Holzminden internment camp was a large World War I detention camp (Internierungslager) located on the outskirts of Holzminden, Lower Saxony, Germany, which existed from 1914 to 1918. It held up to 10,000 civilian internees from allied nations. It is not to be confused with Holzminden prisoner-of-war camp, a much smaller camp for British and British Empire officers, which occupied a former cavalry barracks nearer the centre of the town, and which existed from September 1917 to December 1918.
The camp[]
The camp contained approximately 120 huts, and was surrounded by a perimeter fence dominated by watchtowers. It was made up of two sub-camps, one for men, and one for about 500 women and children. During the day, the women and children were allowed to enter the main compound.[1] The inmates mainly comprised Polish, Russian, Belgian and French nationals, many of the French being from Alsace-Lorraine; and later Serbians and Romanians. Among them was the Belgian historian, Henri Pirenne. A small number of British internees were also held, including five stewardesses from the Great Eastern Railway ferry SS Brussels.[2]
Although conditions in the camp were harsh, inmates were able to receive mail and food parcels. They developed their own communal facilities, including a "university", chapels, a school for the children, a café, and a photographic studio. Theatrical performances and concerts were held.
See also[]
- World War I prisoners of war in Germany
- List of prisoner-of-war camps in Germany
- List of concentration and internment camps
References[]
- ↑ Steuer 2009.
- ↑ Stanley, Jo (July 2012). "Captured by Germans: WWI women seafarers". http://womenshistorynetwork.org/blog/?p=1488.
Bibliography[]
- Steuer, Kenneth (2009). "Chapter 11". Pursuit of an 'Unparalleled Opportunity': the American YMCA and Prisoner of War Diplomacy among the Central Power Nations during World War I, 1914-1923. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231130288. http://www.gutenberg-e.org/steuer/steuer.ch11.html#txt7.
- Wallart, Claudine (2000). "Un camp de concentration de la Première Guerre: Holzminden".
- Wallart, Claudine (1998). "Déportation de prisonniers civils "au camp de concentration" d'Holzminden, novembre 1916-avril 1917".
External links[]
- German site (partly in English) on the PoW and internment camps, with many photos
- (French) Site on military prisoners and civilian internees at Holzminden, principally in the internment camp
- (French) Claudine Wallart and Marine Vasseur, "Déportation de prisonniers civils pendant la première guerre mondiale:le camp de Holzminden"
The original article can be found at Holzminden internment camp and the edit history here.