The YMCA Band at Rastatt poses for a group photograph. The Association provided the musical instruments for the American prisoners to form a band to entertain imprisoned war prisoners and internees.
This is a photograph of the "Main Street" of the prison camp at Meschede, probably taken in the Winter of 1914-1915. It provides a good view of the barracks lining the square and the hills surrounding the camp. German guards observe the activities from a bridge over a gate. Note that in addition to French prisoners, there are German officers and a number of civilians, who may be Red Cross or neutral embassy inspectors.
A French prisoner peels a pile of potatoes in the kitchen at Muensingen in this wood cut. Potatoes were easy to boil in the large camp ovens and provided an important source of starch in POW diets. A cat enjoys sitting in the kitchen behind the prisoner.
British internees wait outside the parcel post office window to pick up packages from their families or friends. The Germans had to inspect the parcels for contraband before turning the packages over to the prisoners.
As a punishment camp for Allied officers, usually men who had attempted to escape from other camps, there were not many options for prisoners for recreation. This French prisoner is passing time by drawing sketches of battle scenes to decorate the walls of the ward at Cologne (Koeln).
This was the dining hall officers used in the prison camp at Heidelberg. Each of the tables is covered with a white table cloth and each place is set with a bowl, plate, and cup. Note the bottles of wine on the back table and on the sill of the rear window.
A Russian Orthodox priest in vestments holds an outdoor divine service in the prison compound at Goerlitz in front of a make-shift altar. Wooden barracks stand in the background of the photograph.
Fresh-baked bread rolls out of the oven in the prison bakery at Guetersloh. A prisoner holds a loaf of bread. Bread was served with all of the meals in German prison camps and mass production was essential to maintain daily caloric requirements.
