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1. Parcel Distribution at Minden

Notes:
French and Belgian prisoners receive "care packages" outside of the barracks at Minden I. The parcels are distributed by POW Red Cross workers, laboring under the direction of German non-commissioned officers. Great efforts were taken by the Red Cross to ensure that these parcels, sent by Allied governments, were received by the POWs and not lost enroute.
Date Created:
1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:
Western Michigan University. Libraries

2. Prison Camp Construction at Minden

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

3. Construction Work at Minden

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

4. Kitchen Staff at Minden

Notes:
A view of the kitchen in Minden II, with the German non-commissioned officer supervisors in the foreground and the French POW kitchen staff in the rear. The day's menu (21 July 1915) is written on a chalk board. Breakfast consisted of coffee; lunch featured beef and potato soup; and dinner offered herring and potatoes.
Date Created:
1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:
Western Michigan University. Libraries

5. Interior of a Barrack at Minden

Notes:
Photograph of the interior of a barrack, probably housing French prisoners, in the prison camp at Minden. As demonstrated by the property hanging on the walls of the dormitory, POW's brought few possessions with them into captivity. Conditions were cramped, although POWs enjoyed individual beds at Minden instead of double- or triple-decked bunks constructed in other camps.
Date Created:
1916-01-01T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:
Western Michigan University. Libraries

6. Kitchen Operaitons at Minden

Notes:
French POW's prepare a meal under the supervision of German non-commissioned officers at Minden. All of the meals were mass produced in pressure cookers for the camp's inmates. As a result, prisoners dined on a variety of soups and boiled dishes.
Date Created:
1916-01-01T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:
Western Michigan University. Libraries

7. Field Railway Work at Minden

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

8. Road Construction Work at Minden

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

9. Barrack Interior at Minden

Notes:
Interior view of a barrack in Minden I, which highlights the beds and possessions of a wide range of Allied prisoners. French, Belgian, and Russian POWs, as well as some interned civilians, lived communally in these sleeping accommodations. Some of the POWs are eating their dinners at the table at the right. Rations for each barrack were distributed at the camp kitchen on a barrack unit basis and served to the barrack inhabitants at Minden. This avoided the necessity of long quenes as individual war prisoners waited for their rations and sped up the feeding process.
Date Created:
1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:
Western Michigan University. Libraries