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- 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:
- 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:
- This table indicates the articles of clothing distributed to Allied prisoners of war in the German prison camp at Germersheim between April 1915 and March 1918. The list provides an overview of the caps, scarves, jackets, pants, shirts, underwear, wash rags, boots, Oxford shoes, wooden shoes, coats, gloves, and socks provided by the Germans during the war.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- The medical staff at Wieselburg lined up outside of the hospital ward for this photograph. The staff includes both Austrian and Russian doctors, orderlies, and sanitary personnel. Health care was a critical priority in prison camps since the outbreak of an epidemic would have devastating consequences for the POW population.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- French prisoners of war work under the supervision of a German non-commissioned officer folding and stacking linen in a storeroom at Giessen. Clean bed linen helped reduce vermin infestation and promoted healthier standards in the camp.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Food conditions were harsh for Russian prisoners of war in German prison camps who did not receive food parcels from home. This drawing depicts two Russian POW's scrounging in used ration pots, which contain rejected food, for scraps to supplement their daily rations. These pots contained garbage from the barracks and well supplied British and French prisoners often threw out many of their German rations.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- A group of barbers cut hair and shave prisoners in the barber shop in Bautzen. A French prisoner, to the left, is about to leave. Keeping hair short reduced the chance of lice and improved the general health standards of prison camps.
- Date Created:
- 1916-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Russian prisoners clean and sweep the streets of a Polish town under the supervision of a Landsturm guard. The German occupation of tsarist towns led to improved sanitation and reconstruction employing prisoner labor.
- Date Created:
- 1916-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- The Germans stored bags of clothing in this warehouse room in Zossen-Wuensdorf. Sometimes prisoners arrived in camp in clothing in such bad shape that it could not be cleaned and disinfected. As a result, the Germans maintained a supply of clothing, especially for destitute prisoners.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- British prisoners collect water at the hand pump so they can wash their clothing in the large outdoor tubs at Limburg. When the weather was warm, prisoners could launder their uniforms outdoors. The barracks where they ate and slept stand behind them.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Two Russian prisoners conduct an inspection of the stocks in the warehouse at the prison camp at Bautzen, while a German officer (standing, with the sword) supervises the activity. The warehouse is full of hats, blankets, shirts, and other supplies.
- Date Created:
- 1916-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Pictured are three disinfection chambers at the prison camp at Puchheim. The Germans sterilized POW uniforms to kill vermin to prevent the transmission of infectious diseases. Crowded barracks promoted the rapid diffusion of diseases among the camp's population.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Serbian prisoners of war clean the streets of a German town with shovels and brooms under the gaze of a large German guard.
- Date Created:
- 1917-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This 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:
- A group of Russian prisoners sweep the street and replace cobblestones on the town square under Landsturm guard. The town's location was not identified in the photograph.
- Date Created:
- 1916-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- This photograph shows the interior of the laundry at the prison camp at Puchheim. Clothing and linen were washed in large vats with hot- and cold-running water and folded on the tables. Prisoners provided the labor to maintain this service in the prison camp.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- British prisoners scrub down the camp laundry at Limburg under the command of German guards. The stoves connected to the chimney heat water which is usually used by the POW's to wash their clothing inside this facility.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- Exterior view of the laundry/wash house in the prison camp at Puchheim during the winter. The prison laundry kept uniforms and linen clean and free of vermin, which prevented the outbreak of contagious diseases.
- Date Created:
- 1918-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries
- Notes:
- French and Russian prisoners are working in the prison laundry at Wahn. They stand next to the large bath tubs where POW clothing was washed and some workers hold poles used to mix the clothing in the tubs. In the back of the room stand shallower tubs for rinsing washed clothing. A cart to transport clothing is also in the picture. Clean clothing eliminated lice and other vermin and helped reduce the spread of disease in the camp.
- Date Created:
- 1915-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Western Michigan University. Libraries