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- Notes:
- These French prisoners are tending sheep and cows. This herd is probably part of an unidentified prison camp's food supply system.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Two British prisoners of war plane the bark off wooden logs as a German guard in a Pickelhaube watches their work.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A Romanian prisoner Arbeitskommando (labor detachment) loads a barge with lumber and boxes on the Danube river under the supervision of German troops.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Russian prisoners construct a war memorial for fallen soldiers in the town square of an unidentified German town under the direction of German guards.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- British, Russian, and French cobblers work in their shop at Doeberitz making new and repairing old shoes and boots. These shops offered important services to prisoners and offered young POW's an opportunity to learn a trade.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A group of Russian, and a few French, prisoners from Langensalza are ready to work in the fields under the supervision of a German NCO and a Landsturm guard. The Russian POW's in front of the wagon to the left carry shovels and pitch forks and await their orders.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Russian prisoners in an Arbeitskommando (labor detachment) turn over the top soil on the moorland of Loecknitz under the supervision of a German guard. This labor detachment worked out of the prison camp in Stettin, which was less than two miles away. Allied prisoners replace German farmers, who had been called to arms, to support the empire's agricultural economy.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- French prisoners carry in a load of fire wood on their backs for fuel to heat and run the prison in an unidentified camp. A German guard stands at the right.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- French prisoners and German staff members prepare dinner in the huge cookers in the background of the photograph of the camp kitchen at Guetersloh. The food will be served in the dining hall in the large pots sitting on the table. Mass production of rations was essential to feed large numbers of prisoners three times a day.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- German guards escort a column of British prisoners assigned to an Arbeitskommando somewhere in Germany early in the war.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A labor detachment of British prisoners plane the bark off trees and dig trenches under the direction of German guards early in the war. This work was illegal under the Hague Conventions since the labor supported the German war effort.
- Date Created:
- 1914-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Five British prisoners of war sit on a bench in front of the store room at Limburg peeling potatoes, under the watchful gaze of a German non-commissioned officer. The store room appears full given the bags of supplies behind the window. Note that the British prisoners wear identification bands on their upper left arms.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A detachment of British prisoners of war dig a drainage ditch in a field outside the prison camp at Teltow. German Landsturm guards keep an eye on the workers. This area was susceptible to flooding and proper drainage was important to increase agricultural productivity.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- French carpenters at work in the joiners shop in the prison camp at Cassel under the supervision of a German NCO. A pile of benches are stacked on top of the work bench and a guitar hangs from the rafters, demonstrating the talent of these carpenters. Camp carpenters constructed the furniture and other wood products needed inside the prison camp. These workshops also provided training for apprentices which provided them with the opportunity to learn post-war trades.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- French prisoners are busy turning over a flower bed in preparation for spring planting outside of the prison camp at Frankfurt-am-Main. They will probably plant food crops to meet the growing food shortages in Germany. These crops might be used to supplement the prison camp's food supplies or the POW's may be working for a private farmer. They work under the watchful eye of a German Landsturm sentry to the right.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A labor detachment of French prisoners of war march down some stairs under guard from the prison camp in Landshut on their way to their daily work. Children observe the men from the grass next to the house.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Russian prisoners clear the rubble away from a church in Augustowo in Russian Poland under the direction of German guards.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A labor detachment of Russian prisoners of war from Doeberitz pull a wagon along a snowy road. Given the time of year, the POW's may have been sent to collect firewood, a fuel critical for prison camp operations during the winter. The German Army's demand for horses required prisoners to pull loads to support the camp.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- French cobblers and tailors work on repairing shoes and clothing in a work shop at Limburg. A German non-commissioned officer oversees the work from the back of the room. The prisoners provided most of the labor needed to keep the prison camp running smoothly and efficiently. Some POW's became apprentices and learned a trade working in such workshops during the war.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A group of Russian prisoners, under Landsturm guard, await their marching orders in Stralkowo. They have their belongings on the ground at their feet and will probably be assigned to a labor detachment or work camp in the area.
- Date Created:
- 1916-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A British labor detachment, composed of English and Scottish POWs, pulls a wagon, with a German soldier on top, to work in the fields. A German woman on the side of the road has caught the attention of some of the prisoners.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- The meat larder at the Lamsdorf prison camp is full of pork, beef, sausages, and other foodstuffs early in the war (this photograph was taken in 1915). A German cook and an Allied POW work in the storeroom in preparation for the next meal. The Allied blockade of Germany placed a heavy burden on the Germans' ability to feed prisoners of war within a year.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Russian prisoners of war plant seeds in a newly ploughed field on a German farm. Prisoners engaged in agricultural work were not paid as well as POW's who worked in factories but farm workers enjoyed better meals in relation to their comrades back in the prison camps.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Drawing of German troops collecting and deporting Belgian women and children to labor camps in Germany in 1917 as a priest looks on from the steps of his church. The Germans relied heavily on conscripted labor to support their war industries and did not have access to overseas labor, due to the Allied blockade.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- British prisoners of war work on a German farm, turning over the soil and sifting stones from the dirt. A Landsturm guard watches their work in the background.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A French officer tastes the day's soup in the camp kitchen at Limburg, as Russian and German cooks prepare for the distribution of the meal to the prisoners. Feeding all of the men in a prison camp on a daily basis was a massive undertaking in spite of wartime food shortages.
- Date Created:
- 1916-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Serbian prisoners of war crush rocks and work on a military road construction project under German guard in 1915.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Two British sailors saw down a tree while another British prisoner of war holds an axe during some winter work. Two German guards look on and observe their progress.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Russian prisoners clean and sweep the streets of a Polish town under the supervision of a Landsturm guard. The German occupation of tsarist towns led to improved sanitation and reconstruction employing prisoner labor.
- Date Created:
- 1916-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Russian prisoners on a labor detachment build a huge pile of hay for winter fodder. Both the Germans and Allies relied on horses for transportation and cavalry warfare. In the insert is a photograph of a "typical" Russian prisoner.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A group of Russian prisoners and German soldiers rest for a moment from their work in constructing a second hospital ward at Wasbek. They stand on the frame of the new facility with the building material in the foreground. Note the traditional tree adorning the roof of a new building under construction.
- 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:
- Five French prisoners, holding flower pots, pose with a German Landsturm guard, in a garden outside of the prison camp at Frankfurt-am-Main. They are preparing for planting in Spring 1915.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A group of Russian prisoners load a wagon full of apples at a market at Frankfurt-am-Main for transportation to the prison camp. These apples will be pressed into juice and stored in the camp. A German Landsturm sentry stands to the left.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- An Arbeitskommando of British prisoners of war march through the main gate of a German prison camp with shovels over their shoulders in parade fashion. Some children watch the parade to the left.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- French prisoners spread fertilizer on a field with manure from the horse drawn wagon outside of the prison at Friedrichsfeld. The POW's are spreading guano in the field in preparation for spring planting. Prisoner labor was critical in supporting the German war economy.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- 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 prisoners work in a carpentry shop under a German non-commissioned officer in an unidentified prison camp. Some of the prisoners' work stand on the shelves or hang from the ceiling including a guitar, violin, and picture frame. The German coat of arms is featured at the top right and the British coat of arms is at the top left.
- Date Created:
- 1916-01-01T00:00:00Z
- 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 labor detachment of British prisoners of war march through a German town on their way to a work assignment. Civilians watch their progress from the sidewalk and follow them on a bicycle.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- British prisoners of war on a labor detachment march along a snowy road in support of a supply train. One POW is pulling a cart filled with boxes, which may have been parcels for the prisoners. The heavily laden wagon in front is also pulled by several prisoners. POW's often had to march to the railroad depot to load wagons with supplies and parcels for the prison camp.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Russian and French prisoners pull a wagon full of correspondence and parcels from the train station to the prison camp at Merseberg. Horses were in short supply in Germany after the war started, while POW labor was plentiful. Prisoners took over the job of pulling wagons whenever possible.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- While a Russian prisoner operates a sewing machine, a group of French and Russian tailors work on clothing outside of their workshop at Koenigsbrueck under the supervision of German guards.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- French and Russian prisoners work on shoes and boots in the cobbler shop at Merseberg. The men are busy making new shops and boots or repairing worn out footwear. These skilled laborers provided an important service in the prison camps and unskilled prisoners gained the opportunity to learn a new trade during their captivity. German guards stand in the back of the shop.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A group of prisoners on a labor detachment are on the march under the supervision of German guards at Muensingen. POW's often worked outside of the prison camp on a variety of jobs to replace mobilized German labor. In some cases, labor detachments were sent on permanent detail to farms, mines, or factories.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- French and Belgian prisoners of war at Duelmen line up in the morning under the scrutiny of German non-commissioned officers as they prepare to march off to work. The photograph also shows some of the wooden barracks in the prison camp.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Russian prisoners turn over a field with shovels on an Arbeitskommando for cultivation in preparation for Spring planting as German guards watch their progress.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Serbian prisoners of war clean the streets of a German town with shovels and brooms under the gaze of a large German guard.
- 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:
- A French prisoner feeds the chickens at a prison camp in Germany with a German guard. The chickens provided eggs for the kitchen and meat for the soup. The work is not overly stressful as the French soldier smokes a pipe.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A labor detachment of Russian prisoners from Wasbek is busy digging a trench and felling trees under the supervision of a German officer (he is holding plans in the center of the photograph). The Germans kept prisoners occupied on a wide range of jobs to help support the local economy. Trenches were important for flood control and irrigation to help support agriculture.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A group of Russian prisoners sweep the street and replace cobblestones on the town square under Landsturm guard. The town's location was not identified in the photograph.
- Date Created:
- 1916-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Prisoners on a ferry prepare to work on repairing the banks of the Neisse river in Silesia in support of a flood control project.
- Date Created:
- 1916-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A small squad of French prisoners march off under German guard, possibly on a work detail.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A scene in the kitchen of the officers' prison camp in Hannoverisch Muenden. The kitchen staff stands in the background with German non-commissioned officers, Allied enlisted men (who served as the cooks), and several French and British officers. Note the conventional stove in the kitchen instead of the huge pressure cookers designed for mass food production found in enlisted men's camps. Loaves of bread are stacked on the shelves in the back of the kitchen.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- 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
- Notes:
- A British prisoner of war adds a shovel load of coal to the fire which heats the stove where other British POW's prepare a meal under the direction of a German non-commissioned officer. The amount of soup prepared in the kitchen at Limburg is reflected in the size of the ladle and stirrer held by the prisoners. Meals had to be mass produced to meet the nutritional requirements of prison camps three times a day.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- German troops round up all of the male inhabitants between the ages of fifteen and sixty in the French village of Guiscard (Oise) on 16 February 1917 for transportation to Germany. The Germans used some of these men as hostages but most, especially those with special skills, became laborers.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Russian POWs from Wasbek work on a labor detachment clearing brushwood and hauling down trees with ropes. Note the Russian prisoner high in the tree in the center of the photograph. German troops guard the work detail to prevent escapes.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Russian prisoners of war work on wood carving and wicker projects outside their workshop in the prison camp at Aschaffenburg under the supervision of German non-commissioned officers. The workers have displayed examples of their handiwork on the table and on shelves, including a chair, baskets, and an ornate house.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- French prisoners work outside their carpentry shop under the direction of a German non-commissioned officer at Darmstadt. They are possibly working on furniture or other projects designed for camp use. POW labor provided services to keep prison camps running.
- Date Created:
- 1916-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries