Munster 1 Westphalia POW Camp

[Guest braco]

My father was taken prisoner on the21st.March 1918 and taken to Munster 1 POW camp.He never really spoke about his time there or what it was like! I have a letter he wrote in Oct.1918 but of course it was censored and gives no insight as to conditions.I would like to know where it was,what were the buildings like (or was it a tented camp) and what living conditions may have been like? Any info would be greatly appreciated. A photo would be terrific!

[Doug Johnson]

Hi Web,

This is the description by Mrs P-H.

Capital (pop 91,000) of westphalia, a cathedral city and the seat of a university and headquarters of the 7th Army corps. It is on the banks of the Dortmund-Ems Canal. There are four prison camps in the neighbourhood, known as Münster I, II, III and IV. Münster I is some distance from the city, in open country. The camp is placed on clay soil and is liable to become very muddy. There is a Y.M.C.A. hut and a large lazaret. Münster II (Rennbahn) is on the raceourse, the grandstand of which is used administrative purposes, catholic chapel and theatre. Münster III is a block of brick barracks built for German troops. Many prisoners are engaged in coal – mining in camps II and III. Münster IV is said to be reserved for Russian prisoners.

The camps at Münster tend to be all grouped together though all the first three were registration camps.

The following is a list of prisoners registered there in Oct 1918;

French Officers 3

French Men 9 702

Russian Officers 1

Russian Men 6 354

Belgian Men 424

English Men 3 343

Serbian Men 42

Italian Men 752

Portuguese Men 285

Civilians 40

Total 20 946

The camp was visited by the American Embassy staff as follows;

Cd 7861) Miscellaneous No 11 (1915) Reports by United States Ambassador Officials on the Treatment of British Prisoners of War and Interned Civilians at certain places of detention in Germany.

Münster, April 6, 1915

In or near Münster there are three camps for soldiers, under a general “Gefangenen Inspektion”

Camp No I is some distance from the city in open country. It consists of two blocks, or quadrangles, and a large lazarette, in which two British medical officers, Captain A. M. Rose and Lieutenant W.P. Croker, are employed. There are also a considerable number of British sanitary soldiers. This camp contained a total of 6,389 non-commissioned officers and soldiers, of whom 262 were British. The British soldiers were distributed in small numbers in rooms with men of other nationalities, principally Belgian and French, with whom their relations do not appear to be good. Obviously these men would be better satisfied if they could be segregated and each nationality kept by itself.

Camp No II consists of four large quadrangles which have been built in the racecourse. In these quadrangles British soldiers as a rule occupy rooms by themselves. In this camp there were 11,093 prisoners, of whom 451 were British. The living room opened on the large central court, in the middle of which are the kitchens, latrines and bath-houses. In one “block” a room had been arranged as a Catholic chapel and another used as a theatre. Each block had its own band of music, made up of men of all nationalities.

Camp No III was located in an Infantry Barracks which had been in the course of construction and had never been occupied previously. Some of the rooms are below the ground level, and are not well lighted. Here there are 4,491 prisoners, of whom 226 were British. The kitchen and latrines are some distance from the barracks.

In all these camps the cooks were French, and although the food which I tasted seemed fair, the British soldiers complained of both its quality and quantity, especially in regard tom the bread. The canteen facilities are restricted, but anything in the way of food (or tobacco) which comes from abroad may be received. Smoking is permitted except in the barracks. Facilities are provided for those who wish to work. Large parties are employed in agricultural work and in road-making, and many small parties go into the city, under guard, to work at trades. Few of the English soldiers have trades and among them there seemed to be a general disinclination to do work outside the camp (in the field or coal mines), because of the impression that in so doing they would be considered as giving assistance to the enemy and in consequence forfeit their pay as soldiers. In consequence, they are called on to do at least their full share of work in the camp, but on enquiry I could not ascertain that there had been any real discrimination against them ot that they had been made to do dirty work, such as cleaning the latrines, etc, any more than their fellow – prisoners.

Several men complained that they had received bad treatment from German soldiers, but I found that this had occurred in isolated cases only, and the German soldier had been punished when his conduct had been brought to the attention of the officers. Several men who had come, more or less recently, from other camps complained that packages and letters had not been received, but such complaints were the exception and not the rule. Many wounded men were hopeful of an exchange, and a few who complained that they were ill said that it was difficult to get the doctors to pay proper attention to their case. The general heath of the British soldiers seemed to be good. The washing and bathing facilities appeared adequate, and so did the latrines,although as the trench system is in use these might become objectionable in warm weather.

Warm water was generally available, but the men complained that the allowance of soap was insufficient.

Protestant religious services in English have been held in all these camps by a German pastor.

