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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:
- Allied prisoners of war of all nationalities enjoy a restful Sunday afternoon in the prison compound at Goettingen. Colonel Bogen, the camp commandant, stands in the foreground to the left.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Russian sergeants and corporals enjoyed a higher standard of living in relation to the rank and file depicted in this drawing of a Russian non-commissioned officer's room in Muensingen. Not only does the non-commissioned officer have a single bed, wall cabinet, and desk, he has a number of musical instruments (a mandolin, balalaika, and accordion) and fans decorate the walls.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- English prisoners of war assemble in front of the new YMCA Hall at Goettingen for a group photograph. The new hall is decorated with evergreens for the inauguration ceremony.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Prisoners enjoyed their meals in the hotel dining room in Bezau (Kreuzstein), which was vastly different from the mes halls that enlisted men used in Austrian captivity. The Orthodox cross on the back table suggests that the officers' mess might have served double duty as a chapel on Sunday mornings.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Belgian and French prisoners arrive at the Sennelager railway station with their meager belongings early in the war. A German officer prepares them for the march to the prison camp and captivity.
- Date Created:
- 1914-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- French and Belgian prisoners receive "care packages" outside of the barracks at Minden I. The parcels are distributed by POW Red Cross workers, laboring under the direction of German non-commissioned officers. Great efforts were taken by the Red Cross to ensure that these parcels, sent by Allied governments, were received by the POWs and not lost enroute.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- 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:
- Panoramic view of the castle at Raabs on a hill overlooking the town, the Thaya river, and the bridge. The Austrians interned Allied civilians in the castle during World War I.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A group of Russian POW clerks work under the supervision of Austrian non-commissioned officers (they are wearing their caps) in the camp's Record Office. This office was administrative center of the prison camp since these records kept track of all the prisoners incarcerated in the facility.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A major theme in German propaganda was the Allied use of colonial troops to promote liberty and to save European civilization. The Germans highlighted the irony of the Allied policy as the British, French, and Russians used subjugated people to defend their liberty. These photographs portray nine French and British colonial soldiers waiting for the end of the war in the prison camp at Muenster-Rennbahn.
- 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:
- One of the most unusual internees at Ruhleben was this South African giant, who towered over the other men in the camp. As a South African subject, the Germans interned him with the other Commonwealth prisoners.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- A British sailor hands a loaf of bread to a French prisoner under the supervision of a German NCO in the bread warehouse in Zossen. Russian prisoners look on from the right as a British POW loads some bread into a hand truck which will be used to distribute the bread in the camp. Note the stacks of loaves of bread behind the prisoners. Bread was a major component of POW rations in all German prison camps.
- Date Created:
- 1916-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- French and Belgian prisoners of war and interned civilians gather around the news board in the prison compound at Goettingen to read the latest news and announcements. Note the identification badges on the upper left sleeves of most of the POW uniforms.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Twelve Polish officers smoke, read, and converse around a table, decorated with a single flower, in cell number 10 at Marmosa-Sziget at night.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Civilian prisoners did not enjoy the same quality of accommodations in the old fortress in Rastatt in comparison to the prison compound for Ukrainian POW's. This drawing depicts the cramped and airless condition of a cell for French internees in one of the bastions.
- Date Created:
- 1916-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- British, Russian, and Serbian prisoners of war stand at attention in the prison compound at Stargard in the presence of a German nurse. The photograph aptly demonstrates the pitiable condition of Serbian prisoners who wear rags for uniforms.
- 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 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:
- An almost sentimental view of the barbed-wire fence at Dunaszerdahley on a cloudy, but moonlit night. The wire fence was not only a physical obstacle for POW's, but a mental barrier as well as unhinged prisoners often contracted "barbed-wire disease."
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Far from home, a group of Russian prisoners representing nationalities in the Far East pose for this shot. Note the identification number on the right breast of several of the POW's.
- 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:
- In this water color painting, prisoners walk along one of the camp's tree-lined streets (Allied Boulevard) in Muensingen. Several of the POWs are returning from mail call and are reading their letters on the steps of their barracks or as they walk in the street.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- Women wash their clothing in tubs outside of their barracks at Holzminden. They are accompanied by their children and a man stands on a ladder, to the right, repairing a window.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- British internees at Ruhleben relax in deck chairs next to "La Boheme," a social-gathering place. Two German non-commissioned officers join the photograph to the right.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- Fire was an ever present danger in the cramped quarters of POW barracks, despite official German prohibitions against smoking and cooking inside the prisoners' quarters. French prisoners man water pumps while another practices working with the hose on a ladder during a fire drill at Regensburg.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Polish General Glorecki Roman sits in his cell at Marmosa-Sziget reading at a table next to his bed. He had access to stationery and pens and a map hangs on the wall of his cell. Polish officers who refused to take the oath of allegiance to the Regency Council in Warsaw in October 1916 ended up in this prison.
