TRANSLATION BY THE LONDON DELEGATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS COMMITTEE    Germany

STALAG V B

Visited by Dr. O Lehner and Dr. O. Wenger on the 13th October 1942

        There are 47 British in the various lazarets or Stalags of whom 8 are Australians and 12 are New Zealanders.

Doctors  2 British

Chemists  4 in all

Dentists  3

Members of Medical Corps  135

        The Medical personnel are mostly in the lazarets of the Stalag.

Situation and Accommodation (See previous report)

        There have not been many serious changes made in this Camp since the delegates' last visit. Some of the buildings have been improved. All the huts are divided into several rooms in each of which an average of 20 men is lodged. The bunks are two-tier ones save in the case of those for prisoners who are unfit for service: these are of the three-tier variety. The palliasses are stuffed with wood shavings which have not been renewed since our last visit. The Camp has not yet been heated in any way in spite of the cold which began to make itself felt on the day of our visit. The Commandant explained to us that it would probably not be possible to begin heating the premises until the beginning of November on account of the coal shortage. All prisoners have two blankets which are from the Red Cross reserve stocks.

        The accommodation is fairly good, although it is a little cramped having regard to the number of prisoners.

Food

        Prisoner cooks prepare the food in a well-equipped kitchen. The menu is posted up on the kitchen wall. When we paid our visit we were able to take a note of the rations for the preceding week. These accorded with the regulations. The prisoners take their meals in their rooms. The food which comes from individual parcels and from the Red Cross consignments is prepared in a special kitchen. The prisoners have enough wood and coal for their use in the kitchens.

Clothing

        All prisoners are in possession of a uniform in fairly good condition. In the Labour Detachments footgear is in a very bad state. Prisoners wear wooden shoes in the Camp. They all have a double set of underwear complete save for socks. In the Labour Detachments the socks issued are mostly russian ones. There is a tailor's workshop and a boot-repairing shop in the Camp. The tailors have enough raw materials for their work, but the boot-repairers have no leather, they are obliged to make use of pieces of leather taken from old shoes or to re-make shoes with soles of wood. The prisoners do their own washing. For this purpose they receive, once a month, a small piece of green soap, for which they pay 15 pfennigs.

        Up to the present time the Camp Leader has not had complete charge of the clothing provided by the Red Cross; but this he will shortly have. In many of the Labour Detachments in the past the reserve clothing comes into the hands of the sentries on its way to the Camp Leader. The depôt where clothing is sorted is not at the Camp, but at the railway station for practical reasons. The Camp Leader's Deputies are in charge of this.

        In the same building the Red Cross food parcels are stored, and sent on therefrom to the Camp and to the Labour Detachments.

Canteen

        This has not much to offer; a few toilet articles (razor blades and tooth brushes) and as drinks, lemonade and mineral waters. The Camp Leader does not control the accounts and is not consulted as to how the profits shall be employed.

Hygiene

        The huts are furnished with a sufficiency of washplaces. Prisoners take one showerbath each week. Enormous quantities of fleas are reported.

Health Services

        The Infirmary is in a large stone building connected with the Camp by a sort of corridor. It comprises three large rooms with rather primitive equipment. Only favourable cases are sent in here for treatment. All those patients who are seriously ill are immediately taken to the lazaret, which is installed in an old rest house at a distance of about a quarter of an hour's journey away. We did not have time to visit this establishment but we had a long talk with the German head doctor of the lazaret. This doctor created the most favourable impression. The prisoner doctor are on very good terms with him. On the day of our visit there were 85 patients in the Infirmary. The only cases were chills, gastric indispositions, intestinal upsets, etc. These patients are attended by a doctor voluntarily. The other lazaret doctors take it in turns to hold consultations at the Infirmary.

        The lazaret dentist has two assistants.

        According to the German doctor, the prisoner surgeon at the lazaret is very clever, and takes care of all cases.

Leisure and Religious and Intellectual Needs

        A Catholic priest and a Protestant clergyman are able to celebrate diving service for their comrades.

        The Camp has a large library. This has lately been added to. Intellectual activity in this Camp is intense. Many study courses have been organised (for languages, commercial studies etc.).

        The orchestra, also, is very active; its director is very competent. There is, in the Camp, an excellent theatrical company which has during the past months already given several performances. The prisoners have enough card games and round games. The Camp also has a playing field where prisoners can play football, handball, and volleyball.

Discipline

        There are no complaints either from the prisoners or the Authorities of the Camp. The Camp Commandant is very sympathetic and understanding in regard to the prisoners; the Camp Leader as well as the prisoners are most grateful for this.

Correspondence

        The prisoners write the authorised number of letters and receive their parcels with regularity. Personal parcels arrive, for the most part, in good condition. Members of the medical corps write double the usual amount of letters allowed to other prisoners and receive a double allowance of correspondence "tickets".

Collective parcels

        The Camp Leaders have complete charge of the food parcels and distribute them themselves.

Work

        67% of the prisoners work in the fields, 30% in industry and the remainder in forestry and municipal public work. The agricultural work is, as everywhere, very arduous and entails long hours. Prisoners in industrial work work the same hours and at the same tasks as German civilian workers.

Interview with the Camp Leaders

        The Camp Leaders ask that drugs intended for the three lazarets dependent on the Stalag shall be sent to them direct.

        The prisoners of the Detachment known as "Forstkommando" 7044 are not well treated. This Detachment is made up of prisoners who have tried to escape. They are employed as woodcutters on contract rates (àfortait). In spite of the arduous nature of their work they do not receive any extra food. They have to go 12 kilometres every day on foot to get to their place of employment. Many of them are under treatment for sickness; they arrive at the Infirmary at the end of their strength and worn out by their work in this Detachment.

Conclusion

        Looked at as a whole this Camp is satisfactory. Its Commandant administers the affairs very well.