The collection is comprised of newspaper clippings, various research notes and interview questions, writings, copies of official Army records, correspondence, and photographs relating to the prisoner of war camp at Weingarten, Missouri. The items are arranged alphabetically by type of document/topic and date from 1942 to 2003.

Most of the items were collected and annotated by Stanley G. Drury (1924-1987) of Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. On various occasions journalists and historians used the collection. By 2009, the research collection was in the possession of Max Okenfuss, professor of history at Washington University. At some point after Drury’s death, items were added to his personal collection, likely by his wife Teresa and by the donor Prof. Okenfuss. There is a folder of correspondence regarding the use of the collection after Mr. Drury’s death.

There are many copies of contemporary newspaper clippings along with lists of local newspaper articles about the camp. In several of the copies, only the headlines are legible. There are also copies of retrospective newspaper articles dating from 1982 to 2002. In addition, Mr. Drury acquired copies of Army records about the camp, including reports by the Army and by other groups that inspected the camps. There are also copies of official memos, correspondence, and site plans for the camp. Some of these copies are annotated, presumably by Mr. Drury. There are also handwritten notes and interview questions, also most likely by Mr. Drury.

Few items in the collection came from the camp directly. However, there is a contemporary, original souvenir folder of Camp Weingarten comprised of sixteen photographs of the camp during its operation (two copies). There are also unidentified photographs of staff, military and civilian.

In 1985, a former Weingarten prisoner, Professor Vincenzo Mancuso, sent Stanley Drury copies of several documents that he held. Mancuso included pages from the newsletters produced by prisoners (text and illustrations, Italian), published poems from former prisoners (Italian and English), a 1946 letter received from Major Burton W. Marston, a list of Italian officers, and copies of two photographs.

In the early 1980s, Dr. Collins Henson (1927-2008) proposed writing a book, The Enemy Among Us: German Prisoners of War. His book proposal, preface and first chapter are part of the collection. In 1992, Laurel Sterkel sent a draft of an article to Teresa Drury, They Came as Enemies of Our Country, in which she utilized Mr. Drury’s collection. In 1998, Derek Mallett sent Teresa Drury a copy of his master’s thesis, They Were Just People Like We Were.