied efforts, even while in captivity.

  “You may have been taken out of the battle, but the war isn't over. And even in captivity, you're going to do everything in your power to make the lives of the Allies difficult and advance the Nazi cause.” — Lindsay Graham [04:19]

2. Background: Camp Papago Park and its Problems

[07:00 - 13:30]

• Introduction to Camp Papago Park: one of 23 POW camps in Arizona; designed to detain elite German U-boat crews.
• The physical environment: harsh, remote, with double fences and watchtowers, yet plagued by security lapses.
• Early escape attempts and violence: Notable breakouts, forged documents, and a high-profile murder of a cooperating prisoner, which threatened future intelligence-gathering efforts.

  “The escape of nine prisoners...was embarrassing, but the murder...was damaging to the US war effort.” — Lindsay Graham [11:21]

3. Leadership and Escalating Tensions: Holden and Wattenberg

[13:30 - 17:00]

• Colonel William Anthony Holden, newly assigned camp commander, attempts to improve camp discipline and security.
• Personality clash between Holden and captain Wattenberg, with the latter actively resisting and adhering to Nazi ideology.
• Wattenberg’s manipulation: using Geneva Convention rules to petition for better treatment and for tools, which are later used in escape plans.

4. Escalation and a Risky Change: Isolating the ‘Troublemakers’

[17:00 - 24:00]

• Holden decides to isolate 140 of the most resistant and influential German officers, including Wattenberg, in compounds 1A and 1B—despite warnings from staff.

  “Aren't you concerned about grouping the most disobedient prisoners all together?” — Assistant Provost Marshal [16:41] “That's the point. We're going to isolate them.” — Col. Holden [16:44]

• The consequence: these experienced, motivated men could now collaborate more freely.

5. The Escape: Engineering and Execution

[24:00 - 36:45]

• Wattenberg and his officers discover a blind spot near the camp laundry and coal bin, unreachable by guard tower view.
• Planning and building a tunnel:
  • Applied naval trigonometry to map a 178-foot tunnel, avoiding both searchlights and a nearby canal.
  • Used “gardening” tools, gained via persistent lobbying, to dig.
  • Spread excavated dirt by requesting a new “fistball” field.
• Organizing the breakout:
  • 25 men selected and split into teams.
  • Supplies stolen and prepared (maps, food, dyed uniforms).
  • Carefully timed escape to coincide with Christmas, holiday distractions, and rowdy celebrations covering noise.
  • Exploited Sunday morning roll-call exemption for officers for a head start.

  “Holden didn’t realize how big of a win he had just handed Wattenberg…” — Lindsay Graham [21:49]

6. The Manhunt and the Aftermath

[36:45 - 51:00]

• The massive escape went unnoticed for nearly 24 hours.
• Many escapees quickly caught by local law enforcement and civilians—often due to their accents, lack of knowledge of the terrain, and the flooding rain.
• Failed escape plans, including an ill-fated homemade boat and mistaken reliance on dry riverbeds.
• Wattenberg’s strategy: rather than rush for Mexico, his team hid for weeks in a cave, waiting for the search to die down, supported by food drops from loyalists.

  “We’re going to lay low, live in the backcountry…after that, no one will look at us with suspicion.” — Captain Wattenberg [27:36]

• Betrayal and capture: Attempts to restart the supply chain lead to betrayal and capture of Wattenberg’s teammates; Wattenberg ultimately tries to blend into Phoenix society but is apprehended after drawing attention from a construction worker and police.

7. Resolution and Legacy

[51:00 - End]

• Wattenberg and remaining escapees punished with bread-and-water rations equivalent to their days away; no executions, in contrast to Nazi reprisals against Allied escapees.
• WWII ends soon after; prisoners gradually repatriated.
• Wattenberg returned to a Germany where the navy was disbanded; he keeps silent about his escape for decades.
• Colonel Holden retires; reputational damage but no formal censure.
• Camp Papago Park demolished, now a Phoenix city park.

  “Looking around, it’s easy to forget that the area once housed thousands of German sailors led by a zealous Nazi officer determined to escape…” — Lindsay Graham [57:06]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Motivations:

  “These were not docile conscripts, but dedicated soldiers eager to serve their homeland…a core group caused the guards the most difficulty.” — Lindsay Graham [14:53]

• On Preparation:

  “Using trigonometry formulas they’d learned to navigate the open sea, they calculated the distance…” — Lindsay Graham [20:07]

• On Irony:

  “All the while…Colonel Holden was pleased with himself, with how compliant the German officers had become.” — Lindsay Graham [21:32]

• On Failure:

  “Members of the Thona O’odham tribe caught another team hiking through their land only 10 miles from the Mexican border.” — Lindsay Graham [45:42] “The Germans with the homemade boat…were caught while still on foot by a pair of cowboys who found their behavior suspicious.” [44:49]

• On Capture:

  “It’s not that I don’t have identification. I just don’t have it on me. I left it at home…” — Wattenberg, attempting to talk his way past a suspicious officer [54:15]

Episode Timestamps

• 00:00–05:30: Opening; the U-boat capture; hostile POW mindset
• 07:00–13:30: Papago Park background; early escapes; murder of informant
• 13:30–17:00: Arrival of Colonel Holden; clash with Wattenberg
• 17:00–24:00: Segregation decision; consolidation of troublemakers
• 24:00–36:45: Blind spot discovery; tunnel planning and execution; escape night
• 36:45–44:49: Guards learn of escape; cascade of recaptures
• 44:49–55:00: Wattenberg’s strategy; betrayal; Phoenix capture
• 55:00–End: Return to camp; postwar fates; present-day legacy

Final Thoughts & Legacy

Through immersive storytelling and dramatic reenactments, this episode contextualizes Papago Park’s “Great Escape” within the broader history of POWs in America. The story reveals both the ingenuity of prisoners and the repeated managerial oversights of authorities. It highlights the ironies and human foibles in wartime, and how even the most carefully laid plans—of both jailers and prisoners—are often subject to chance, the environment, and the unexpected decency or folly of ordinary people.

Recommended for:
Those interested in rarely told WWII homefront stories, historical suspense, or the lived experience of prisoners far from the battlefield.