Ilag

Ilag is an abbreviation of the German word Internierungslager. They were internment camps established by the German Army in World War II to hold Allied civilians, caught in areas that were occupied by the German Army. They included United States citizens caught in Europe by surprise when war was declared in December 1941 and citizens of the British Commonwealth caught in areas engulfed by the Blitzkrieg.

They also included British citizens resident in the Channel Islands. In September 1942 Adolf Hitler ordered the German commander in Jersey to deport to camps in Germany all British citizens, not born in the islands. This was in retaliation for the internment by the British Army of Germans living in Iran. In total over 2,000 men, women and children were deported.

Internment Camps in France 1940–1944
Several Ilags were set up in France by the German Army to hold citizens of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth countries that were caught by the rapid advance during the Battle of France. The main camps were:

Besançon
Also called Frontstalag 142. At the end of 1940, 2,400  women, mostly British, were interned in the Vauban barracks and another 500 old and sick in the St. Jacques hospital close by. In early 1941 many of them were released, the rest were transferred to Vittel.

St.Denis
The camp was located in the old barracks built in the middle of the 19th century at St.Denis, close to Paris. The camp was opened June 1940 and existed until liberated by the United States Army in August 1944. Part of the grounds were surrounded by barbed wire to provide open space for exercise. In early 1942, there were more than 1,000 male British internees in the camp. The meagre food rations were augmented by the International Red Cross packages, so that, overall, their diet was satisfactory. Life was tolerable because there was a good library and recreation was provided by sports activities and theatre.

Vittel
Also called Frontstalag 121, this was one of the more hospitable internment camps as it was located in requisitioned hotels in this spa near Epinal in the Department Vosges. Most of the British families and single women were transferred here from St.Denis and Besançon.

In early 1942, women over 60, men over 75 and children under 16 were released. The overall population was thus reduced to about 2,400. The inmates included a number of American families and women. Provisions for recreation included a local theatre and a park with seven tennis courts.

A young New Zealander and two British women escaped in August 1941 and made their way to England.

Ilag V Liebenau
A camp in Liebenau, close to Meckenbeuren in Württemberg, on Lake Constance was opened in 1940 and operated until 1945. It was situated in a castle and four adjacent buildings. Originally it had been a mental hospital run by nuns. By orders of Hitler, about 700 of the patients were exterminated with injections, to provide room for internees.

The first internees were about 300 British citizens from Poland. More British were brought in 1941 from Belgium, Greece, Netherlands and other countries. The food rations were augmented with Red Cross packages. The guards were old German soldiers veterans of World War I and treated the internees well, as several of them had been prisoners of war in British camps and had been treated well. In January 1943 many of the married women were transferred to Vittel (see above).

Ilag V-B Biberach
This camp set up to accommodate Channel Island families and was located on a plateau north-west of Biberach an der Riß in south-eastern Baden-Württemberg. It consisted of 23 concrete huts which had previously served as Oflag V-B for officers prisoner of war. Initially the camp was administered by the German Army, but in spring of 1943 the administration was transferred to the Interior Ministry. This caused a worsening of food rations. Otherwise conditions in the camp were considered satisfactory by the International Red Cross. On clear days there was a spectacular view of the Alps.

In January 1943, the camp held 1,011 internees: 429 men, 437 women and 145 children.

Ilag V-C Wurzach
This camp also held Channel Island families. It was in the town of Bad Wurzach also in south-eastern Baden-Württemberg. Earlier it had been used as an oflag housing French officers. Conditions were less satisfactory because it was located in a three-storey 18th-century castle, that had recently been a monastery. The rooms were dark and damp. 618 internees arrived at the end of October 1942, all of them families.

Ilag VII Laufen and Tittmoning
British and American citizens were interned in the castles of Laufen and Tittmoning in Bavaria on the border with Austria. Also all British single men from the Channel Islands were sent here in September 1942. But in 1943 the younger men who had parents in Biberach or Wurzach, were allowed to join them. These two camps were always administered by the German Army

In April 1944 Laufen held 459 British internees (417 Channel islanders) and 120 Americans. Josef Nassy was imprisoned there. Over 40 Channel Island internees died during internment.

Repatriation

 * At least one small group of internees returned from Laufen to Jersey prior to D-Day in 1944.
 * After lengthy negotiations in Switzerland, 900 British internees, mostly elderly or ill, were exchanged in Lisbon for a similar number of Germans interned in South Africa in July 1944. Among the British there was a large number of the Channel Islanders. However they were returned to the British Isles, not to the Channel Islands.
 * The remainder were repatriated after the camps were liberated by the United States Army or the French Army (Biberach) in May 1945.