The Third Geneva Convention established the certain provisions relative to the treatment of Prisoners of War.
POW camps were to be open to inspection by authorised representatives of a neutral power.
All camps were enclosed with barbed wire and contained guard towers which were manned by armed German soldiers ready to shoot anyone trying to escape.
Article 10 of the Geneva convention required that POWs should be lodged in adequately heated and lighted buildings where conditions were the same as their own troops.
They were usually housed in one-storey wooden barracks which contained bunk beds (two or three high) and a charcoal burning stove in the middle of the room.
Daily routine varied from camp to camp but all prisoners would be expected to parade at least once daily for a roll-call.
Some men would be put to work either around the camp or in the locality.
They were required to perform whatever labour they were asked and able to do, so long as it was not dangerous and did not support the captor's war effort.
The work performed was largely agricultural or industrial, ranging from coal or potash mining, stone quarrying, or work in saw mills, breweries, factories, railway yards, and forests.
POWs hired out to military and civilian contractors were supposed to receive pay. The workers were also supposed to get at least one day per week of rest.
Prisoners were generally given two meals a day - thin soup and black bread.
The Red Cross provided millions of Red Cross parcels to Allied PoWs in Axis prison camps during the course of the war; most of these contained food and personal hygiene items, while others held medical kits.
Red Cross food parcels which contained 'luxury' items such as butter, biscuits, chocolate and condensed milk as well as dried fruits and vegetables.
Prisoners often improvised their own brick stoves and cooked their food in empty milk tins.
In many POW camps, cigarettes were widely used as currency in the form of 'Commodity money'.
Prices of other goods were expressed in terms of cigarettes. They were rationed in the POW camps. Cigarettes were more divisible and portable.
A range of sports were played when the weather was fine and in the evenings there were sometimes concerts.
However, for most, the overriding features of life in a prisoner of war camp were boredom, hunger and dreams of a better life once the war was over.
POW camps were to be open to inspection by authorised representatives of a neutral power.
All camps were enclosed with barbed wire and contained guard towers which were manned by armed German soldiers ready to shoot anyone trying to escape.
Article 10 of the Geneva convention required that POWs should be lodged in adequately heated and lighted buildings where conditions were the same as their own troops.
They were usually housed in one-storey wooden barracks which contained bunk beds (two or three high) and a charcoal burning stove in the middle of the room.
Daily routine varied from camp to camp but all prisoners would be expected to parade at least once daily for a roll-call.
Some men would be put to work either around the camp or in the locality.
They were required to perform whatever labour they were asked and able to do, so long as it was not dangerous and did not support the captor's war effort.
The work performed was largely agricultural or industrial, ranging from coal or potash mining, stone quarrying, or work in saw mills, breweries, factories, railway yards, and forests.
POWs hired out to military and civilian contractors were supposed to receive pay. The workers were also supposed to get at least one day per week of rest.
Prisoners were generally given two meals a day - thin soup and black bread.
The Red Cross provided millions of Red Cross parcels to Allied PoWs in Axis prison camps during the course of the war; most of these contained food and personal hygiene items, while others held medical kits.
Red Cross food parcels which contained 'luxury' items such as butter, biscuits, chocolate and condensed milk as well as dried fruits and vegetables.
Prisoners often improvised their own brick stoves and cooked their food in empty milk tins.
In many POW camps, cigarettes were widely used as currency in the form of 'Commodity money'.
Prices of other goods were expressed in terms of cigarettes. They were rationed in the POW camps. Cigarettes were more divisible and portable.
A range of sports were played when the weather was fine and in the evenings there were sometimes concerts.
However, for most, the overriding features of life in a prisoner of war camp were boredom, hunger and dreams of a better life once the war was over.
Last edited by Arthur Kirkland on Thu Dec 08, 2011 10:14 am; edited 1 time in total
