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- Notes:
- French, Belgian, and British prisoners of war sit in a field which will become the prison camp at Minden in October 1914. The Germans have erected posts and hung barbed-wire around the perimeter of the facility, but the prisoners are living in the tents in the background. The POW's provided the bulk of the labor for the construction of the barracks and other buildings needed to support prison camp operations. War prisoners were kept busy in prison camp construction work early in the war due to the massive influx of Allied POW's into Germany.
- Date Created:
- 1914-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- French prisoners construct the barbed-wire enclosure which will surround their prison camp. Two POW's hold the reel of barbed-wire while another holds the wire in place with a pair of pliers. A civilian and his assist will nail the barbed-wire to the post.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- French prisoners are busy in constructio work carrying dirt in wheel barrows at the pond outside of the perimeter security fence at Minden I. They are probably involved in drainage work or shoring up the bank of the pond.
- Date Created:
- 1916-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- With German labor in short supply and Allied prisoners of war in abundance, the Germans used POW labor to construct prison camps during the war. Two French prisoners work on the perimeter fence; one holds the wire in place with a pair of pliers while the other nails the wire to the post. A civilian watches the activity with interest.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- The Germans regularly used prison labor to improve the region's transportation infrastructure. French POW's are constructing a narrow gauge field railway at Minden I, under the supervision of German guards.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A labor detachment of French prisoners from Minden are hard at work on a road bed outside of the prison compound. Some of the prisoners are wearing wooden shoes, which often had information about the POW's barracks and serial number. The declining supply of leather in Germany resulted in the distribution of wooden shoes when boots or shoes were no longer available for POWs.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
