[Note: The following document has been translated from French and may not be completely accurate. If you would like to see the original document write to pegasusarchive@googlemail.com]

ED/YJ/MH

STALAG III B. Fürstenberg

Visited 19 May 1941.

Strength : 25,000 French, including 3 civilians

                 3,500 Serbs (passing through the camp)

        At the camp : 2,500 French

                             3,500 Serbs (passing)

        Work detachments: 500, agricultural and industrial in equal proportions.

        The camp is built on a vast flat and sandy plain, in the vicinity of large pine forests.
        The prisoners' quarters occupy 48 barracks with a capacity of 372 men each.
        Each barracks includes, apart from the dormitories in which the bunks are of the double-tier type, a laundry room for the men's personal laundry, a washroom equipped with 24 taps and basins, a small kitchen for preparing their personal provisions. The laundry room includes a boiler in which the men heat the water they need for their laundry and for washing.
        The lighting is electric, the heating is done by clay stoves.

The food is of the standard type, the men have not made any complaints to us on this subject.

Clothing. There is an abundance of clothing items in the camp store. The men's clothes are in a good condition. Two large tailor and shoemaker workshops maintain this clothing.

The canteen provides the usual toiletries and items, and the men can purchase malt beer, at 40 pfg. for a half bottle and for the same price half a litre of open beer. They can also acquire lemonade.

Hygiene. The delousing block can clean 1,100 men every 24 hours. The camp does not have a shower block. A large sports ground is located within the camp enclosure. The men play football.

The infirmary has 120 beds, and occupies two barracks. The general services are well established. The operating theatre, dressing room and pharmacy are well equipped. The dental surgery is poorly equipped with instruments. There is a milling machine there but no milling cutters.

        Only mild cases are treated there, the more serious cases are sent to the lazarets at Gubben, Saurau, Spremberg.

        The service is provided by 5 French doctors including three auxiliary physicians and two dentists.

        Three other doctors work in the work detachments. 98 sanitators are at the camp, 60 at the work camps.

Religious needs. There are many priests in the camp, (75) one of them holds the office of chaplain. Every Sunday a high mass is held for the prisoners. On weekdays other priests say mass in the camp chapel. A certain number of prisoners assist in the masses.

        The camp chapel is very large, and it is exclusively dedicated to this purpose.

        At the work detachments there are priests who perform the functions of chaplain while working.

Intellectual needs. The camp library has 5,000 books, boxes of books are also circulating at the work detachments.

        A German language course is regularly followed by a large number of prisoners.

        In one of the barracks, a large room equipped with a stage serves as a theatre. At the time of our visit the drama troupe, 12 members strong, including 2 professionals, was preparing for a show. The sets are painted by a professional painter. Some prisoners draw and paint, and organise exhibitions.

        The camp possesses an orchestra of 17 musicians. There is a piano in the performance hall.

Money and Pay. Officers (doctors) receive their pay, prisoners who work are paid in accordance with regulations. They are insured according to the same standards as German workers.

        Duration of work: 8 hours per day.

Requests. Control inspections are carried out regularly in the work detachments. On this occasion, the prisoners have the opportunity to present their requests. It is the same in the camp. In practice, however, we saw many men who say they have presented without any effect. This question depends largely on the benevolence of the Commandant. Often also, the men of confidence, intermediaries between the prisoners and the authorities, do not appear to be sufficiently aware of their duties and their rights.

Correspondence. The men can write 2 cards and 2 letters per month. On the other hand we only distribute 2 address labels per month. We pointed out to the officer in charge that this reduced figure did not comply with the requirements.

        The camp received a large number of package shipments from the Red Cross, at the rate of approximately one truck per week. These shipments are controlled by the man of confidence who also monitors the distribution in the work detachments and lazarets.

Geneva Convention. We gave the camp Commandant a copy of the Geneva Convention for the attention of the man of confidence.

Observations. We recognise that the material installation of the camp is good, in certain respects even superior to the average; however, we have made observations that we must report.

        1) During our visit, we saw 27 wounded at the camp, including 3 amputees. These men, who were operated on during the summer of 1940, were placed on the repatriation list of October 1940. Transferred to the camp at Fürstenberg on 24th January 1941, they are still there. There are two transport resumptions, in February and in March 1941. The camp doctor told us that these wounded men had refused to be included on these transports which only included seated wounded. A fact categorically denied by the injured themselves. The camp doctor cited the current transport difficulties.

        2) We saw in one barrack 305, in another, 269 men in the category of the mildly ill, most of them injured. The doctor refuses to place them on the repatriation list, on the pretext that they are not totally unfit for military service. We drew his attention to some of these cases. He answered us: "They are not unfit, they can peel potatoes." In fact a large number of them were busy in this work.

                Here are some of these cases: a fracture of the pelvis with shortening of the leg, unable to walk without a cane. An amputee of fingers (2, 3, 4) on the right hand, following a work accident in a work detachment. A knee injury with ankylosis, who also had several fingers of the left hand amputated.

                We pointed out to the doctor that there was a formal contradiction with the "standard agreement" annexed to the Geneva Convention.

        3) Jewish prisoners are housed in a separate barracks. As far as could be ascertained from the Commandant, they would form a separate contingent. We were told that these men were on the same diet as the other prisoners. However, the non-commissioned officer in charge of them pointed out that, as a punishment, their bread ration was reduced in certain cases. He also declared that if he were no longer allowed to do so, he would reduce their soup ration by adding water.
                As soon as we returned to Berlin, these items were the subject of an interview at the O.K.W., who welcomed our request to carry out an investigation.

(S) Dr. Exchaquet

      Dr. Descoeudres