Stalag IVA

Camp Leader: For the British: ROWENTREE, who lives actually at Prossen (the railway station) where he controls the reception and distribution of collective parcels.

Strength: Total 22553, without counting the Russian prisoners, the number of whom we do not know.

Labour Detachments: 712, of which 3 are British Detachments, Grube Erika, Grube Brigitta and Grube Ostfeld.

Medical Personnel on Stalag territory: 51 Doctors and 3 chemists. This number appears to us to be far too high in proportion to the strength.

We did not visit the Camp itself, because we visited it in detail in May this year. The Camp Leader gave us the following information on the subject of quarters. They have been greatly improved, the rooms having been repainted and reconditioned. In addition, the construction of a hutment which serves as a clothing store has liberated three rooms, which has enabled the beds in the dormitories to be less crowded.

The reserves are adequate, and so are shoes. We noticed, however, that in the Labour Detachments Erika, Brigitta and Ostfeld the prisoners had no shoes.

The Infirmary is too small. Attention is given by 2 French Doctors, 1 French Dentist and 1 French medical orderly; 1 Serbian Doctor, 1 Serbian Dentist, 3 Polish Doctors and 1 Polish Dentist.

In addition there are about 15 members of the French Medical Corps who are recognised as such, who are in the Camp but are not employed in the Infirmary.

These are better met in the Labour Detachments. Resident priests live in the chief ones, from which they also attend the secondary Detachments included in certain regions. This service is, however, still incomplete as there are not enough priests.

The Library comprises 9,000 volumes. The Camp has its own magazine. The dramatic troupe gives performances nearly every Sunday in the Labour Detachments, where games too are being developed and where there are a large number of sports grounds.

The prisoners in this Camp go out for a two hours walk every two or three weeks in guarded squads.

Copies of the Geneva Convention are in the hands of the Camp Leaders, with whom we talked freely.

Stalag IV A is a good camp in the sense that it is commanded by a man of liberal spirit, who is animated by kindly sentiments towards the prisoners and who accords them highly appreciated privileges - such as walks outside the Camp and permission for the Dramatic Troupe and the Concert Party and permission for the Dramatic Troupe and the Concert Party to give performances to the Labour Detachments.

We noticed, however, that the number of Doctors appears out of proportion to the strength of the Camp. There are 51 Doctors for a strength of 22,553 prisoners.

The Chaplains Service is inadequate in the Labour Detachments, or more or less so in certain of them. The British in Labour Detachments Grube Erika, Grube Brigitta and Grube Ostfeld have no religious succour.

Collective Consignments: The same observations apply as in Lazaret Bilin of Stalag IV C.

In spite of a British Camp Leader furnished with adequate instructions, the British collective consignments are completely inadequate. A very large consignment of Red Cross parcels is desirable in order to permit the regulation distribution and to constitute a reserve for some weeks.

The British have been working since May 1941. A contingent arrived at the beginning of October.

The prisoners in this Detachment work in the works of a lignite Company. The work is not done in underground galleries as is the case in a coal mine, but under the open sky and in immense wide excavations of several hundred metres. The beds of lignite are found at a level which varies from 30 to 80 metres below the level of the ground. Dredger buckets remove the sandy soil which covers the lignite, and the latter is loaded into panniers on trains which transport it to the neighbouring briquette factory. The lignite is impregnated with water and the men who work at the loading and unloading of the panniers work practically in the water. The work is done under the open sky and is very laborious because the lignite, being full of water, is very heavy. The workmen are not provided with rubber boots.

The British are housed in three brick buildings of clay construction. The buildings are in a bad state, the dormitories are crowded with triple-tier wooden beds and it is not possible, in their present condition, to keep them in a sufficiently clean and orderly state. The men are forced to spend all their leisure time in these dormitories, and also to take their meals there. There is no Common Room where they can sit.

The Canteen supplies the prisoners of war with the usual toilet articles, writing paper and smoking requisites. Beer and lemonade are also to be found there, but the Canteen has no recreation room.

In one of the buildings we saw a man who had lice, and there are certainly others as well, and this in spite of the precautions taken by the Authorities - delousing of men and clothing and disinfection of the dormitories. This shows a state of affairs which seems particularly serious to us in view of the outbreaks of exanthematic typhus in various prisoners of war Camps in Germany.

This is comparatively plentiful. Nearly all the men draw the ration for heavy labour, which comprises in particular a bread ration of 500 grammes.

This, generally speaking, is inadequate and bad. Garments are often in a bad state, being rapidly ruined by the nature of their work.

In the British contingent only 56 men have British uniforms. All the others have a mixture of uniforms. The British Camp Leader has asked for British uniforms from Geneva, but these uniforms have been distributed amongst all the Labour Detachments.

The footwear is in bad condition and the men have no shoes. They have received 30 sweater, but they need a far larger number.

The Camp has no delousing apparatus. They have to use the one at the Lazaret at Elsterhorst some kilometres away. The briquette factory of "Grube Erika" has one near the Camp and there would be a certain advantage in using it.

There is no installation of showers in the Camp, but the men have a weekly shower in the shower baths at the factory. The washrooms in each of the Camp buildings are very rudimentary, and some of them are completely inadequate. One of them is in [a] dark room, the floor of which is made of cement and is in a very bad condition. There are only two taps in it which provide cold water for about 80 men.

The men sleep badly because the various shifts are mixed together in the buildings, with the result that the men who are sleeping are disturbed in their sleep by those who are going or coming from work.

This is given by a member of the French medical service and a British medical orderly. There is no Doctor nor Infirmary. The men have to be examined by a Doctor have to go on foot to the Infirmary at Schartzkolm, three kilometres away. Medical attention is given in this Infirmary by two Polish Doctors. The number of patients allowed to visit the Doctor is limited by the N.C.O. in charge.

There is no Library, but the British have about 60 books which were sent by the Y.M.C.A. There are a few games of chess, draughts, cards, etc., at the disposal of the prisoners, but the number is completely inadequate.

The prisoners have occasionally attended a cinematograph show in the neighbouring village.

There is a Sports Ground in the Camp where they play football, but the British have no football with which to play.

The men leave the cantonments between 6.15 and 7 a.m. and return between 4.30 and 5.30 p.m. They have one Sunday in three free. It occasionally happens that they have to work on the third Sunday as well. It is the same for the civilian workmen. We drew the attention of the military authorities and of the Mines Directorate to this anomaly.

The British Camp Leader has asked each month for parcels from Geneva. He has not received the number corresponding to the strength, the parcels having been distributed amongst all the Detachments.

The present arrangements in the Camp present very grave defects. The quarters are in bad condition, the sanitary arrangements are bad and the medical service is altogether inadequate. This state of affairs, in the present circumstances, presents a very great danger.

Sunday work, as now exists without any compensation during the week, is an infringement of the Convention.

After our visit we had a long talk with the Director General of the Mine. He showed a disposition to great goodwill towards the prisoners, a disposition which we had proof by his activities on their behalf in other respects. He explained to us that he had been taken by surprise by the sudden considerable augmentation of personnel and had not been able to put into execution so far the plan for ameliorations which he shortly hopes to introduce. He promised us that this work would be executed after about a month's delay. The French, of whom there are about 800, are to occupy a new camp now in course of construction, which will liberate buildings which they now occupy in the camp. The Camp buildings are all to be entirely reconditioned and disinfected. The men will have a canteen and a recreation room. He is going to insist that the Military Authorities shall reorganise the Medical Service.

This Labour Detachment is well situated. It is in a region which is cold and exposed to the wind in winter, but the climate is healthy. The hutments are on the side of a big lignite excavation. This excavation measures about 60 metres in depth. The lignite is dug in the open air and a bed of sand about 30 to 60 metres deep has to be moved first by means of powerful dredgers.

The little Camp consists of three wooden hutments which are quite new. One serves as a dormitory, one as a wash-house and the third as a kitchen. There is abundant free space in the interior of the hutments. The Camp itself is surrounded by barbed wire entanglements but they are only there as a matter of form.

The hutment which is used as a dormitory is new and very well built. All the prisoners sleep there in two large and two small rooms. Each of the double-tiered wooden beds is provided with a palliasse. Each prisoners has a little cupboard where he can lock his personal effects. In the centre of each room there are wooden tables and chairs where the prisoners can have their meals. All the rooms are very well heated, because coal is available in abundance. Heating is done by means of small stoves on which the prisoners can prepare their personal foodstuffs. All the rooms are very clean and light and the prisoners have enough space.

The kitchen is installed in a special hutment and is run by a British prisoner. The equipment is modern. According to the Camp Leader the food supplied is inadequate and the prisoners have need of Red Cross parcels. They receive soup three mornings a week in addition to their bread, but they would like to have it every day. We spoke about this to the management of the mines, who will do what is necessary. At midday the majority of the prisoners eat at the works and their food therefore normally consists of bread, marmalade and sausage. In the evening they get hot soup always, potatoes and margarine. The coffee which they get in the mornings is very weak and bad. The prisoners seem plainly under-nourished. They are all very pale, even paler than when they came from Greece and Crete, according to the Camp Leader. It would therefore be a good thing to send them some supplementary parcels.

The clothing is very mixed and the prisoners are wearing uniforms of every possible nationality. They would be very glad if the necessary clothing could be sent to them from Geneva. They need 50 complete uniforms, 120 pairs of socks, 80 pullovers, and if possible 40 pairs of shoes size No.8. They have enough underclothes.

The prisoners do their own washing and receive the necessary soap powder every month for this purpose. They have adequate hot water at their disposal.

Each prisoner has two blankets of wool. They wear working clothes at the mine. Each man has an overcoat. They have a drying-room at their disposal when their clothes are wet.

The Canteen has been open for the last two weeks. The Camp Leader makes the purchases in the neighbouring town and resells the merchandise himself. To this end he has collected 2RM from each of his comrades. He has started a good library. In the Canteen the indispensable toilet articles, writing paper, notebooks, pencils, etc., can be obtained. Neither cigarettes nor provisions are sold there.

Up to the present these prisoners have not had any showers. At our suggestion they will in future be taken every week to a neighbouring French prisoners of war camp where they will be able to have a shower. There is sufficient running hot and cold water. The washrooms are well arranged and adequate in number. The Camp Leader makes sure that everyone washes completely at least once a week so that they have been able to manage without the showers so far. The latrines are good and adequate in number. The prisoners are locked in at nights and therefore only have a covered tub for use then. Latrines for use at night are to be constructed.

When there are any cases of sickness, they remain in the Camp until the German doctor has examined them. The Doctor visits the Camp twice a week. Slight cases are treated in the Camp itself, but serious cases are evacuated to the Lazaret at Elsterhorst, where there are at the moment 7 patients from this Detachment.

A British medical orderly looks after his comrades. A German who is a male nurse by profession and who has been detailed for the purpose, does the dressings. He speaks English very well and is very much appreciated by the British. He explains the urgent cases to the Doctor. The small Camp Dispensary is well supplied with dressings and medicaments. According to the Camp Leader the medical service is well organised.

This Labour Detachment, which has been in existence since 12th October, 1941, has not yet received a single English book. The prisoners have no games whatever and would be very grateful if they could be helped in this respect. There is a large space outside the Camp where they could play games, but they have no football.

A French priest visits them from time to time to read Mass in the Camp. There is no British chaplain.

Up to the present the prisoners have been able to write 2 letters and 2 cards a month, and the same for the medical personnel. We explained the regulations in force to the Commandant of the Camp and he will certainly rectify this point. Only a few men have received news from home, but the majority are hoping for some shortly. If any man still remain without any news from home, the Camp Leader will then send their names to Geneva.

From October 12th until December 12th the prisoners in this Detachment only received a total of 199 parcels from the British Red Cross, and eight of these were tobacco parcels. At present they have no reserve whatever, but they are hoping to get something sent to them for Christmas. As we have already pointed out, the distribution of the Red Cross parcels for the British prisoners is very badly organised throughout this Wehrkreis.

The Camp Leader and the British interpreter remain in the Camp without working, and so does the medical orderly. All the other prisoners are employed in the big lignite works. Many are employed in laying the rails for a little electric train, others fell trees on the edge of the excavations, and others are already in responsible posts on the dredgers and driving the trains. The majority, however, are employed on loading the wagons. According to the Camp Leader the work is often very laborious and many of the men are still suffering from the serious under-nourishment from which they suffered in Greece. They work from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m., including Saturday afternoons. The majority work on Sundays and many during the week. As the Camp Leader told us, the German workmen are in the same boat.