- 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:
- A group of Belgian and French prisoners at Meschede pose for a photograph in front of their barrack.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- French prisoners plant flowers in a small garden outside of their barracks in a wooded section of the prison camp at Grafenwoehr. Gardening provided a pastime for the prisoners and improved the appearance of the camp.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This is a photograph of Commandant Niedermeyer, commandant of the prisoner of war camp at Clausthal. His twin brother was the commandant at another prison camp and both gained reputations for poor treatment of Allied POWs during the war.
- 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:
- French, French Arab, and Russian POW's mill about the camp compound at Langensalza in this drawing. This was the "main street" of the facility and the illustration shows a barrack and disinfection wagons in the background. The prisoners converse, smoke pipes, read newspapers, and play board games as they pass the time.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Russian prisoners stand bare-headed in the prison compound at Purgstall during a Christmas celebration during the dedication of the new Association hall in January 1917. A group of Austrian officers stand to the left, next to the POW choir. The YMCA hall is decorated with garland and a large Christmas tree. On the platform by the door stands a WPA secretary, Edgar MacNaughten, and the camp commandant.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Russian prisoners conduct squat thrusts as part of their exercise regimen in the compound at the prison camp in Zittau (Gross Poritsch). The POWs wear white identification badges on the left breast pockets of their uniforms. Healthy war prisoners were more likely to survive captivity and exercise maintained military discipline.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This is an example of a French officer's room at Heidelberg. The occupant has a comfortable set up: his space is separated by partitions and includes a wide range of furniture including several chairs, a stool, a hassock, and a table covered with a colorful table cloth. The prisoner has decorated the walls of his room with silhouettes of French POW's and a map (and decorated the light as well).
- Date Created:
- 1916-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- French prisoners of war participate in some "spring cleaning" at Giessen. They are cleaning their tables and chairs in the prison compound to maintain strict sanitary codes.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Some prisoners of war sit on benches in the prison compound at Goettingen while others appear to be washing their clothing in front of their barracks. A German non-commissioned officer walks across the compound lost in thought. The POW's have planted a garden in the center of the compound. The town of Goettingen can be seen in the background.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Irish prisoners at Limburg receive communion during an outdoor Roman Catholic service. The altar stands behind the priests as they administer the sacrament. The German established a propaganda camp at Limburg for Irish Catholics in an effort to recruit volunteers for the Irish Legion, a force that would invade Ireland to free the island from British rule. Irish POW's received special privileges as an enticement to fight for their freedom.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- British prisoners bid their farewell to the Turkish commandant at the prison camp at Ouchak. Turkish officers stand to the extreme left and to the right in the photograph. The Ottomans signed an armistice with the Allies in October 1918 and began to send Entente POW's home.
The Ottomans signed an armistice with the Allies in October 1918 and Allied POW's began their trips home.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- The civilian internees at Ruhleben constructed elaborate trellises for their flower gardens which improved the appearance of the camp and gave the internees a hobby to pass their time. Note the clothing in the background handing out to dry on the clothes line.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- POW's from seven countries pose in this photograph taken in the prison compound at Friedrichsfeld. These troops came from Belgium, Britain, France, French West Africa, India, Russia, and Serbia and demonstrated to the German people the global challenge they faced in the war. Such photographs aided the German propaganda campaign; the Germans argued that the Allies had to rely on man power from their subject colonies to support their war effort.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- The Turkish commandant of the prison camp at Yozgad, Bimbashi Kiazim Bey, and his staff posed with British officers for this photograph.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A group of Russian prisoners, including two boys, line up outside of a barrack in the prison compound at Kaschau.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- This photograph shows the interior of the Association building at Crossen-an-der-Oder. Russian instructors, from the POW population, teach a class for their fellow countrymen. The YMCA strove to provide educational opportunities to prisoners of war to help them find better jobs and help their families after repatriation.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A group of Scottish and English prisoners of war relax in the compound at Doeberitz smoking their pipes and cigarettes. Note the German non-commissioned officer standing to the extreme right smoking a cigarette.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- The stringed orchestra performs during the Christmas service in the YMCA building in Braunau-am-Inn in 1916. Note the extensive decorations in the building which include garland, paper chains, pine boughs, and a large, decorated Christmas tree behind the stage. There are Christmas presents on the floor to the right of the stage, near a phonograph. Association secretaries went to great lengths to provide POW's with Christmas cheer at a time when many prisoners suffered from depression and home sickness.
- Date Created:
- 1916-01-01T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- A Turkish guard is asleep at his post in Yozgad. While a common practice, soldiers caught asleep while on sentry duty could receive a court-martial and executed, especially if the guard was photographed by POW's.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- French and Belgian prisoners unload packages from two wagons outside the parcel post office at Grafenwoehr. The prisoners retrieved the parcels from the railroad station in town. They work under the direction of a German NCO and a Landsturm sentry. Once inside the office, they will be inspected by German authorities for contraband before they are distributed. These packages greatly improved the diets of POW's as well as their morale.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This drawing shows French and French Arab prisoners of war standing in the rain in the prison compound at Langensalza. They are wearing blankets while they wait for their uniforms to be disinfected. Most are wearing wooden shoes due to the lack fof leather in Germany during the war. After several epidemics, the Germans took strict measures to prevent the transmission of disease, especially if there was any suspicion of a potential outbreak.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- French and Russian POW's, comprising the First Company, line up for roll call outside the old fortress at Rastatt.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- French non-commissioned officers also lived in comparative luxury in comparison to French privates. In this drawing of a French sergeant's room at Muensingen, the non-commisioned officer enjoys a single bed, desk, and shelves which support a number of personal belongings.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- British internees exercised self-government during their incarceration at Ruhleben, which included the election of camp administrators. This drawing shows a variety of election campaign posters at the bill-posting station in the prison camp. The British chaffed under German administration and demanded internal administration.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This is a sketch of Peter, aged thirteen, who was the youngest prisoner at Torgau. He had been a powder monkey (boys who provided ammunition to artillery or troops in battle) in the Russian Army and probably followed his father into military service when the Russians mobilized in 1914.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This drawing portrays French civilian internees pass their time in conversation, reading, and writing. Most of these men were serving time as hostages to ensure a peaceful occupation of French territory. Life for civilians in the bastion at Rastatt was tedious as civilian prisoners spent a great deal of their time in monotony because they did not have access to the same programs POW's enjoyed in prison camps nor did they have the chance to work outside of their cells.
- Date Created:
- 1916-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This photo provides a view of the main entrance to the new YMCA hall at Darmstadt during the building's dedication ceremony. French Arab prisoners stand as a guard of honor in preparation for the event. The prisoners, who constructed the building, decorated the hall with garlands to celebrate the occasion.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- German non-commissioned officers carefully inspect newly-arrived packages in the Parcel Post Office in Duelmen for contraband. The traffic in illegal materials forced the Germans to dissect parcels which ruined the contents of the packages.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- French women from Ban-de-Sept, a village in the Vosges, sit in their barracks and sew in the prison camp at Holzminden.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A group of Polish Legionnaire officers, including a Catholic chaplain (sitting on the right) and several women (standing in the back row) pose for a photograph at the prison camp at Huszt between two Hungarian guards.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- The prisoners often planted flower gardens to decorate their surroundings and provide a pastime, which often included vegetables to enhance their rations. This is a photograph of a flower patch between the wooden barracks at Hameln.
- Date Created:
- 1916-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A group of British prisoners stand in front of their barrack displaying some of their belongings at Schneidemuehl. The prisoners enjoy a gramophone, several musical instruments (including drums, a mandolin, and harmonicas), and what appears to be a set of Indian clubs for exercise.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- Some of the members of the 12th Company pose for a photograph in the prison compound at Giessen. Most of the members of this unit were French POW's. One of the POWs is carrying a bucket, perhaps for washing, while two others are wounded and use canes.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A group of British non-commissioned officers and enlisted men pose for a group photograph in the prison camp at Goettingen. Some of the POW's wear numbers over their right breast pockets and most have white identification badges on their upper right arms.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Prisoners are in the middle of a soccer match in the prison compound at Dunaszerdahley. The camp's wooden barracks stand in the background of the photograph. A few Italian POW's watch the competition from the sidelines.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Prisoners of war at Goerlitz work in a decorative garden outside of their barracks under the supervision of a German non-commissioned officer. Gardening provided prisoners with a hobby to help break the monotony of prison camp life and improved the general appearance of the camp.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- These French prisoners of war are Protestant and live in very comfortable quarters. Two are writing letters on a table covered with a cloth and their bookcases are decorated with curtains. In addition, the walls of their room are decorated with wall paper and paintings.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- 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:
- Scottish, Irish, and Canadian prisoners were not the only soldiers who carried bagpipes into battle. These two Serbian prisoners of war stand outside of their one-story wooden barracks at Koenigsbrueck with the bagpipes in hand. Note the identification badges on their field caps and the right breasts of their tunics.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This photograph provides a general view of the Bulgarian prison camp for French prisoners on the Struma River. The camp appears to be under construction due to the number of tents raised within the compound. The POW's can be seen on the lower right side working on the barbed-wire security fence while Bulgarian sentries stand guard. Once the security perimeter was completed, the POW's could begin to build their barracks and move out of the tents. The Struma River can be seen in the background.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This pen and ink drawing by a British prisoner shows the Greek school house at Kastamuni where the Turks incarcerated British POW's captured at Kut-al-Amara.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- View of Polish prisoners sitting in the courtyard at Marmosa-Sziget from the window of one of the cells on the second floor of the prison. The internees had a lot of time on their hands with little to do.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Austrian officials and officers join Russian (to the left) and Serbian (to the right) prisoners for the opening of the James Stokes Hut at Braunau-in-Boehmen, the first Association building for POW's in the Dual Monarchy. Professor Karl Witz-Oberlin, the Secretary-General of the Austrian YMCA, stands in the center of the photograph (he is the bare-headed civilian), while Christian Phildius, a Secretary-General of the World's Committee in Geneva, stands at the angle of the walk (he is in civilian clothing and top hat). Note that the Russian and Serbian prisoners wear identification badges on their caps.
- Date Created:
- 1916-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- An overview of Bastion XII at the old fortress at Rastatt for civilian internees. The prisoners were housed in semi-circular barracks surrounded by walls.
- Date Created:
- 1916-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- POW's struggled to build any kind of shelter to protect themselves from the elements when the Germans first opened the prison camp at Sennelager. In this sketch, the prisoners have improvised using earth dugouts and pieces of wood to construct crude shelters.
- Date Created:
- 1914-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- German non-commissioned officers, guards, and Russian prisoners congregate on a street in the prison camp at Aschaffenburg in Bavaria. Prisoners lived in wooden barracks, which they decorated with flower boxes under the windows. Note the child to the extreme right of the photograph, possibly a visitor to the camp.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A group of Russian prisoners, along with German NCO's, pose for a photograph in the prison compound in Czersk. Many of the prisoners are standing on the roof of a barrack (note the window), which was one of the earthen dug out type in this camp.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Russian prisoners who just arrived in the prison compound at Schneidemuehl line up for their first dinner in the camp. They will be organized and assigned accommodations in the barracks similar to the buildings behind them.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Comical ad in "The Ruhleben Camp Magazine" for the Cubbie Temperance Hall. The facility is ideally located for tourists seeking relaxation. The ad shows various views of the camp and the many conveniences patrols enjoy, including a view of the artificial lake and the construction of the building above sea level (drainage was a problem for parts of the camp).
- 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:
- The Germans captured a number of interesting prisoners during the war. This Siberian couple is actually a man and his wife--the "soldier" in the Russian uniform on the right. She apparently disguised herself as a soldier to join her husband in military service. German authorities apparently decided to keep the couple together at Hammerstein instead of sending the woman to a civilian camp with a female population.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Scottish soldiers were not the only troops in the British Army to wear kilts. These Canadian prisoners of war at Goettingen talk outside of their barrack.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- An unidentified WPA secretary poses with a group of ten Russian prisoners of war in an unknown Austrian prison camp. These men may have been members of the YMCA Welfare Committee which oversaw welfare activities in the prison camp.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Smiling French and Belgian prisoners pose for a photograph with their bowls of soup in hand at the prison camp at Zossen (including one French North African POW standing on the left side of the photo). These pictures of content prisoners with lots of soup were distributed in the West to counter Allied accusations of starvation in German prisons.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Aerial view of the prison camp facility at the thermal springs at Bad Colberg. Allied officers lived in the building marked with the "X" to the left of the picture. The drawing depicts the Kurhaus near the town in the Thueringian Forest, amid the rolling hills.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This sketch shows Sherif Bey, the commandant in charge of the prison camp at Kastamuni during World War I.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A group of Greek officers and Polish Legionaires pose for a photograph at Werl. Polish officers who refused to take an oath to the new Regency government in Warsaw in 1916 were sent to prison camps in Germany and Austria-Hungary to serve the remainder of the war in captivity.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Fires in crowded prison camps were a constant danger to the POW's. These French prisoners are conducting a fire drill in Darmstadt in which the prisoners practice training their fire hose on the roof of one of the barracks.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A British prisoner drew this picture of a two-story house, known as the "Turkish Khan," where the Turks incarcerated British POW's in Ouchak. A minaret of the mosque stands in the background of the drawing.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This photograph shows a Polish Jewish prisoner in the Russian Army, in captivity in the prison camp at Altdamm. Jewish POW's were free to practice their religion in synagogues in German prison camps during World War I.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- French prisoners line up outside a barrack to receive their noon meals at Koenigsbrueck. Soup is on the menu as demonstrated by the meal on the table to the right of the door. Note the unidentified civilian in the foreground of the photograph.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries