A Christmas visit to the internationally known NATIVITY SCENE at Algona,
Iowa, is a custom that many people in Iowa and surrounding states have
established for their families and continue each year.
It may be difficult…but
imagine being thousands of miles from home at Christmas.
Your country is at war and you are a prisoner in a foreign land. This was the situation with 3200 men in the Prisoner of War
Camp near Algona in 1944, during World War II.
Eduard Kaib, an architect
and non-commissioned officer of the German Army, was lonely and felt the
isolation deeply as he thought about home, family, services in his church
and happy festivities of the holiday.
This loneliness and the need were the inspiration for the NATIVITY
SCENE.
NOTE: Mr. Kaib, who had
lived in Bielefeld, Germany, died May 24, 1988.
He was a peace-loving man who left an on-going legacy to Algona, a
town in Iowa. In the spirit
in which it was given, the NATIVITY SCENE will continue to be shared
during each year during the Advent Season.
The SCENE was begun in
the fall of 1944. Kaib and
his friends who were also prisoners, worked many long hours to create the
sacred designs. Made of
concrete on a wire frame and finished with hand carving in plaster, the
SCENE has considerable intricate detail and is highly realistic.
Materials for the figures, built to scale at half life-size, were
purchased by the prisoners with their own money.
The infant Jesus lies in
a straw-filled crib in the center of the SCENE, with Joseph and Mary and
kneeling Shepherds on either side. Wisemen
approach the manger with their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Behind them, the camels are led by their drivers while shepherds
are seated around a campfire listening to the glad tidings from the angels
that, ‘A Savior has been born in Bethlehem’.
You can hear the water as it rushes down a stream into a tiny lake
and the town of Bethlehem appears in the background.
Kaib and the men finally
completed their project and had it ready for display in December, 1945,
more than a year after it was begun.
It was set up on the edge of the camp west of Algona where it was
easily accessible for the public to view.
A tradition had begun!
The people of Algona were
very impressed with the beauty of the NATIVITY SCENE.
When the war ended and the Prisoner of War Camp disbanded in 1946,
the Junior Chamber of Commerce requested the SCENE remain and be made a
permanent exhibit each Christmas.
Mr. Kaib and his
co-workers helped reassemble the figures in a new location, a building
repaired and repainted for this purpose.
Lighting was installed and a heating plant added.
Recorded voices representing celestial choir singing ‘Silent
Night, Holy Night’ and other carols, add special meaning to the spirit
of the Holy SCENE.
The
Men’s Club of the First United Methodist Church in Algona have sponsored
the NATIVITY SCENE since December of 1958.
They received legal sponsorship in 1963 and supply attendants
during the holiday season. A
new frame building was built just south of the Armory on the Kossuth
County Fairgrounds on the south edge of the city. The new building was made possible by church members and
friends, along with many hours of labor contributed by members of the Men’s
Club.
The story of the SCENE
and the inspiration behind it, has been printed in many national magazines
and newspapers, told on television and radio and related from person to
person throughout the years. Several
thousand visit the SCENE each year, having come from all 50 states and
many foreign nations.
By arrangement with Kaib
and his friends, no charge is made for admission.
The cost of maintaining and improving the SCENE comes from
donations.
Although Eduard Kaib and
his co-workers returned to their homes in Germany in 1946, they remain
interested in the SCENE. Mr.
Kaib and his family returned to Algona during the Christmas season in
1968.
Theo Stapf, son of
Wilhelm Staph who was a cook at the Camp from 1944 until it was disbanded,
visited here in June of 1983. His
father was 75 at the time and a retired contractor who had specialized in
stone masonry.
Eduard Kaib’s son,
Norbert, was in Algona in June of 1985, his first visit since coming here
with his family. A reception
for him was held at the Nativity building. Norbert returned again bringing
his family so they could see the scene his father created.
Werner Meinel returned to his home in Germany in 1946 with the other prisoners of war. He returned later to live in Plymouth, Massachusetts where he was a freelance commercial photographer (Mr. Meinel died in August, 1992.) In 1963, while returning to his home from Alaska, he stopped in Algona to satisfy a longing to once again stand on the ground where he had been a prisoner. It was then that he learned the NATIVITY SCENE was still being shown each yeqr. Impressed with the friendliness of Algona residents who helped him locate the prison site and showed him the SCENE, Meinel sent a prize-winning photograph to Algona to hang in the NATIVITY SCENE building. The photo is titled ‘CORRELATION’, and Meinel describes the beauty of the two white swans flying side by side against a deep blue sky, as symbolizing the peace.
The NATIVITY SCENE has
become a living expression of the ageless message of the Christmas story…’On
earth peace, good will toward men.’
The artwork for the
drawing of the NATIVITY MANGER SCENE, was done by Gary Kelley, an Algona
native and artist, in 1994. Mr.
Kelley has a studio in Cedar Falls, IA.
(The above description is from a
brochure and is courtesy of the First United Methodist Men’s Club of
Algona, Iowa.) The NATIVITY
SCENE can be viewed, free of charge, beginning the first Sunday in
December, daily from
2:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. and Sundays and Christmas Day from 12:00 noon-9:00
p.m. Special showings and
tour groups can be arranged by request.
Write Methodist Men’s Club, First United Methodist Church,
201 East Nebraska Street, Algona, Iowa, 50511, or 515-295-7241 or
Fax 515-295-7242.