From 1944-46, roughly 1,100 German prisoners of war were held in the remote north woods of Upper Michigan at five POW branch camps. Across the United States, about 375,000 Germans were captives at more than 500 branch camps and 155 base camps. But despite these staggering numbers, sixty years after the fact, the story of their captivity remained largely untold.

  That was before production of the award-winning documentary film The Enemy in Our Midst: Nazi Prisoner of War Camps in Michigan's Upper Peninsula by independent filmmakers John Pepin and Jackie Chandonnet.

  After its release in August 2004, the film received the "Award of Merit," the Historical Society of Michigan's highest honor. The following summer, the documentary received a Good News Award, in recognition of work that affirms "positive values and uplifts the human spirit."

  Today, the film continues to attract the interest of those wanting to know more about this strange chapter in Michigan history--an offbeat period when, for twenty-six months, the local populace first became acquainted with "the enemy that was in our midst."