Translation by the London Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross
INDIAN DETACHMENT (Stalag V A)
Visited on November 15th. 1944 by Dr. Pfister and Mr. Biner.
Camp Leader - Sultan Khan, No. 1563
Strength - about 100 Indians.
Accommodation - About 100 Indians from the former Stalag 315 have been housed since November 9th. 1944 (or about this date) in the old sick ward of Stalag V A. They suffer from the cold and not sufficient fuel is issued. The huts are of the usual type. Prisoners are housed according to their religion (Mohamedans, Hindus, Sikhs, Ghurkas).
Clothing - The Indian prisoners' clothing is very bad. The little they were able to save on leaving Stalag 315 was lost during the 13 other transfers which followed. There is a most urgent need of clothing.
Collective consignments - The prisoners have received no Red Cross Parcels for at least two months; they make an urgent request for Indian Parcels.
Transfers which occurred to date - On Mat 11th. last, an air raid over Stalag 315 caused the death of about 250 Indians. 250 fled and about 300 disappeared. The party which finally arrived at Stalag V A still included 1900 men when orders were received in mid-August to be ready for evacuation. Blankets, greatcoats, underclothing were left behind as being too bulky to carry as the prisoners had to walk 30 kilometres a day towards Germany. After a few days' march, they received machine gun fire from aircraft; then there was a continuous rain fall. On September 1st. the prisoners scattered in the woods; they remained a month near the fighting line and during this time they searched for food in the woods (roots). After this stay of a month near the fighting line, 100 Indians mentioned in this report were separated from their comrades and sent slowly towards the East. They stayed two weeks in a town where they received very bad treatment; one loaf a day had to suffice for 7 men with sugarless coffee etc. They were then taken to a small town where there were neither blankets or water. The Camp Leader made constant complaints to the German authorities without success. He requested to be sent with his men (among whom are 54 N.C.O.) to an Indian camp in the region. To resume, they at last arrived a few days ago at Stalag V A, where, they were informed, their stay will only be temporary. The Camp Leader would prefer to remain with his men in their present quarters at Stalag V A after the suffering they have endured during their 13 different transfers.
Translation by the London Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross
DETENTION CAMP FOR ATTEMPTED ESCAPES (Stalag V A) Germany.
Visited by Dr. Pfister and Mr. Biner on November 11th. 1944.
Strength - 182 prisoners including 2 American N.C.O. and 2 British N.C.O. who refused to work.
Accommodation - Up to November 9th. 1944, fugitives were housed in two stables of the Adolf Hitler Barracks, about a kilometer to the East of the town. Since this date, they have been lodged in a similar stable about 300 metres away from their old quarters. The stables are built of bricks with stone floors which hold the damp. A few windows, very high up, nearly under the roof, do not give sufficient light. There are no cupboards or shelves against the walls for keeping personal belongings, only the beds and, in the middle of the room, a stove which cannot be used. There is a hole in the roof, of about 50 c/m diameter, caused by an incendiary bomb. The whole place seems cold and uncomfortable. On the Delegates' arrival, the prisoners were shut in their quarters. Two heavy sliding doors, closed by chains, form the entrance. The main exit leads into a yard the other three sides of which are formed by huts housing prisoners of other nations. Trenches have been cut in the yard and the Camp Commander stated that the occupants of the detention camp were at liberty to use the trenches together with the other prisoners. Behind the stable is another smaller yard which is to be allotted to the prisoners for use during the day.
Since being evacuated and until the Delegates' visit, prisoners have only been able to go out in the yard for 1h½ at the most; the rest of the time they were obliged to remain confined in their unheated quarters.
Categories of P.O.W. on the camp strength - The N.C.O. who refused to work have been detained for months in the same camp as two other categories of prisoners; they urgently requested that they should be transferred to a special camp for N.C.O. detained for similar reasons. They complain of the fact that they are obliged to live in the same camp as prisoners under detention for military crimes and fugitives, and under the same defective conditions. The camp authorities assured the Delegates that an application would be made to higher quarters in this sense, in order that these N.C.O. might be evacuated to Stalag XVIII A.
Conclusion - This detention camp is very bad, there is not sufficient accommodation, beds are infested with vermin, there are neither tables or benches (these were cut up and burned by the prisoners who had no fuel).
The very low morale shown by the prisoners may be imputed to the fact that there have been gathered together in one camp, under special supervision, fugitives, prisoners under military detention and N.C.O. who refused to work. The men consider they are under detention and that this is a disciplinary camp.
It is to be recommended that the N.C.O. who refused to work should be transferred soonest possible from this camp to Stalag XVIII A.
