(Translation from French)        13264

Camp Report:  K/P.E.E./F.P.D./.G.D.       Germany

Stalag IV. F.

Visited the 26th February, 1945, by M. Kleiner.

Camp Leaders:

        British  No: 252864 Cpl. Peter PREBBLE.

        American                 Sgt. Williams SANDLIN.

Strength: 45,972 prisoners, among whom are:

        Also attached to the Stalag: 45 Doctors, 4 Chaplains, among whom are 3 British Doctors and 2 British Chaplains.

Position and Accommodation:

        There has been no alteration since the last visit. The camp is well heated and has been throughout the winter. The steam emanates from a factory, and there has been no complaint on this matter.

        A request on the part of the prisoners, concerning anti-aircraft protection, was dealt with on the spot by the German authorities during the final interview.

        The conditions at the detachment billets are very diverse. However, the prisoners complaints are more concerned with the place of work, the discipline and the food, than with the billets.

Food:

        The situation that prevails here is the same as elsewhere: the German rations had been reduced (the quantities for 4 weeks now have to stretch over 5 weeks, the same as for the civilian population, and will have to be still further reduced). The rations are posted up at the camp, but are said not to be posted up in all the detachments, although the German authorities affirm the contrary.

        The British complain again that, at detachment R.123, thirty-three of their men receive rations for only 24 men. This information was given to the British camp leader by the German woman cook who is responsible for the cooking for that detachment. They have promised to enquire into the matter.

Collective Parcels:

        The storage, distribution and preparation of collective parcels from the Red Cross does not meet with any difficulty at Stalag IV.F. Up to now, the detachments have also been able to provide for their needs regularly out of the collective parcels.

        It has always been possible to find some means of transport, although the French Red Cross lorry also has broken down.

        Until recently, the food supplies were almost normal. The monthly reports from the camp leaders inform Geneva of the arrivals and distributions.

        It should be added that, according to what the Camp Leaders say, the reserves of collective parcels for all nationalities, are at present exhausted. Also the British are all too anxious to make use of a permission which given them verbally by an officer of the competent camp, which allowed the prisoners of this Stalag to share out equally, the collective parcels which arrive and are stored here, and are intended for other Stalags.

        See also, with regard to this, the second paragraph under this heading.

Wagons with collective parcels arriving at Hartmannsdorf and at Weissenfels for other Stalags:

        The following Wagons have arrived at Harmannsdorf and have been unloaded and stored in the storeroom for collective parcels:

                On the 17th February:

                        Wagon 83663: 364 cases of rations in bulk, for Stalag VIII.B.

                        Wagon 76590: Clothing, shoes, toilet articles for Oflag 64 (Americans).

                17th February:

                        Wagon 71894: 3,000 "Canadians Parcels" for Stalag Luft II.

                        Wagon 28254: 2,000 "Indian Parcels", clothing, toilet articles, "Medical Parcels" bananas, for Stalag VIII.C.

                        Wagon 28257: 2,000 British parcels and bananas for Stalag VIII.C.

                24th February:

                        1,500 "Supplementary Diet Parcels" and 80 "Medical Parcels".

        The above-mentioned wagons are managed by the British Camp Leader who is responsible for them.

        As has already been mentioned, the British have already begun to share out their parcels. The Representative was unable to calculate the exact extent of these distributions, as the storekeeper was not able to be present. The share-out took place after the camp officer had announced to the camp leader that Dresden had authorized the distribution of collective parcels from these wagons. This German officer made no mention of the International Red Cross Committee. The Delegate therefore told the camp leader that he should not proceed with any such distribution without the authority of the International Red Cross Committee, and he ordered (prisoners of) all nationalities immediate to cease sharing out any food from these wagons or those which would follow with goods for prisoners of other nationalities in other Stalags.

        A distribution of that kind should not take place except in the event of a general evacuation of the camp caused by a development in the military situation; and again, the food supplies should then be distributed amongst all prisoners in that region so that they might all benefit by this salvage. This share-out in the event of an eventual evacuation should only take place provided no other instructions were previously issued from Geneva. The Delegate gave these instructions in order to avoid everything being left behind and exposed to pillage or putrefaction when an evacuation should take place.

        Four wagons have arrived at Weissenfels for the Americans and apparently contain American parcels.

        The American camp leader, who had just returned from a tour of inspection obtained information en route, as to the contents and destination of these four wagons, but was not in a position to give details about their contents, their number, nor the actual addresses.

        These six (?) wagons were unloaded by the French and their contents stored at the factory of Van Waveren and de Bres at Weissenfels.

        Nothing of that had been distributed, and the American camp leader pointed out that his men at Zeiz are hungry, and that the rumour is going round that these wagons were in the neighbourhood. He would therefore like to shareout part of the stock immediately.

        It is possible that yet other wagons may arrive here either intended for other Stalags which are in course of evacuation or for Stalag IV.F., but the possibilities of storage will soon be exhausted. Their re-dispatch will constitute a great problem, as, to begin with, it is very difficult to obtain wagons, secondly, it would take them a long time to reach their new destination, and their losses would be very heavy in the event of a further change and transport by railway should that still be possible. Already a number of wagons have arrived at Hartmannsdorf pilfered. The Delegate does not know of any situation such as that presented by Weissenfels.

        The Delegate refers to the report on Stalag IV.C. and to the distress of prisoner who are being evacuated and are marching towards their new destination. It is necessary to arrange immediately for lorries to join up with prisoners from the Stalag, who are on the road, should they not yet arrived.

Clothing:

        All that has been mentioned in the preceding reports may be repeated: the clothing and the shoes have not arrived. We will not again describe the condition of the clothing for all nationalities, the picture being the same as everywhere else.

        In should nevertheless be very specially emphasized that the condition of the Americans' clothing is very bad. The necessary should immediately be sent to these Americans, all of whom were taken prisoners at Limburg. They have the air of criminals or detainees - they are sent from one camp to another, and it is this fact which is responsible for making them more ragged, and the other prisoners have to make collections of under garments for them - Here again the need for provision by lorry is most urgent.

Medical Services:

        In the neighbourhood there is a small infirmary where patients from the field hospitals are sent, especially those from Hohnstein-Ermsttal. These field hospitals release mild cases which are, however, still cases that need to be kept in hospital. It should be mentioned that the present quarters are inadequate, but that new quarters are to be found in that same locality or at Altenburg, according to the Command promises. The Delegate did not have time to deal with the question of the infirmary in detail, because he was engaged the whole morning in dealing with the question of the arrival of collective parcels.

Work and Detachments:

        The American camp leader, full of good will though not quite equal to his tasks, has now got the assistance of an extremely capable associate. He pointed out an incident which occurred in Detachment No.124: an American there is said to have been hit by a sentry with the butt end of a rifle and to have succumbed two days later as a result of his wounds. The German authorities are said to have given appendicitis as the cause of his death. The German authorities knew nothing of this case and reproached the American camp leader at the last interview for not having given them a written report, and, in general for having omitted to bring to the knowledge of the camp authorities the various points on which they wished to interview the Delegations. The reproach was not justified, however, as: (1) the other camp leaders also had not mentioned the matters that they had intended to discuss and (2) the American camp leader had been away for three days before the visit and had only returned to the camp the same day.

        In Detachment No.124, various irregularities were noted concerning the sharing out of collective parcels: the German chief of the detachment is said to distribute the tinned food as he pleases and uses the collective parcels as a means of spurring the Americans to a greater output of work. Reply from the German authorities: the case is not known; the question will be studied as soon as a report is received.

        The American camp leader has visited Detachment No.117. The prisoners there are said to be directly employed in war industries, repairing armoured cars, etc. The American camp leader has demanded that this kind of work should cease as it is a direct contravention of the rules prescribed by the Geneva Convention.

        The German authorities replied to this remark that the American prisoners are no longer directly employed in war industries.

        Complaints are also made about two reports, which were submitted by the camp leader of Detachment M.73 and retained by the camp censorship. The detachment camp leaders are said to have no opportunity of speaking with the principal camp leaders, and a month is said to have elapsed before anything was known of the contents of these reports.

        In this connection the camp authorities remark that these reports must first be examined as they are often proved unfounded. They are forwarded to the principal camp leaders as soon as they have been examined by the German authorities, at the same time as the results of the enquiry.

        The American camp leader points out, nevertheless, that the men in this detachment are not fairly treated. He requests moreover that the right to designate district camp leaders. The camp authorities consent to this, provided there are more than three detachments to each district.

        All the camp leaders complain generally of the unreasonable obstruction placed in their way when they wish to visit the detachments; this leads to very imperfect contact with the detachment camp leaders, especially for the Americans.

        Camp leaders coming in from the detachments to the Stalags may not speak with the Stalag camp leader.

        In reply to this point, the camp authorities said that visits are authorised, but only on condition that two weeks notice is given in advance. They assured us however that immediate visits are also allowed in urgent cases.

        Visits from outside camp leaders to the Stalag have to be severely controlled, otherwise there would be continual coming and going. Contact between the detachments and the camp leaders is assured by regular meetings.

        The Delegate, however, carried away the impression that the "Abwehr" (Security) made contact difficult between the principal camp leaders of the Stalag, the district and the detachments.

Pay:

        No complaints have been lodged about this matter.

Recreation and intellectual and spiritual pursuits:

        An attempt is to be made as relax discipline.

Interviews with camp leaders:

        The interview took place without witnesses. The points mentioned were discussed then in detail.

        It is evident, from this interview, that it is the "Abwehr Offizier" (Security Officer) in particular, who in fact rules the camp, who creates difficulties for the prisoners by his more or less man ways.

        As everywhere in the "Wehrkreis" IV, the principal problems which worry the prisoners, are those deriving from the eventual evacuation and the future food supply collective parcels.

Final interview with the German authorities:

        The replies given by the German authorities to the various questions pointed out, have already been mentioned in this report.

        It should again by pointed out that to most of the questions, and during the interview, the replies were almost exclusively given by the Security Officer "Abwehroffizier", whereas the Commandant spoke very little.

        The officer of the "Abwehr" gives the strictest possible interpretation to all prescriptions.

Conclusion:

        The principal camp of Stalag IV.F. may be considered good. The detachments are in a bad condition, which the Americans have to suffer from most. As may be verified everywhere in the "Wehrkreis" Iv, they are being particularly badly treated here at the present moment.

        This journey has given us the impression that the Americans are specially earmarked for bad detachments and are badly clothed and ill-nourished.