The prisoners appear to be well treated by the civilian workmen at the excavations.

This has been very irregular up to the present. Once they received 22 RM for 17 days, (over time and special work extra). The Camp Leader does not work and receives 12.64 RM a month. The medical orderly gets 30 RM a month. In future the prisoners will receive their pay regularly every fortnight.

According to the Camp Leader relations with the personnel of the guard and with the civilians are good.

He adds that the food is inadequate in proportion with the work done, and that everyone is impatiently awaiting the arrival of parcels. The work is also very heavy to those who are not accustomed to it.

We explained his rights and his duties to the Camp Leader, for which he showed himself very grateful. He is going to get in touch with the head Camp Leader (British) at Stalag IV A, and should thus be able to get the necessary Red Cross parcels for his Detachment.

The morale of the prisoners is not of the best, but that is entirely due to the bad distribution of the parcels.

This Labour Detachment could be made excellent. The Camp Leader made a most favourable impression on us, and has his comrades well in hand. As soon as these prisoners get their parcels from the Red Cross, their morale and general condition will be good. Requests: Adequate numbers of parcels from Stalag IV A, books and games, 50 British uniforms (battledress complete), 120 pairs of socks, 80 pullovers and 40 pairs of shoes size 8.

"Grube Brigitta" is a lignite working. There are enormous workings where the labour is carried out under the open sky at a depth of 30 to 60 metres below the level of the surrounding plain. The work does not present any particular dangers, but it is hard because the beds of lignite are impregnated with water and the majority of the men work in water or else on very wet and heavy ground.

The quarters of the two contingents, British and French, are at some distance from each other and are of a different type.

They have been working there since the month of September. The British occupy a large wooden hutment, very well constructed and arranged. This hutment comprises two dormitories and a large Common Room which is supplied with tables and benches. Heating is provided by stoves burning lignite and it is abundant. The rooms are light, provided with large windows and the electric lighting is plentiful.

The beds are in double tiers and made of iron. Each has two blankets and a pillow. Everything is in good order and very clean. There are sufficient fire extinguishers. One of the dormitories has 54 beds (rather overcrowded) and the other 47 beds.

The latrines are in a separate building and are well arranged. There is also a night latrine in the hutment.

The washroom is adequate and has 12 taps. The men wash in basins on the tables. A copper boiler provides the necessary hot water for toilet and laundry purposes.

There are no showers in the Camp, but the men will in future have a weekly shower in the showerbaths at the mine.

Finally the men have at their disposal a drying-room which is well heated and where they can hang their clothing and linen.

This is abundant. The men draw 420 grammes of bread. The cooking is not done in the British Camp but in the French Camp about 200 metres away, in the neighbouring village. Cooking is done by women who are assisted by 6 British and 1 French prisoner. The men state that they are satisfied with it.

There is no Canteen in the British camp but the prisoners apply to the French camp, which sells the usual articles, toilet requisites, writing paper, smoking requisites, beer and lemonade. Cigarettes are very rarely to be found there.

The British soldiers are nearly all clothed in a mixture of uniforms of French and Belgian origin. The Detachment has only received 5 complete British uniforms from the Red Cross. Shoes are in very bad condition. The men have two sets of underclothing.

This consists of some fifty books. These arrived about three weeks ago from Stalag IV A. They have very few indoor games. Some games of chess, draughts, cards, etc., are very desirable.

There is a sports ground where they could play football but the British have no ball. A match was recently played between a French team and a British team. The British having been beaten are anxious to have a revenge and ask for a football.

This is at Schwarzkolm, some kilometres away. There is no Infirmary in the Camp, the sole medical service being provided by a British medical orderly. A Doctor only visits the Camp in cases of extreme urgency, and patients have to go to Schwarzkolm for consultations.

This medical service is inadequate. We pointed this out to the Mines Representative who accompanied us at the time of our visit. He assured us that an Infirmary was to be constructed on the spot and that the Medical service was to be improved.

The men work from 8 a.m. till 4.30 p.m. with 30 minutes rest in the middle of the day. They leave the Camp at 6.30 a.m. and return at 5.30 p.m.

The men work two Sundays out of three. We drew the attention of the responsible Authorities to this point. The prisoners complained to us that they are forced to leave the cantonments at 6.30 to arrive in the dark at the works, where they have to wait for about an hour till daybreak before they can start their work. The Mines representative, to whom we put this point, assured us that from the next day they would leave the cantonments one hour later.

The prisoners are authorised to write 2 letters and 2 cards. We requested the responsible officer to raise the figure to 4 postcards instead of 2.

These have been altogether inadequate. The Camp Leader has only been able to distribute, so far, 2 parcels in 9 weeks.

7th November

12th "

24th "

2nd December

3rd "

8th "

Tobacco parcels have been included in this figure. The men have each received 100 cigarettes in all. There are 38 parcels in store.

The material equipment of the British Camp is very good. Food is comparatively plentiful. The Firm certainly make efforts to treat well the prisoners who provide them with indispensable manual labour. We had a long talk with the Firm's chief engineer. He showed himself very understanding and full of goodwill.

The medical service is completely inadequate. The Chaplains service is non-existent as far as the British are concerned.

So far the British have not been able to send the regulation number of postcards.

The clothing for the British is inadequate. They need indoor games. A consignment of British Red Cross parcels sufficient to ensure a reserve for [hard to read but possibly "4"] weeks and also a weekly distribution. (See the British strength of Stalag IV A).

The British boots are in very bad condition and more should be sent to them as soon as possible.

Since September this Lazaret has replaced the Lazaret at Schockwitz, which is still on the list of Lazarets. As was also the case at Schockwitz, the Lazaret is exclusively devoted to the treatment of tubercular cases.

The Lazaret at Schockwitz is still in existence as a Reserve-Lazaret for the Germany Army, but no longer receives prisoners of war.

The Lazaret at Koenigswartha is installed in the buildings of an institution which was formerly devoted to blind persons. As the latter only numbered 100, it is obvious that the 300 beds of the present establishment are very crowded. According to the German Authorities themselves, the material equipment in Koenigswartha is inferior to that in Schmockwitz.

The Lazaret occupied two large brick buildings and a brick hutment of 130 beds. The patients occupy rooms with 2 to 4 beds and some dormitories with 20 to 25 beds.

A wooden hutment which is not yet completed will hold two dormitories with 75 beds in all. This hutment will be occupied within a few days and will house the less serious cases. We were informed that this would enable the beds in the rest of the establishment to be less crowded together.

The rooms and dormitories share the common fault of being over crowded. Otherwise they are comfortable and well heated by pottery stoves. Light and ventilation are assured by large windows. The electric lighting is very good. The buildings are surrounded by gardens, part of which are arranged as a park.

The food conforms to the regulations but the patients receive, in addition to the regulation rations numerous supplements in the form of white bread, eggs, milk, meat, margarine, and marmalade (See menu below).

Clothing presents some difficulties, especially for the British, because Stalag IV A has no reserve of British uniforms.

There is no Canteen, but the Camp Leaders can go to the village to make purchases for the patients. Necessary articles are found there at reasonable prices.

Medical attention is given by 4 Doctors and 23 members of the French medical personnel, 1 British medical orderly and 6 Serbian medical orderlies.

There is a total of 240 patients of whom about 25 are cases of non-tubercular pulmonary affections.

24 Britons left the Lazaret to be repatriated last October. They had all now returned to the Lazaret.

Patients are examined and treated with care. The Lazaret has a good equipment of X-Rays. Pneumo-thoracic treatment is regularly practised. A good operating theatre, with every guarantee of asepsis, enables operations for phrenectomy and "sections de brides" to be carried out. These operations are performed by the Hospital Chief Medical Officer, who is a specialist in pulmonary diseases. There have been 15 deaths since the opening of the hospital.

Nothing has been organised for the British, who are chiefly Protestants. The local Evangelical pastor presides over funerals.

The presence of a British Chaplain is very desirable in this Lazaret where the British tubercular cases are concentrated. We have made a request to this effect to the O.K.W.

The Library comprises 200 English books. For the last week the Lazaret has had a talking cinema. Patients have a gramophone at their disposal and various indoor games. A German class has been organised.

The reception, control of reserves, distribution etc., are all entirely in the hands of the Camp Leaders. Up to the present the British have received a parcel per week, but so far no reserve has been constituted.

