CONFIDENTIAL

STALAG IV A

January 28, 1942.

Commander: Major Moritz.

        There are no British prisoners of war at the Stalag itself. Except for the British patients in Reserve-Lazaret Konigswartha, depending on this Stalag, and which will be described in a special report, there are only 357 British prisoners in the camp area, and they are all in two work-camps, Grube Brigitta and Grube Erika. At the postal station close to the base camp there are two British prisoners in charge of the distribution of mail and parcels to the British work camps. There is, however, no real British Man of Confidence at the base camp, which seems unfortunate. This question will be discussed in connection with work-camp Grube Erika.

Work Camp Grube Erika.

Accompanying officer: Hauptmann Schaefer.

British Man of Confidence: Sergeant Ernest Miller.

        In this work camp there are in all 232 British prisoners of war, all employed as miners. There are also prisoners of other nationalities such as Frenchmen, Poles and Russians, and the whole camp keeps 1100 men. The Russian prisoners are kept separated from the other nationalities.

        The British prisoners are working in shifts from 6-2, 2-10 and 10-6. Due to orders from the German High Command, they also have to do the same Sunday work as the German civilian workers, with the result that they work 3 Sundays out of four as a rule, and that it happens that a working party may have to work for 5 to 6 Sundays in succession. This unsatisfactory state of work was noticed already on the last visit to this work camp in September last year, and representations were made to the German Foreign Office. After this visit, a new protest has been made to the German Foreign Office.

        The prisoners receive an average pay of RM 15 - a fortnight.

        There have been several improvements in the interior arrangements since the last visit. 106 of the men are now living in small rooms barracks, so that only eight men are in eight room. These rooms are quite satisfactory, well heated and ventilated, and with good light. There is a small stove in each room, which also gives ample facilities for heating the private food. The rooms are furnished with double-tier beds and provided with two blankets. The other 126 men are, however, still living in the old barracks, about 40 men in each room. These barracks are rather dark and make a crowded and unpleasant impression, although there is no real overcrowding. The German manager agreed that these rooms are not satisfactory, but pointed out that he had already planned to have one more barrack used by the British prisoners. This barrack was to be ready within the next days. With this addition, the living accommodations in this camp will be fairly satisfactory.

        Washing facilities are satisfactory; they comprise small wash rooms with running cold water in each barrack. Each week warm showers are arranged in the shower-room at the factory. The man of confidence stated that this arrangement was satisfactory.

        The latrines are in a separate building, and of the pit type. They are satisfactory and kept in good order.

        The kitchen is very cold and has all the modern equipment, including store-rooms with electric cooling. The food is prepared by German women, with the help of some prisoners of war. The prisoners receive all the additional ration for heavy workers, and the man of confidence stated the food to be "decent in general". There were complaints that no sugar was ever given out. The matter was investigated and it was showed that the regular amount of sugar was given, but that it was all comprised in the food. The man of confidence asked if each man could not have his supply of sugar given out, to be used as he wished. This was said to give much trouble, but the man in charge promised to try to find some solution.

        The medical conditions have improved since the last visit. A British medical student is now working here as a sanitator, and there is also a German sanitary man. A doctor had been asked for, and was expected, but it was not known if it was to be a French or an English doctor. The infirmary is rather small and dark, but may be considered as satisfactory, as all patients who need longer treatment are brought to a Reserve-lazaret not far away. This camp, as well as the whole base-camp area, has so far been free from typhus infection, and it was stated that all the prisoners were taken to the hospital for delousing at regular intervals.

        Many of the uniforms are now in a rather bad and worn state, as can be expected, as most of the men have to work in their usual uniforms. Only men with special dirty jobs have received special overalls. There has been an issue lately of 17 tunics, 14 trousers and 110 pairs of shoes, but many more are needed. A tailor, with the help of a few prisoners, is mending and repairing the clothes as much as possible. The prisoners are quite well supplied with underwear, and the laundry is done for them in the nearby town, free of charge. There was a great need of gloves during the very cold weather, and the tailor had for the moment abandoned all other work in order to make gloves.

        The British prisoners have now a canteen of their own, but for the moment it was not very well stocked. There seems to be great difficulties in supplying such things as tooth-brushes, tooth-paste, etc. Beer is for sale now and again, and lemonade can always be had.

        There is no religious activity, apart from a sermon read by one of the men on Sundays. There does not, however, seem to be a special desire to have a priest sent here, except for the Roman Catholics who very much want to hear Mass. This will be brought to the attention of the German High Command.

        There is no room for indoor recreation, which is the more regrettable as there are plenty of games, including ping-pong, which cannot be used. The manager stated that he was trying to arrange something, but the matter will also be brought to the attention of the German High Command. There is a small supply of books.

        There is a good sports-ground, and the prisoners would very much like to have some foot-balls sent. They had already two medicine-balls. This will be brought to the attention of the International YMCA in Berlin. The Man of Confidence stated, however, that what was lacking was not so much games and other things, but time for recreation, as they seem to be always working.

        Mail is now coming in pretty regularly. The average time for airmail from England is 1 month, but lately it has arrived within 3 weeks. The British prisoners are now allowed to write 2 letters and 4 postcards monthly. Since November food parcels have arrived in sufficient number to issue one per week, but lately there has been a decrease in the number of parcels so that the last issue, on the day of the visit, could only be half a parcel per man.

        As found also in other work-camps and in lazaret Koenigswartha, the distribution of parcels in this Stalag does not seem to run smoothly. The Man of Confidence here thought this to be due to the lack of a British Man of Confidence in the Stalag itself. Even in other respects this seems to be unfortunate, as the man of confidence here now receives all mail addressed to Stalag IV A, without being able to handle it in a proper way. One of the Non-Commissioned Officers in this camp declared himself willing to go to the Stalag as Man of Confidence, if it could be arranged, even if he had to be the only British prisoner there. The accompanying officer promised to discuss the matter with the Commander.

        The main complaint in this camp is about the work-time and it is believed that if this question could be settled, the camp would be a good one.

Work Camp Grube Brigitta.

Man of Confidence: S/C Fitzpatrick, P.o.W. 95471

        This is a new work camp for British prisoners, which was visited for the first time. There are 125 men in the camp, all British and all employed in a coal mine.

        The work time is more satisfactory here as the men have to work 8 hours per day and only one Sunday per month, but even this will be brought to the attention of the German High Command.

        The pay is the usual one: RM 0.70 per day, and for Sunday work the pay is RM 2.88.

        The prisoners are living in a wooden barrack forming two big rooms, furnished with beds, and a big dining and recreation room. In each sleeping-room there are about 60 beds, which makes them rather crowded. There are, however, many windows and the rooms are usually well ventilated. In the present cold weather the windows could, however, not be kept open, and the Man of Confidence stated that the rooms were very stuffy and asked for some kind of ventilators. The accompanying man from the mine promised to have this arranged. The big dining room is quite nice and gives plenty of room for reading and writing. The barracks are heated by central heating. There is sufficient electric light.

        The wash-room has rows of spigots with running cold water, and a big cauldron where water can be heated whenever it is wished.

        The latrines, of the pit type, are rather primitive, but were kept in good order.

        The kitchen is in a small separate building, where food is prepared also for prisoners of other nationalities employed in the mine. The food is prepared by German civilians, but several British prisoners are also working in the kitchen. At the moment, there were 12 British prisoners doing this kind of work, of whom, however, only five are really employed in the kitchen and seven are working there without pay. These seven men have been declared by the doctor not fit for heavy work in the mine, and as there is no real British Stalag in this area to which they can be sent, they have to do this light work in the kitchen. The matter will be brought to the attention of the German High Command, with the request that these men are transferred to a British Stalag where they can be given light work.

        The food was stated to be fairly satisfactory. All here receive the additional ration for heavy workers. The men have also been able so far to add the contents from their Red Cross parcels. The latter have been issued at the rate of one per week until the 15th of January. Now there were, however, only 19 parcels in stock, and no issue had been possible the last week. This unsatisfactory condition seems also to be due to bad distribution from the base camp, a matter which has been dealt with in the report about work camp Grube Erika.

        The medical situation in the camp is not quite satisfactory. There is no infirmary or isolation room of any kind. The representative of the mine stated that such an installation was already ordered, but could not say definitely when it could be arranged. The matter will be checked on the next visit to the camp. There is a special sanitary man employed in the camp. He stated, however, that he had very little supplies of medical stuff, only what was left of a first aid parcel. The accompanying officer stated that the sanitator only had to ask the Man of Confidence to order what was needed from the base camp. The men can be seen by a doctor only twice a week, and then they have to walk about two kilometers to go there. The representative of the mine stated, however, that in case a doctor was urgently needed, he will be sent for at once. Serious cases are brought to the nearby hospital. Here also, all the men are brought once a month to be deloused. There have been no cases of typhus in the camp or in the neighbourhood.

        The men here have only one uniform each, and these are in some cases rather bad. Many of them are French uniforms. There is a tailor at work in the camp, but he cannot keep up with his work. The delegates asked that a prisoner could help the tailor, and it was promised that, that same evening, at roll-call, it would be asked if someone could take this job. They all have two pairs of underwears, but only one pair of boots. These are of leather, but many are very bad. No clogs have been issued, although some of the men have been able to buy some kind of clogs from the German canteen. The accompanying officer promised to take the clothing question up with the Commander, at that Stalag, but the matter will also be brought to the attention of the German High Command. The men would very much appreciate to have socks and gloves sent to them.

        There is no religious activity. The prisoners of war would like to have hymn books and the usual printed sermons sent to them. This will be brought to the attention of the YMCA.

        As this is a fairly new camp, the prisoners here are rather badly off, as regards recreation. They only have about 50 books, and would very much like to receive some more. They would also appreciate receiving playing cards and some other games, although they have a few already. They have no sports equipment of any sort. There are several good musicians, and they would like to have a small orchestra. A trumpet, an accordion, a piccolo flute and a mandolin would be very much appreciated. There is a gramophone, but no needles, and very few records. All these wishes will be brought to the attention of the YMCA.

        Mail is arriving regularly. The prisoners are allowed to write 2 letters and 4 postcards monthly.

        There were a few complaints.

        Several men who had been in hospital when pay was issued were anxious that they would not lose their pay. The accompanying officer stated that this pay had been written down on their account in Stalag, and if they wanted it paid out, they just had to write to the paymaster.

        No parcels were sent to the men in hospital. The accompanying officer promised to arrange this.

        One of the men had been stealing from his comrades. The Man of Confidence had asked to have him sent to Stalag for punishment, but nothing had happened, although the matter now was some months old. This had a bad influence on the morale of the other prisoners. The accompanying officer promised to have this man transferred from the camp at once.

        Apart from the work-time and the unsatisfactory clothing and recreation conditions, this is not a bad camp.

        All matters subject to complaint in this report have been discussed with the local camp authorities. Defects which the local camp authorities refuse to correct or state they are unable to correct, have been taken up with the German High Command in Berlin.

Fred O. Auckenthaler.

Dr. Folke Malmquist.

CONFIDENTIAL

RESERVE LAZARET KOENIGSWARTHA

January 28, 1942.

German Chief Physician: Oberarzt Dr. Rindfleisch.

British Man of Confidence: 2nd Lt. McFarlane.

I.) GENERAL DESCRIPTION

        This hospital was described after the last visit there on September 19, 1941. Since then a new wooden barrack has been added and the park has been enlarged. There is now a big garden and in addition a small pine tree forest with a sunbath.

II.) CAPACITY AND PRESENT PERSONNEL

        With the addition of the new barrack the hospital can now take care of 325 patients. At the time of the visit there were altogether 141 British prisoners of war, of whom 4 were Officers and 137 of other ranks. The British patients include a number of Indians, New Zealanders and Australians. It is expected that the number of British patients here in the near future will be about 50 more, as many beds will become free when patients of other nationalities are repatriated, and as there are British tuberculous patients in other hospitals waiting to be transferred.

        The present British Man of Confidence has been in charge for some time now since the former Man of Confidence, Lt. Butler, who is still here, has a manio-depressive psychosis and is unable to carry on his duty.

III.) INTERIOR ARRANGEMENTS

        The interior arrangements are in general satisfactory. The rooms are clean and well-heated, and get plenty of fresh air. Some of the barracks have central heating, and in the older buildings there are Dutch tile-stoves. In most rooms there are only single rows of beds, but in some rooms there are still double-tier beds. The German physician stated that this was only temporary and only in rooms where the patients do not have to stay in bed during the day, and that he hoped to be able to get rid of all double-tier beds in the near future. The beds are all of the comfortable hospital type, and at the side of each bed is a small table. Each man has two German and one Red Cross blankets and bed linen. The latter is changed about every six weeks.

IV.) BATHING AND WASHING FACILITIES

        The bathing and washing facilities are satisfactory. There are separate wash-rooms with running cold water in each building. Warm water can be provided each day if necessary, and each man can have a hot shower once a week.

V.) TOILET FACILITIES

        The latrines are rather primitive, and are all of the pit type. The German doctor stated that he had tried to have latrines of the flush type installed here, but that it had been impossible. The latrines are, however, kept in good order and seem adequate.

VI.) FOOD AND COOKING

        The food ration is the standard one for all prisoners of war camps, but in this hospital the patients can receive as much bread and potatoes as they wish. On doctor's orders, special diets are also issued, including milk and more sugar. A menu card for the time 29.12 - 4.1. is attached to this report. The food was stated to be a bit dull, but well prepared. The kitchen is good and well equipped. The cooking is done by German women.

VII.) MEDICAL ATTENTION AND SICKNESS

        Most of the patients here have open tuberculosis and several of the men are rather seriously ill. The treatment seems, however, to be quite up-to-date and the equipment decidedly modern. X-ray pictures of the patients are taken regularly, and whenever necessary, pneumothorax is done. Lately also pneumolysis and phrenico exeraesis is done.

        The medical staff is mostly French and Serbian. The doctors spoken to made a very good impression. The German doctor and the Man of Confidence stated, however, that they thought it better to have British doctors here. The German doctor had asked to have 4 British doctors and more British sanitary personnel here, but so far without success. The matter will be discussed with the German High Command.

        There is a good chemist shop with all the necessary supplies. Cod-liver oil asked for in the last report has arrived in small amount in invalid comfort parcels, but it would be much appreciated if a bigger amount could be sent. In other respects no drugs are needed.

        About 24 men have returned here from Heilag Rouen. 60 British patients have passed the Mixed Medical Commission.

VIII.) CLOTHING

        There were no complaints about the clothing conditions in the camp. In the Lazaret, most of the patients wear special hospital clothes which are quite good. There is also a small stock of uniforms and shoes.

IX.) LAUNDRY

        The laundry is done in common for the whole lazaret. This system was said to be functioning satisfactorily.

X.) MONEY AND PAY

        The patients here receive 25 Pfg. per day from the camp fund, except the officers who receive their usual pay. There have been no facilities for earning anything extra for some time, but now it had been arranged that the patients who wanted it could be employed in sorting tinfoils. The German doctor hoped to be able to start this the following week.

XI.) CANTEEN

        There is now a special canteen run by the patients themselves. It was quite well stocked with the most necessary articles. Once a week the Man of Confidence can go to the village and buy what is wanted. The list of the wanted articles has to be approved by the German authorities.

XII.) RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY

        There is still no British priest in the hospital although the Chief doctor has asked for one a long time ago. The Legation will bring this to the attention of the German High Command. Sermons are read regularly by the Man of Confidence.

XIII.) RECREATION AND EXERCISE

        As mentioned in point 1.), a small pine tree park has now been added to the lazaret-garden and the out-door space is now very satisfactory. At the present time of the year, the garden can, however, not be used very much. For those who are able to, walks are arranged once a week.

        For indoor use, the recreation space is, however, not so good. There is a big room use for eating, which is also used as a recreation room. This is good for concerts and theatre, but is hardly quiet enough for those who want to study or read. The matter was discussed with the German doctor who stated he was unable to give another room for this as all rooms were already used. There is a number of musicians among the patients, and sufficient musical instruments have arrived to enable them to form a small band, which gives concerts now and then. Theatre performances are also given.

        There is a library with about 350 English books, but many of them are said to be hardly worth reading and more English books would be much appreciated. A few games have arrived from the Y.M.C.A., but more would be appreciated. It was once more specially asked for a dart-board and books in Urdu. These matters will be brought to the attention of the Y.M.C.A. in Berlin.

XVI.) MAIL

        The mail is sometimes irregular. Some letters arrive from England within three weeks, others take about 6 weeks. The patients write the regular number of letters and cards.

        For quite a long time now, parcels have arrived in sufficient number to issue one per man weekly, but now there was only one more issue in stock. In addition, there have been invalid food parcels, but not enough for regular issues. Lt. MacFarlane stated that they would appreciate to have bulk of meat sent of [presumably should read "soon as"] possible as so many of the patients here are in need of more meat in their diet. He also pointed out that there seems to be a steady increase in the number of British patients in the lazaret, a fact which should be considered when parcels are sent.

XV.) WELFARE WORK

        The lazaret has been visited by representatives of the Y.M.C.A.

XVI.) COMPLAINTS

        There were a few complaints about the issue of food parcels. Lt. MacFarlane stated that with the present accommodations the patients have to stand waiting in a cold corridor for their parcels. There is no special room in which to keep the parcels stocked, as the room used for this purpose also serves as an office for the German authorities. The Man of Confidence asked for a special room which at the same time could be used for the food parcels and as an office for himself. The German Chief doctor stated that he had no room available for such a purpose.

        As in other camps, the parcels are distributed in such a way that all tins are kept in stock for the individual patients and opened before handed out. Each tin has to be emptied in plates or other receptacles.

        Lt. MacFarlane asked if an exception could not be made for this special lazaret so that each patient could have his whole parcel, as he considered this would be better for the patients' moral. Doctor Rindfleisch said that the distribution of parcels used to be done in that way, but that it has been impossible to keep order in the rooms, tins being found all over the place, and that he now had to follow the orders given him by the higher authorities.

        There were no other complaints except those mentioned under the different points above.

XVII.) GENERAL IMPRESSION

        The impression of this lazaret is in general very satisfactory. The German doctor makes a very good impression and the British Man of Confidence stated that the cooperation with him was very good.

        There is a good order everywhere in the hospital, and the patients seem to be well treated.

Fred. O. Auckenthaler.

Dr. Folke Malmquist.

Diet Sheet for Prisoners of War from 29th December, 1941 - 4th January, 1942

Senior M.O. Dr. Rindfleisch

Kitchen administration.