CONFIDENTIAL

No.412

BRITISH

Date of visit: March 16th, 1944.

STALAG 194

Kommandofuhrer: Hauptmann Bassen

Indian Man of Confidence: Sgt. Ismail Khan pow. No. 120

I. GENERAL DESCRIPTION

        Stalag 194 is a large camp for French colonial (coloured) prisoners of war.

        The British prisoners who are there (Indians) came from Stalag 315 some time ago; they form a working-detachment entirely under Stalag 194; they live at the main camp situated on the outskirts of a large town in eastern France.

        The whole camp is installed in barracks of the French army; there are several one storey brick buildings which, although rather old, are not in a bad state.

        Although not in a separate compound, the Indian prisoners are lodged together in separate buildings and live entirely for themselves, doing their own cooking, having their own entertainments etc.

II. CAPACITY AND PRESENT PERSONNEL

        At the time of the visit 257 Indian prisoners (all of them Mahommedans) were in this camp; 11 of them are non-commissioned officers.

        The prisoners do pick- and shovel work and are employed by the town council. Their present working place is situated a few kilometres outside the town and they are transported there by tramcars; they are away from camp about 12 hours daily including the time to and from the working place; the actual working time is 9 hours. The prisoners have 2 hours rest for lunch. Every Sunday is free.

        The pay is 8 francs a day.

III. INTERIOR ARRANGEMENTS

        There are 26 prisoners per room, sleeping in single iron beds, each prisoner having two German blankets. During the winter they had three blankets each.

        The heating of the rooms by iron stoves is adequate.

        The lighting and ventilation are satisfactory.

IV. BATHING AND WASHING FACILITIES

        There is a washroom in every barrack with running cold water; as a rule the prisoners get one hot shower bath a week although recently these were rather irregular owing to lack of coal.

V. TOILET FACILITIES

        Latrines of the pit-type with an aseptic pit are installed in a special barrack; they can be considered as adequate.

VI. FOOD AND COOKING

        The Indian prisoners have a kitchen of their own and cook for themselves; for the prisoners working the cooking is done at the working place.

        The rations are the same as for all other British prisoners with the exception that meat is replaced by dried fish or dried peas or vegetables.

        The only cooking facilities for private food are the stoves in the rooms, which are inadequate; the delegate of the Protecting Power then asked for an other arrangement and the camp authorities promised to install a tea kitchen in a special hut in the courtyard with large stoves. This will be checked at the next visit.

        The Red Cross food parcels are provided by Stalag 315 which every five weeks sends a stock for the next five weeks.

VII. MEDICAL ATTENTION AND SICKNESS

        There is an infirmary in the camp, but as a rule it is used only for the daily sick parade held by a French medical officer. There is an Indian medical orderly in the camp.

        All the patients are brought to the lazaret 194 in town (see our special report on the visit to that lazaret) where they receive as good an attention as can be expected.

        The general health condition was said to be satisfactory; no serious working accidents have occurred so far.

VIII. CLOTHING

        Each prisoner has one uniform only, in which he had to work; generally speaking they are not in a bad condition but there is no stock of clothing or boots in the camp. With a few exceptions the boots are in fairly good condition.

        An application was made to Geneva for clothing and boots, but nothing as yet has been received.

IX. LAUNDRY

        The prisoners complained that there is no hot water at their disposal to do their washing; it was arranged that in future they will receive some hot water from the kitchen for that purpose. This will be checked on the next visit.

X. MONEY AND PAY

        Nothing to report.

XI. CANTEEN

        There is a mixed canteen for the French and Indian prisoners, where they can buy whatever is on sale, but as in most camps it is very little.

XII. RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY

        There is a Moshee in the camp whose services the Indian prisoners have to share with the Mahommedan French prisoners.

XIII. RECREATION AND EXERCISE

        There is a large recreation barrack shared with the French prisoners.

        Every week there is a cinema show for the whole camp.

        There is a good football field at the disposal of the prisoners and they can play volley-ball in the courtyard.

        However, the Indian prisoners have only very few books and no indoor-games whatsoever; the YMCA will be asked to do something about it if possible.

XIV. MAIL

        Like in other camps there are many Indian prisoners who have received no letters from home since their capture.

        The prisoners complained that they had received no letters during their first month in this camp, their letters being, of course, still addressed to Stalag 315. The matter was taken up with the camp authorities, who were asked to make inquiries and to take the necessary steps to have the mail forwarded.

XV. WELFARE WORK

        Having been here for only a month, the Indian prisoners have not yet received a visit from the delegates of the IRCC or the YMCA.

XVI. COMPLAINTS

        (1) There was no copy of the Geneva Convention in English but the camp commander promised to provide one.

        (2) The prisoners complained that no medical inspection was made of them before being sent to this working-detachment; the matter was discussed with the German doctor, who stated that, on the contrary, the prisoners were selected according to their physical condition and that anyhow, most of them volunteered for the work; he confirmed that the general state of health was satisfactory. It must be kept in mind that the coloured prisoners was much more sensitive than Europeans and that they always have a lot of complaints about the state of their health, mostly unfounded.

        Apart from the above, there were no serious complaints.

XVII. GENERAL IMPRESSION

        As a whole, this camp does not make a bad impression; certain improvements are certainly necessary (like the tea kitchen), but when these have been carried out, the material conditions will be satisfactory.

        The treatment seems fair and the relations with the camp authorities and with the French prisoners are easy.

        The delegate of the Protecting Power was told by the camp commander that in all probability the Indian working-detachment will be dissolved at some future time.

Gabriel Naville   sgd.

CONFIDENTIAL

LAZARET 194 - NANCY

Date of visit: MARCH 16th, 1944.

        This lazaret for prisoners of war depends administratively on Stalag 194.

        It is installed in very spacious buildings in the centre of the town, which used to be occupied by a religious hospital and asylum for old people.

        It is chiefly for French prisoners and the medical attention is entirely in the hands of French medical officers under the supervision of a German medical officer.

        It seems very well installed. The buildings are grouped around a large courtyard with trees and flower gardens and are in good condition; the yards are spacious, very well lighted and clean.

        The Indian prisoners have two large rooms of their own with accommodation for about 60 patients. They are furnished with single iron beds and the prisoners are very comfortable indeed.

        For the Indian section there are:

                2 Indian medical orderlies

                2     "     orderlies

                1     "     cook

        The Indian prisoners have a special kitchen and their food is prepared entirely by the Indian cook.

        At the time of the visit there were in the Indian section; 20 patients, 3 of them surgical cases, and the others medical, none of them serious; all of them were sent here either from Stalag 315 or from Stalag 194.

        The delegate of the Protecting Power had an interview with the French medical officers who stated that up till now there had been very few serious cases among the Indian prisoners.

        Thirty-six Indian plus one de Gaulle prisoners have been recently transferred from this hospital to a camp in Germany, in view of a further repatriation.

        The medical supplies from the German side are, like in all lazarets, limited, but the French medical officers stated that they can manage; however, some medical parcels from the Red Cross for the Indian prisoners would certainly be welcome.

        Up till now the Indian patients received their Red Cross food parcels from Stalag 315.

        The delegate of the Protecting Power was told that in another part of the lazaret 3 American and 1 Australian airmen were lying, who had been recently shot down in the neighbourhood; however, he was not allowed to see them as they had not yet been interrogated by the German authorities; the French medical officer, who is looking after them, stated that none of them was in a serious condition.

        This lazaret makes an excellent impression, the prisoners had no complaint and the medical attention seems to be satisfactory.

Gabriel NAVILLE.