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- Notes:
- British prisoners practice a scene from a play on stage in the theater at Limburg. Prisoners often organized quality productions to entertain the other POW's in the camp.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Here are examples of two program covers from the prison camp at Doeberitz. The cover on the left is from a theatrical performance of "The Last of the Mohicans," which the prisoners presented on 23 February 1918. The cover on the right is from a souvenir program from the New Doeberitz Empire for a July 1915 production. The smiling British sailor was the symbol of the camp and lived by the motto "Always bright and merry!"
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Like many prison camps, the inmates at Mainz played the roles of women in theatrical productions. This is a drawing of a leading "lady" who stole the hearts of several men in a performance.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This photograph shows the cast of the Jack Harris Pierrot Troupe on stage on the theater at Rennbahn (Muenster II), which served as the basis for the British Social Club. A Pierrot is a character in French pantomine who dressed in a white floppy outfit. The performing troupe included two "ladies" from the prison camp. Theatrical performances were an important social diversion and welcomed entertainment from the dullness of prison camp life.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A game of chess pits a French soldier against a French colonial trooper in a German prison camp. Spectators include French prisoners of war and German soldiers. A British POW naps in his chair while wearing his slippers. Board games helped improve the morale in the barracks by giving the prisoners some mental diversions.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- British prisoners reenact the scene of a drama in the theater at Schweidnitz. Theatrical performances provided the actors, musicians, and stage crew with an opportunity to practice their crafts and the camp population with entertainment.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Two British soldiers and a sailor stand outside of the YMCA Reading Room at Doeberitz. The photograph caption indicates that these men were members of the YMCA camp committee. The room is busy as several POW's look out the window at the photographer. Prisoners enjoyed the availability of books for entertainment and education.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- British prisoners, musicians in the Freigefangenenburger Orchestra (Free Prisoner Citizen Orchestra), pose on stage in front of a woods scene at the prison camp at Frankfurt-am-Main. The orchestra is well equipped with stringed instruments, woodwinds, and percussion and is conducted by Herr Johak Shawski (an assumed name). Most of the musicians are identified with comical names in the caption.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Cast of a theater production pose for this photograph in the prison compound in Doeberitz in the middle of the winter. The actors, including the women, wear a wide range of costumes representing the various nationalities in the camp, in preparation for a fancy dress ball.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- British soldiers and sailors check out the the New Doeberitz Empire's early summer concert series (May 1915) on the bulletin board on the side of a barrack at Doeberitz. These bulletins provided POW's with camp news and official orders.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- British actors pose for a photograph in this scene from a play in the theater at Schweidnitz. Theatricals were a very popular form of entertainment for British prisoners of war in prison camps across Germany during the war.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- British, Russian, French, and Belgian prisoners of war cram into the reading room of the YMCA hall at Goettingen. They have access to books and pre-war magazines in the Association library. To maximize capacity within the hall, the YMCA provided benches, but not tables.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- French, British, and Russian prisoners of war pack the YMCA reading room in Goettingen. To maximize space, there are no tables to make sure that as many prisoners as possible can be accommodated in the reading room.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A British officer sits in his room at Werl, posing for a portrait. His room is well decorated, especially in comparison to facilities available to enlisted men in prison. He is seated at a table, which is covered with a table cloth and a book. The officer has a number of pictures in frames on the table and on the wall, as well as some newspaper clippings.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This drawing shows the symbol of the prison camp at Doeberitz: a British sailor with a mended uniform, holes in his elbows, and barefoot, leaning against a broken anchor with 'ope (hope) as his motto.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- French and British prisoners are engaged in a "cootie hut" outside of their barracks and next to the laundry at Muenster. The POW's had to regularly take their bedding outside for airing to get rid of lice and other vermin. In this camp, prisoners took their wooden bunks outside as well for cleaning. Some prisoners pass the time by playing board games while others simply sit around talking. German authorities were constantly vigilant to prevent the outbreak of epidemics in the densely crowded barracks of enlisted men.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- The prison camp orchestra, composed of British, French, and Russian musicians, pose for a group photograph with their musical instruments at the prison camp at Goettingen. The orchestra performed at the dedication of the new YMCA hall in 1915.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- English non-commissioned officers entertain German scholars, Alois Brandl and Wilhelm Doegen, in their barrack at Quedlinburg. They are enjoying five o'clock tea and the table appears to be well-stocked. The German civilians were part of the Deutsche Kommission which investigated conditions in prison camps.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This portrait of Joe Parsons, a popular entertainer at Doeberitz, dressed as a knight with a broken lance, outside of a barrack.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- The English prisoners of war produced a number of theatrical performances in the theater at Goettingen. In this photograph, four "couples," which include four "young ladies," promenade outdoors.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- British interrnees could participate in a full orchestra in the prison camp at Ruhleben. Among the prisoners there were a number of accomplished musicians and composers. Concerts provided by the orchestra provided the camp population with a diversion from their problems and homesickness.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- In this drawing, Lt. Milton Hayes plays the lead role in a Mainz theatrical production. Theater productions helped prisoners pass their time in prison both as spectators and performers.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- The prison orchestra at Doeberitz, composed of British prisoners, is about to give an outdoor concert in front of a barrack. Prisoners are equipped with a wide range of musical instruments and have wooden music stands, most likely produced in the prison carpentry shop. Note the camp bulletin board on the wall behind the orchestra which announced news and orders.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- The program cover for a New Doeberitz Empire performance in November 1915, which features an English soldier instead of the traditional sailor as the camp's mascot.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries