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- Notes:
- With the German imperial flag waving to the left, this photograph shows the entrance to the prison camp at Zossen-Wuensdorf. This watch tower was typical in most German prison camps and played an important role in camp security since sentries could keep track of activities within the facility, including escape attempts.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This photograph shows the "tent prison" (Zeltlager) where some Allied prisoners lived during the construction of the prison camp at Guestrow during the winter of 1914-1915. Some barracks, in the background, have already been constructed. The Germans expected the war to be short in duration and did not anticipate the incarceration of millions of Allied prisoners. As Entente POW's poured into Germany, the prisoners went to work constructing prison facilities. The assignment of prisoners to tents, especially during the winter, led to a number of protests from Allied governments.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Russian prisoners stand in front of the central watch tower at Crossen-an-der-Oder. The Germans set up a defensive position at the base of the watch tower which included a number of field guns designed to allow the guards to maintain control of the camp in the event of a general rebellion. German officers stand in the defensive position while German NCO's organize the Russian prisoners. The central guard tower provided a commanding view of the entire facility.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Interned civilians pass their afternoon watching a game of chess between two prisoners on lounge chairs in the prison camp at Ruhleben. The camp fence is behind the spectators and a German guard watches from a stand between the wires in the background.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This photograph provides a general view of the prison camp at Crossen-an-der-Oder in 1915 at the opening of the YMCA building in this camp. The photo shows the main gate to the camp, the central watch tower, and the various buildings that composed the facility.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A group of Allied civilian internees return to the prison at Traunstein from their Sunday morning service at a local church. The civilians are under guard by German soldiers and Landsturm. While some prison camps had chapels or churches within the facilities for war prisoners, some camps allowed prisoners, who gave their parole not to escape, to visit local churches.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A German sentry stands guard next to one of the artillery pieces in the prison compound at Guestrow. The Germans designed prison camps with security in mind. By establishing artillery emplacements, the Germans could concentrate superior fire power throughout the camp in the event of a mass rebellion by the prisoners.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Three German soldiers wait by the railroad tracks next to the prison camp at Wahn for the mail to arrive. One can see the prison compound and barracks across the tracks, behind the barbed-wire fence. The train that brings supplies to the camp also carries the facility's mail and parcels.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A British prisoner-of-war attempts to shinny down a drain pipe outside the Citadel in an escape attempt, under the nose of a German Landsturm sentry. Escapes from citadels and fortresses were difficult due to pre-war construction which emphasized security, but did occur from time to time.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Newly captured British prisoners march through the main gate at Muenster and into captivity for the remainder of the war. German officers supervise the arrival and will soon introduce the new facility to these war prisoners.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Interned British civilians enter the main compound at Ruhleben through the gates after an afternoon of sports and recreation on the race track.
- Date Created:
- 1916-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This photograph shows the main gate of the prison camp at Celle, showing two sentry stands and the prison barracks. While Allied officers enjoyed the luxuries of living in a castle at Celle, Allied enlisted men were assigned to this facility.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- In this interesting wood block print, a Russian prisoner holding two birds is conversing through the camp fence with a German woman and a boy, under the scrutiny of a German guard. The Russian prisoner and German woman appear to be conducting some kind of transaction that involves the exchange of the poultry. Prisoners had time to produce a wide range of goods that could be bartered, although the process would not usually be conducted so openly in public.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A German Landsturm sentry walks his rounds along the prison fence at night at Muensingen in this wood block print. The prison guard in most camps consisted of older or moderately wounded men who could not be deployed in front line units. By the end of the war, the Germans employed women and Russians (the Bolsheviks surrendered in February 1918) as sentries in many prison camps to maintain security.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- An aerial view part of the prison camp at Doeberitz showing many of the wooden barracks, administrative buildings, camp fence, and a large tent. The tent may be temporary and would eventually be replaced by a building constructed by the POW's.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A group of children leave the women's compound of the prison camp at Holzminden accompanied by a Landsturm guard. They pass by a sentry's guard box, which marks the entrance to the women's section of the camp and may be enroute to school or some other activity. Interned civilians were divided into two compounds at Holzminden: one for men and the other for women. The sexes were segregated at night but the gates were opened during the day.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This drawing depicts a British prisoner-of-war looking forlornly through the camp fence guarded by a German Landsturm sentry at Mainz. War prisoners succumbed to "barbed-wire" disease which was caused by confinement in captivity for an unknown period of time.