A Remarkable Story of Nazi Prisoners Worshiping with Iowa Farmers

On Easter Sunday, April 9, 1944, members of a church choir in Iowa drove through a guarded entrance into a prisoner-of-war camp in Algona. The group, accompanied by an organist and minister from Trinity Lutheran Church, had been invited to lead a worship service for German prisoners who had previously served in the Nazi military. The minister conducted the Easter service in both German and English, allowing the prisoners to participate in worship despite being far from their homeland. Church choir director Bernice Rising later recalled the experience, remembering how the group sang hymns including “In the Garden” and “Have Thine Own Way, Lord.” She noted that the prisoners sang remarkably well, while organist Florence Brown described the service as an inspiring experience. For the German captives, the gathering carried deep emotional significance. They were thousands of miles from their families and living in unfamiliar surroundings. Many became visibly emotional when they joined in reciting the Lord’s Prayer in their native German language. The unusual Easter gathering became a powerful reminder that worship could create a moment of shared humanity even between people separated by war, nationality and opposing sides.