Historical Association of Tobyhanna Township

HATT | PO Box 2084 | Pocono Pines, PA 18350-2084

Nazis in the Poconos

June 08, 2026

Dr. Sara J. Cornell



During World War II, thousands of German prisoners of war were held in camps across the United States, including several in northeastern Pennsylvania. In and around the Pocono region, satellite labor camps operated under U.S. military supervision, following the rules of the Geneva Convention. Prisoners — many of whom had served in Nazi Germany’s armed forces — were assigned to agricultural work, forestry, and maintenance to support the wartime economy.

One such site was Tobyhanna Army Depot, which housed several hundred German POWs at a time. While a handful of prisoners did attempt escape, these incidents were typically brief. Most escapees were quickly apprehended due to unfamiliar surroundings, limited English skills, and alert local residents.

Stories of “Nazis hiding in the Poconos” have circulated for decades, but these are largely exaggerated. In most cases, such claims can be traced back to short-lived escape attempts rather than any organized or long-term presence.

There is, however, one documented connection between the Pocono region and Nazi espionage. Kurt Frederick Ludwig, associated with the infamous Duquesne Spy Ring, reportedly spent time in the Pocono Pines area, reportedly at a health retreat, while under FBI surveillance. Operating as part of a broader spy network, Ludwig helped gather intelligence on U.S. shipping, military installations, and industrial production while visiting the docks in the New York Harbor and along the New Jersey coast. He also visited the U.S. Army posts and reported on these units as well as their organizations and equipment. Later, Ludwig reported on aircraft manufacturing and performance which he gleaned from surveillance of aircraft plants in the Long Island area. The information gathered was sent using invisible ink, an 1834 system of shorthand which no one but Germans could read, or short-wave radio and sent to mail-drop addresses in countries such as Spain, Portugal, Argentina and Germany.

According to regional accounts, Ludwig interacted socially with individuals who were, in fact, undercover FBI agents monitoring his activities. They engaged in playing golf and bridge, canoeing, and engaging in discussions about baseball and world events. Ludwig was known to travel through northeastern Pennsylvania, including visits to Wilkes-Barre, where he reportedly held secret meetings, mailed coded communications, and observed and photographed coal operations throughout the anthracite region.

Ludwig eventually grew suspicious and fled west in an attempt to evade capture. His plan was to drive to Washington where he would book passage to Japan. Driving erratically and at high speeds, Ludwig made it to the Pacific Coast. He was arrested outside Cle Elum, Washington, in 1944. He was later convicted of treasonable conspiracy and espionage and imprisoned at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. Ludwig was released in 1952 and deported shortly thereafter.

In reality, while the Poconos did see the presence of German POWs and a brief connection to wartime espionage, there is no evidence of hidden Nazi communities in the region. The historical record points instead to tightly controlled POW camps, swift responses to escape attempts, and one intriguing — but limited —l ink to a larger national spy network.