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This general view of the prison barracks and compound at Wasbek is from a guard tower. A labor detachment of Russian prisoners enters the main gate after a day's work outside the facility. A German guard counts the POW's as they enter the camp to detect any escapes.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- British and French prisoners stand at attention during roll call in the prison compound at Wahn. German officers and non-commissioned officers stand in the center of the first row counting the prisoners and addressing sick calls. The prisoners stand in front of their barrack. Maintaining accurate counts of prisoners was critical for security and labor assignments.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This drawing shows the "Bird Cage," a building near the tea house which housed pro-German British civilians. They lived segregated from the other prisoners in the camp at Ruhleben because of their political sympathies. The German government considered these men enemy aliens, although many spent most of their lives in Germany.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- French prisoners of war unload packages from a railroad freight car at the railroad station at Muensingen under the gaze of a German sentry. Packages from home and relief agencies supplemented the food supplies of Allied prisoners and made their incarceration more bearable.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This water color painting depicts the post office at Muensingen. The post office afforded Allied POW's a link with the outside world as prisoners awaited word from home and loved ones through letters.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A squad of German guards stand at attention on the race course at the prison camp at Ruhleben. Graf von Schwerin, the camp commandant, and Graf von Taube join the photograph.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A delegation of German doctors, French doctors and corpsmen, and a French nurse visit the hospital at Wetzlar. They stand in front of the hospital ward while prisoner patients stand behind a barbed wire fence. Red Cross inspections became a common practice in prison camps to ensure the best possible care of POW's under the care of the belligerent powers.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A labor detachment of French prisoners assemble in the morning in the prison compound at Weitmoos in preparation to march off to work under German guard. The photograph was taken from the guard tower. Allied POW labor was critical to support the German war economy, especially after the army mobilized German males for military service.
- Date Created:
- 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Allied prisoners muster in front of their barracks in the prison compound at Dyrotz for a roll call. English prisoners stand to the right, Russians in the middle, and French POW's to the right. On the lower right hand side of the photograph are the wagons and tools used to support the prison camp on a daily basis.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- French and Russian prisoners practice a fire drill at the prison camp at Erfurt with the camp's fire engine. Two prisoners man the pumps to the left while the other POW's have run out the hoses. Several German non-commissioned officers supervise the exercise.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This is a general view of the four-story prison facility for officers at Heidelberg. The photograph clearly shows the three tennis courts and exercise ground within the compound. A tennis match is underway in the center court. German sentries guard the perimeter of the fence at the bottom of the photo.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- British officers line up outside the Citadel on the parade grounds for their daily roll call by a German non-commissioned officer. Roll calls helped guards maintain security by identifying absent war prisoners. Frequent roll calls, especially at night, led to POW complaints of abuse. At Mainz, however, the British officers appear to take the roll call in stride.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Allied prisoners of war had strict orders forbidding fraternization with German guards. There were few restrictions, however, on POW attempts at improving their relations with guard dogs. In this drawing, a British officer and a Russian officer offer some scraps to a guard dog, while a German sentry stands watch at the compound fence.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- A stout German non-commissioned officer counts off Russian prisoners during a roll call at Buetow. Note the wooden barrack under construction in the background. The POWs were responsible for building new quarters inside the prison camp.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- While self-government was the foundation of life and camp discipline at the prison camp at Ruhleben, the Germans still spied on the internees to find out what they were doing. In this drawing, a German guard peers through the keyhole to watch men play cards by candlelight.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A Belgian war prisoner and a German guard paint scenes in the prison camp compound in Celle. Prisoners had considerable time on their hands and art was a means to pass their days.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- With German troops in the foreground and sentries ringing the prisoners, several hundred Russian POW's assemble for a photograph in the prison compound at Guben. The Germans often divided up prisons into several compounds for security purposes.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A stream of Belgian prisoners of war march through Muenster on their way to the prison camp under German guard. Many of the POW's still have their belongings which will be useful to them during their captivity.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- British prisoners of war participate in compulsory exercise in this drawing of the prison compound at Muenster, including wounded POW's, under the supervision of German guards. Two prisoners are busy cutting firewood to the right; behind them stands a one-story wooden barrack found in many German prison camps.
- Date Created:
- 1916-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- French, Belgian, and Russian prisoners assemble in the prison compound at Neumuenster for roll call in front of the camp barracks. The presence of armed German guards suggest that these men will serve in labor detachments outside the facility during the day. A group of Allied medics are assembled in the middle of the photograph with their supplies.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- British enlisted prisoners participate in the YMCA Sports Day competition at the prison camp at Cellelager before a large crowd of spectators of Russian POW's and German officers. Note the construction of a new barrack in the background.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A German sentry stands watch on an elevated guard house platform between the wires at Langensalza. From this vantage point, the guard can see most of the prison compound, even at night. In the background, a few POW's walk through the compound towards their lighted barrack.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- French prisoners stand at attention while a German non-commissioned officer calls roll call under the watch of a German guard at Muensingen in this wood block print. The Germans announced work details and maintained counts on the number of POW's in each unit, especially to detect possible escapes.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A German sentry, depicted by his shadow in the snow, intercepts two British internees attempting to scale the fence at the prison camp at Ruhleben. One prisoner, still carrying his satchel, hangs helplessly from the top of a post, while the other sits in the snow.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This photograph shows a view of the prison camp at Crossen-an-der-Oder from the central watch tower, showing the church and the site of the future YMCA building the American Association planned to construct. The POW's have already built several barracks and a church inside the compound. The photograph shows several of the camp's barracks and buildings under construction.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- German officers give the non-commissioned officers the password for the day for distribution to the sentries at the prison camp at Guben. Security was a major priority at prison camps and guards would shoot if a challenge was not met with the correct countersign.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Despite the peace treaty between Russia and Germany, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (3 March 1918), Russian POW's continued to languish in German prison camps due to the Russian Civil War. Russian prisoners could not return home because the Allies did not want to swell the ranks of the Red Army and rail transportation through Poland was cut off due to the Russo-Polish War. The American YMCA sent War Prisoners' Aid secretaries back into Germany to provide relief for Russian POW's and M.V. Arnold was assigned to the prison camp at Parchim to restore welfare services. This program, developed by the Russian POW's to honor Arnold's work, depicts various scenes in the prison camp: food provided by the Association, a Christmas tree, a boxing match, a view of a camp barrack, and a German sentry guarding the fence. Note the Red Star at the top of the program. Bolshevik agitators infiltrated many of the German prison camps especially after German authorities captured Red Army troops that chose internment in East Prussia rather than decimation by the Polish Army during the Russo-Polish War.
- Date Created:
- 1920-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A photograph from the watch tower in Buetow provides a general view of the prison camp, including the wooden barracks (note the barrack under construction in the background). The Russian prisoners have dug trenches to store the mountains of potatoes in preparation for the long winter. They are working under the direction of German non-commissioned officers. Potatoes were the primary source of nutrition for Allied POWs in prison camps.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This was the main entrance to the prison camp at Goettingen, which is next to the prison administration building where the commandant had his office (to the left). Some of the camp's barracks can be seen behind the sentry post.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- As Austro-German forces mounted a counter-offensive in Galacia in 1915, droves of Russian prisoners arrived at German prisons. Hundreds of recently captured Russian POW's disembark from their railway cars at the train station at Lamsdorf while German guards watch attentively behind a pile of logs. The railroad system provided all the necessities for daily life for a prison camp, ranging from food to supplies to prisoners-of-war.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This French prisoner sits in a railway car under the watch of a German Landsturm sentry while en route to the prison camp at Muensingen.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- 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.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries