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- Notes:
- This photograph provides a panoramic view of the prison camp at Ohrdruf. It clearly shows the prison camp barracks, the wire fence (with a German sentry on guard duty), and the Thueringian hills in the background.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Two prisoners of war walk along a path outside of the hospital ward at Goettingen. The lazaret was located on the periphery of most camps and separated by fences so that in the event of the outbreak of a communicable disease, the ward could be more easily isolated from the general camp population.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- 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 provides a view of the barges and barracks at the north end of the prison camp at Danzig on the Vistula River. Prisoners unload planks from barges tied to the docks near the prison camp. The Germans housed some Allied POW's in the barges on the river bank.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- The French orchestra performs an afternoon concert for recuperating sick and wounded prisoners of war in a garden outside of the hospital ward at Goettingen. The civilian standing to the extreme left, talking to the wounded Russian soldier is probably Archibald C. Harte.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- A general view of the prison camp from the watch tower or water tower at Darmstadt. French prisoners mill about the central street of the camp amid the wooden barracks.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- An outbreak of typhus or cholera in a crowded prison camp could quickly result in a raging epidemic. German medical authorities isolated newly arriving prisoners and identified soldiers with infectious diseases. Russian and Romanian troops were the most notorious as carriers of typhus and cholera. The doctors sent sick patients into quarantine in special typhus/cholera barracks, such as the buildings shown here at Lamsdorf. Recovering patients are getting some air outside of the barracks in their special compound.
- Date Created:
- 1916-01-01T00:00:00Z
- 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 depicts a panoramic view of the prison camp at Soltau and identifies the two compounds, the kitchens, and the Roman Catholic church. Most of the barracks in the camp are the typical one-story wooden buildings found in many German prison camps. An unfinished building stands in the lower left hand corner. The guns on the perimeter of the camp ensured camp security. The Germans divided larger prison camps into compounds for better security and to take advantage of economies of scale. Only one railway line was needed to transport POWs and supplies to the facility and one large kitchen could feed all of the inmates. The compound system made it easier to keep track of POWs, divide hostile elements, and better control the camp population.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- Two Allied officers enter the entrance to the prison building at Wiesa bei Annaberg, a facility located in the Erzbirge in Saxony. The walkways are well tended with flowers and the YMCA constructed a chapel for Allied POW's at Wiesa.
- 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:
- This is the back of the prison camp visitation permit Archibald C. Harte received from the German Ministry of War. The permit provides a general physical description of Harte, including his age, height, hair color, eye color, and distinguishing characteristics as well as his signature.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- The British internees at Ruhleben administed internal affairs inside of the facility. These men served as policemen to provide security inside the prison camp. The British were strongly opposed to German guards patrolling inside the camp.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- 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
- Notes:
- British prisoners of war stand about the compound at the prison camp at Doeberitz early in the war. They appear to be undergoing some kind of interrogation or registration with the seated civilian. The prisoners are wearing the pre-war field hats British soldiers wore before the army issued helmets.
- Date Created:
- 1914-01-01T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- Photo of four German officers who ran the prison camp at Ruhleben walking through the compound. They include, from left to right, Graf von Taube (administration), Graf von Schwerin (commandant), and two prison camp censors, Rittmeister von Brocken and Graf von Hochberg.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- 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 photograph provides a general view of the prison camp at Celle from an old artillery park. While these cannon can no longer provide service on the front lines, their presence near the prison camp suggests a concern for security, especially in the even of a prison camp riot.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Prisoners maintained pig stys along the perimeter fence between the compounds at Soltau. The POWs tended the pigs and other livestock to enhance the bland quality of their regular fare and increase their meat rations. The Allied naval blockade had a severe impact on the diversity of POW meals. The stys were located next to one compound's parade/athletic grounds and the road between the compounds. Note the guard towers in the background which were built to observe the barbed-wire fences.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- Aerial view of the prison camp at Ruhleben which housed British and Commonwealth interned civilians during World War I. This drawing shows the race track, grand stands, barracks, casino, tea house, New Town, guard room, gates, and hospital which made up the buildings of the prison camp. The Association constructed a YMCA hall on the open ground between Barracks II and XI.
- 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:
- French and British prisoners mill around in groups on the camp compound in Muenster-Rennbahn while POW's in another barrack line up for roll call. In the background, construction is underway for new administrative buildings to support the prison camp. As the war dragged on, Allied POWs continued to flow into Germany from across Europe.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- View of the prison camp at Regensburg from the opposite bank of the Danube. Only a short fence on the perimeter separates the milling prisoners from the river, but security does not seem to be a concern for the German guards. The prisoners have taken advantage of the weather to hang up some laundry to dry.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Exterior photograph of the prison facility at Blankenburg, a prison camp for Allied officers in Brandenburg. The building was surrounded by barbed-wire fences to deter escape attempts.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This photograph shows the Festung Marienberg strategically placed on a hill overlooking the city of Wuerzburg. The Germans incarcerated Allied officer prisoners in the fortress.
- Date Created:
- 1916-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Russian prisoners install posts and unroll barbed wire to enclose the prison compound at Buetow. The POW's provided the labor for the construction of prison camps, which included setting up the security to keep them inside the compound.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Indian prisoners prepare unleaven bread from a special wheat flour in an oven in the prison camp at Zossen-Wuensdorf. Indian POW's peer through the barbed-wire covered window to watch the bakers at work. As a propaganda camp designed to recruit Muslim prisoners for Turkish Army service, the Germans permitted the Indian POW's to prepare special meals that were not available in other camps.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This is a general view of the prison camp at Doebeln in Saxony, which is located across the park and small lake in the town. Allied prisoners worked in labor detachments in local industries in the area.
- 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:
- Allied prisoners of war, primarily Russian and French troops, line up in the prison compound at Goerlitz. Most of the prisoners wear white identification badges on their left breast pockets. Behind the men are a decorative landscaped garden in the center and wooden barracks and prison buildings around the perimeter. In the extreme background is the city of Goerlitz, which includes a church with twin spires.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- View of the one-story wooden barracks that characterized German construction practices at Goettingen. To the left side of the photograph, you can see the Bismarck Tower on the top of the hill.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This drawing shows the layout of the prison camp at Wittenberg and highlights some of the deficiencies of the facility, which contributed to the horrors of the typhus epidemic. Many of the stoves in the camp lacked fuel, prisoners had to wash outdoors in water troughs, and there was a lack of mattresses in the hospital. The cemetery in the prison camp is a testament to the viciousness of the epidemic. The main entrance to the prison camp is unique in relation to other facilities in that POW's, staff, and visitors had to cross a bridge over the barbed-wire fences.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- This is the exterior view of the Kurhaus Pfauenteich, a hotel which served as a prisoner of war camp for Allied officers in Clausthal during the war.
- 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 panoramic view of the prison camp at Meschede, probably taken in the Spring or Summer of 1915. The quarantine camp where newly arrived POWs were housed is located to the lower left. At the bottom of the photograph is the railway line that transported prisoners and supplies to the prison camp.
- Date Created:
- 1916-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A panoramic view of the prison camp at Rennbahn (Muenster II) showing how the facility was divided into four quarters by two perpendicular streets. Barracks formed the perimeter of the compound. By dividing the camp into different compounds, the Germans could improve security by organizing the number of POW's into smaller units while maintaining economies of scale for camp operations in regard to transportation, supply, feeding, and medical care. Note the tennis courts in the center of the compound, on the street running to the left.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- Russian prisoners stand in front of earthen barracks in the prison camp at Hammerstein. Winter weather in eastern Germany was severe and the Germans constructed barracks in the ground in an attempt to keep the quarters warmer. The Allies protested against the incarceration of POW's in these types of barracks on health concerns due to the lack of ventilation in these quarters.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A thriving commercial district emerged on the infield of the race track at Ruhleben. This drawing shows Bond Street, which featured Ye Olde Pond Shops--the canteen, outfitters, and the police station.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Muslim prisoners at Zossen-Wuensdorf (Halbmondlager) sit on prayer rugs in the prison compound facing Mecca. The POW's have removed their footwear and listen to the address. An iman stands on a platform to the right, addressing the faithful.
- 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:
- This photograph shows the exterior of the fortress, including the gate to the inner courtyard at Wuerzburg. The fortress served as a prison facility for Allied officers and offered tight security. The Germans tended to assign Allied officers to fortresses for incarceration because they had more time on their hands in relation to enlisted men (officers were not required to work) and had more incentive to escape confinement.
- Date Created:
- 1916-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This camp visitation permit was issued to Archibald C. Harte on April 2, 1915 by the prison commandant at Cassel-Niederzwehren. Harte used these visits to investigate conditions in German prison camps and promote the establishment of a War Prisoners' Aid program for Allied prisoners of war. Harte's diplomacy would eventually pay off as German authorities eventually decided to permit neutral Association secretaries to begin YMCA programs in prison camps.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This is a general view of the prison camp at Ebersdorf bei Chemnitz which shows the POW barracks, the enclosed athletic field, and the camp fence. The Germans built this facility shortly before the war and incarcerated Allied prisoners here in 1914. Note the prisoners by the entrance of the building to the right.
