In the United States, after Italy surrendered to the Allies and declared war on Germany, POWs were not strictly held to the work requirements that prohibited them from working on projects directly related to the war. Plans were made to send the Italian military back to war, but ultimately they were treated as POWs instead but able to work on the war effort. About 34,000 Italian POWs were active in 1944 and 1945 on 66 military installations, performing supportive work such as quartermaster, repair, and engineering.