No.335

CONFIDENTIAL

STALAG IX C - BAD SULZA.

Date of visit: January 14th, 1944.

Camp Commander: Oberst Schaal

Abwehroffizier: Hpt. Bruenger

Chief British Man of Confidence: R.Q.M.S. G.R. Townsley (P.o.w. No. 1413)

        It will be noted from the above that since our last visit to this camp - which as before merely remains the administrative centre of Stalag IX C - Colonel Schaal has taken over from Colonel Lincke and the former Abwehroffizier has been replaced by Captain Bruenger. The delegates of the Protecting Power that these changes were all to the good of the prisoners of war in this Stalag.

        There is now a total of 2446 British prisoners of war in this Stalag, most of whom are required to work in one of the 18 working detachments. Lately the number of these detachments has been reduced to the figure just named; many smaller commandos have been broken up and the men sent to existing larger ones. The reason for this measure appears to be the lack of adequate numbers of guards.

        Working Detachment No.27 B at Erfurt has been dissolved as requested by the Protecting Power.

        Only 3 British prisoners of war are living at this camp, namely the chief man of confidence with another prisoner of war as his assistant and W.O. Burns, who is in charge of the Red Cross food parcels and clothing distribution. R.Q.M.S. Townsley, together with his assistant, has recently moved into pleasant new quarters and he states that were it not for the fact that the two of them are more or less isolated from the other British prisoners of war, they would feel quite happy. However, as the chief man of confidence pays regular visits to the working detachments now, he is able to establish personal contact with his countrymen and these visits also provide a pleasant interruption of the somewhat monotonous life at base-camp.

        Regarding the clothing of the British prisoners of war, R.Q.M.S. Townsley stated that only about 70 per cent of them have two uniforms and that only a small number of firms issue blue working overalls and a smaller number still working boots, in fact most firms supply nothing. The prisoners of war dislike wearing the wooden clogs issued to them in many salt-mines and continue working in leather boots, thus, of course, rapidly ruining these.

        The entire stock of clothing at the base-camp now amounts to the following:

                218 battle-dress jackets

                18 pairs of battle-dress trousers.

        No boots are in stock. For underwear no figure could be given. Advice has been received from Geneva that more clothing will be sent soon. The working detachments should, however, be fairly well equipped.

        As to food-parcels there is now a stock of 20,000 at the base-camp, but the working detachments have, so the speak, no reserves in stock but receive their parcels regularly from the base-camp.

        Summing up it can be said that since our last visit to this base-camp there have been many improvements.

sig. Gabriel Naville

      Dr. M. Meier.