- 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:
- The German Ministry of War assigned this camp visitation permit to Archibald C. Harte on 25 March 1915 and the permit was countersigned by the commandant of Crossen-an-der-Oder and his adjutant. Harte visited a number of German prison camps in March and April 1915 to investigate conditions and explain how the American YMCA could provide programs which would benefit Allied prisoners of war. In comparison to the printed visitation permits Harte received at Cassel and Goettingen, this permit is of much poorer quality.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- 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 cartoon is from "The Ruhleben Camp Magazine," Christmas 1916 edition, showing "Sunny Jim" being intercepted by a German sentry as the latter scales the wall. The prison camp at Ruhleben was surrounded by a high wooden fence.
- Date Created:
- 1916-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- General view of the prison camp at Hameln, highlighting the commandant's office (the first building on the right) and the prison school house (the building on the left). There is a decorative garden in front of the commandant's office and the wooden barracks of the camp can be seen in the background.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- This drawing shows the prison compound at Langensalza, including a Russian sentry standing at the inner gate of the barbed-wire fence near a one-story wooden barrack. To the right stand two covered buckets which were probably used to fetch food for POW's inside this compound (the buckets could have also been used for sanitation purposes but the ladle on one of the buckets undermined this possibility). French and Russian prisoners mill about the compound in the background. The Russian sentry is not armed and may be a prison trustee. The Germans and Russians signed an armistice in December 1917 which ended the fighting on the Eastern Front. Because of critical manpower shortages, the Germans employed trusted POW's to serve as guards to replace German troops who were transferred to front line duties.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This photograph shows the camp fence with several German sentry posts and the side of a two-story brick building at Muenster. A bicycle stands in the doorway of the building and there are window boxes full of flowers to adorn the building. Many war prisoners engaged in gardening to pass the time. Unlike many prison camps that were constructed from scratch, Muenster utilized existing buildings to accommodate POW's and administrative offices.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- British Gurkha prisoners exercise in marching step under the command of a non-commissioned officer. They are probably exercising in the prison compound at Zossen-Wuensdorf. Their barracks can be seen in the background of this photograph.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- 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 German Ministry of War issued this prison camp visitation permit to Reverend Archibald C. Harte and the administration at the prison camp at Goettingen stamped the document. Harte established a working relationship with the camp commandant, Colonel Bogen, and Goettingen received the first YMCA hut for War Prisoners' Aid services in Germany.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This view of the prison camp at Tuchel II, probably from the prison water tower or a guard tower. This photograph shows a number of new wooden barracks that have gardens in front of the doors. Note the number of smoke stacks in the roofs of the barracks which reflect a concern for heat and ventilation. To the left, a large new building is under construction with prisoners providing the labor.
- 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:
- French prisoners enjoy a croquet match in the prison compound at Muenster III. These types of games helped POW's pass their time in captivity. One of the administrative buildings stands in the background beyond the camp fence.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- The German officer seated at the desk was the camp censor at Doeberitz. He was responsible for inspecting all of the mail that the prisoners sent and received in the camp for contraband information. He was assisted in his duties by the Russian prisoners in this photograph.
- 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:
- Four Russians stand in the doorway of their earthen barrack at Tuchel I. They have decorated the front of the barrack by painting designs around the door and windows. These types of earthen huts were considered unsanitary and unhealthy by neutral inspectors because of the lack of ventilation which contributed to the spread of disease. On the other hand, these barracks were insulated by earth from the wind and were warm in the winter.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This photograph provides an excellent view of the prison camp in Meschede during the Winter of 1914-1915. The railroad station where arriving prisoners disembarked can be seen in the foreground of the photograph. To the left is the infirmary, where new arrivals were disinfected and kept in quarantine to prevent the spread of any infectious diseases and where sick prisoners were isolated to prevent further contamination. After passing a medical inspection, POW's then moved to the main camp in the center of the picture. Prison camps took on the dimensions of towns and even small cities during the course of the war.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- 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
- Notes:
- This drawing provides an excellent aerial view of the prison camp at Zerbst and the surrounding countryside. Zerbst was one of the largest prison camps in Germany and normally housed around 15,000 men at a given time. The image illustrates the POW's barracks, camp security, administrative buildings, and hospital facilities. Note the quarantine camp to the right of the prison facility; newly arrived POW's spent their initial time in the camp in isolation to prevent the introduction of infectious diseases into the POW population.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Aerial view of the prison camp at Ruhleben which housed British and Commonwealth interned civilians during World War I. This drawing shows the race track, grand stands, barracks, casino, tea house, New Town, guard room gates, and hospital, which made up the buildings of the prison camp. The Association constructed a YMCA Hall on the open ground between Barracks II and XI.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries