Above: A group of American POWs dividing their bread rations and preparing for a meal at Stalag 3-B in North Africa.

Above: A prisoner barters with one of the guards

Assigned to a combat photography unit because he loved cameras and had taken pictures in high school, Spinelli was told to document all aspects of GI life. Captured in North Africa, he was sent to a POW camp in Germany, where he quickly learned the value of bartering cigarettes, donated by the Red Cross, for vital commodities. Desperate to tell the story of those held in camp, Spinelli traded cigarettes with a German prison guard and received, in return, a camera, tripod, and film. Spinelli hid the camera in baggy paratrooper pants and, risking his life repeatedly, captured life lived within the confines of POW camp Stalag III-B. Now 85 and a resident of Florida, Angelo Spinelli credits his faith for his survival and a desire to do his duty. He says simply, "I was told to take pictures, and I did." The photographs in "Behind the Barbed Wire" are a living testament, not only to the heroism and determination of Italian Americans, but also to the human spirit.

The exhibit, curated by Concetta Macchia, is available for viewing at our transitional residence:

John D. Calandra Italian
American Institute, Queens College, CUNY
28 W. 44th St., 17th Fl., New York, NY 10036

Hours:
Monday - Thursday 10am - 4pm and by appointment
For more information please call (212) 642-2020 or fax (212) 642-2069