The Chief Medical Officer asked us for the instant despatch of collective consignments to distribute to all the patients who have need of them, without distinction as to nationality.

The Lazaret at Konigswartha can be considered good. The only criticism is that the beds are too crowded together. If the number of beds is not increased, this inconvenience will end when the new hutment is opened. What makes this a good hospital is the personality of the Chief Medical Officer, who is not only an excellent technician but also a man of heart, who treats his collaborators with great kindness and thus obtains excellent results. He follows each case closely, treats each patient individually and shows kindliness and sympathy to all.

If possible, it would be a very good thing to send a special collective consignment of food which could be distributed, regardless of nationality, to all those patients in need of it.

352 patients, of whom 44 are British. The patients come from the Stalags of Wehrkreis IV. There is no member of the British medical personnel in the Lazaret.

See the previous Report of the Delegates of the International Red Cross Committee.

Since the Delegates' last visit a new isolation hutment has been constructed for patients suffering from exanthematic typhus. According to the statement of the Camp Leader, all the hutments are well constructed. The various sections are not overcrowded, contrary to what we had so often seen in Lazarets. The patients wards are all very light, well kept, very well heated and ventilated. The patients have iron beds provided with white sheets, and only those who are not seriously ill have double tiered beds.

The patients wear the hospital clothing which they receive on arrival. This clothing is washed from time to time. On the day of our visit they were perfectly clean. The patients; linen and their sheets are changed twice a month, and every four weeks in cases of slight sickness. Every prisoner has two or three blankets.

Indispensable toilet articles can be bought here, beer twice a week, cigarettes, but no foodstuffs.

The food in the Lazaret appears to be inadequate. The patients whom we questioned on this subject during the course of our visit all told us that they had to get thinner since their arrival. It follows that they try to return as soon as possible to their Labour Detachments, sometimes before they are completed cured, simply in order to get more to eat. All the occupants of the Lazaret depend very much, therefore, on the different consignments they receive, and the Doctors state that it is only the food sent from home that enables them to build up their strength.

Patients suffering from gastric trouble or from kidney trouble can have a special diet. They receive, for example, soup three times a day and 150 grammes of white bread. This diet is equally very weakening, and the Doctors find themselves forced to prescribe it for only a short time, and then to give the patients the normal ration again, and then the diet once more.

There is a Diet Kitchen in each hutment, which is constantly in use but there it is principally the foodstuffs from the parcels which are cooked there. Oflag IV D sends a certain amount of food for the patients.

The hygiene of the Lazaret is excellent in all respects. There is a delousing installation available. The prisoners have to take a shower regularly every 8 days. There is sufficient running hot and cold water. The latrines are well arranged. Each building has 8 water-closets.

Between the hutments and on the west of the Lazaret, large Sports Grounds have been arranged.

The Lazaret has a Surgical Section, a Section for Internal Medicine and an Isolation pavilion. A new building has been constructed since the International Red Cross Delegates' last visit to take in cases of exanthematic typhus. This wooden construction is completely separated from the others and is surrounded by a barbed wire enclosure.

Patients of different nationalities are not separated from one another, but they are on the best of terms with each other.

Tubercular cases are sent to Konigswartha where a special establishment is reserved for them. The 15 cases of exanthematic typhus are for the most part Russians.

The various Consulting Rooms, Treatment Rooms and Operating Theatre are well equipped. There are adequate supplies of dressings and medicaments.

The Dental Surgery only permits of extractions and some stoppings, and does not allow of any dentures being made.

The British possess neither books nor games. They would be very grateful if some could be sent to them as soon as possible.

The British receive the British Red Cross parcels very irregularly, as some are sent from Stalag IV E and others from Stalag IV A. According to the Camp Leader they have only received 1 parcel per man in 5 weeks. We explained to him that he should immediately inform the Stalags to which they belong of the numbers of British in the Lazaret in order to receive parcels for everybody. He has always checked and distributed the parcels. There is no reserve at present.

The Camp Leader states that the food given to the patients is not sufficient and that they are principally nourished by the food received from home. On the other hand they are all satisfied with the attitude of the Germans. They ask to have some books and games sent to them as soon as possible.