More to follow

Doug

[Doug Johnson]

This is the report of a second visit by Embassy staff;

Report of Visit by Mr. Dresel to Detention Camps at Münster.

24th March 1916

Munster I

This camp, described with the other Münster camps in a report of the 6th april 1915, contains two large compounds or rectangles formed by lines of barracks on each side. The space inside these compounds are occupied partly by the usual kitchen, wash and bath houses, and small gardens, cultivated by the French prisoners, have been laid out in some places. The soil contains much clay, making exercise, except on the board walks, impossible.

One hundred and thirty-four British were found in one compound, quartered with other nationalities in four separate rooms, containing 77, 24, 30, and 3 respectively; the other compound contained 163 British in one room. The sleeping places were arranged in two tiers in each room, the lower tier being formed by wooden frames containing straw mattresses, the upper tier by hammocks. Four blankets, apparently containing but little wool, were allowed to each man. The rooms appeared to be overcrowded, but at the time of the visit a number of the beds in the centre of nearly each room were being removed, and the occupants transferred to other quarters, the space thus gained being occupied by tables. The barracks were hardly sufficiently lighted, there being two electric lights inside and two outside a room measuring 186 ft by 45 ft., and as there were windows only on one side of the room, the ventilation was not especially good. The buildings were built immediately after the beginning of the war, and are therefore not up to the standard of those of newer construction observed in a number of camps.

The prisoners were well clothed and provided with overcoats, the chief reliance being on shipments from England. The bathing and latrine arrangements appear satisfactory. There were the usual complaints as to the food, but, as in most camps, the prisoners prefer to depend on packages from home, which arrive in sufficient quantities. For two months there had been a shortage in potatoes, which were for a time replaced by carrots and turnips, but according to the camp authorities this lack was now being remedied. Meat was served twice a week.

A Young Men’s Christian Association building has been erected in this camp, containing a chapel, theatre, library, and other rooms, and religious services are held here weekly under the direction of Rev. Claus Olandt, of New York, of the International Committee of the Association, who has been active in visiting the prisoners.

The lazaret contained 39 British, stated by the surgeon-in-charge (who had only been there two days) to be composed of (1) convalescents, (2) men who had been recommended for exchange, (3) a few who were alleged to have refused operations. The accommodations and treatment appeared, and were stated by the patients to be, satisfactory, and the complaints related to almost entirely to cases where the men claimed their injuries should entitle them to exchange.

The present commandant, who had only been in charge two weeks, shows a disposition to make improvements. He promised that a satisfactory football field should be laid outside of the camp, and that the space inside should also be put into condition for games. The British were all to be put together at an early date in quarters which would afford them sufficient room. Some minor complaints were also promised immediate attention.

NB Münster I seems to have been called Haus-Spital. The cemetery for all three camps was there as was a hospital. A (not very informative) report was made by Cpl Alexander Fife which can be viewed Here

Doug

[Doug Johnson]

The report by Cpt Corbett of the RAMC (WO161) covers the very early period of Münster I and tents would have been a luxury as the men were kept in the open until he managed to get hold of some tarpaulins. I have not transcribed this report as yet.

Doug

[Doug Johnson]

Pictures of Münster I are difficult to find though there are some in;

Die Kriegsgefangenen in Deutschland; Prof Dr Backhaus; Herman Montanus, Berlin, 1915

Doug

[Guest braco]

Hello Doug,

Thanks for all the info you have sent.I have just received a copy of Mrs Pope-Hennessy Map of Prison Camps so I need a while to take it all in!

Regards Brian(Web)

[Warney]

My grandfather also spent time at Munster I, around the same time. He was captured on 16th April 1918 from the Kemmel Hill area. The insight into the camp is excellent.

[GordB]

Hey all,

I know this is an old thread but I thought I'd bump it rather than start a new one.

My great grand uncle Francis Burt was a POW in Munster III. He in the 1st Worcestershire Regiment and was captured on 27 May 1918 during the Third Battle of the Aisne on the opening day of the battle.

I've been looking for anything on life in Munster III but haven't had much luck.

Does anyone have anything they could share? Pictures? Information? I'd appreciate it!

[Peteuk73]

Hi

My Great Grandfather (Pte G Whitaker 15th Sherwood Foresters) was taken POW outside Maricourt on 24 Mar 1918. He was marched to Munster but I am unsure of which camp he was held. Is there any way of finding out?

His dairy of his time as POW is in the archives of the Imperial War Museum.

Pete

[JWK]

Here are some pictures of the camp on the website of the city of Münster :

http://www.muenster.de/stadt/kriegschronik1914/1914_kriegsgefangene_lagerleben.html

Click the year in the lefthand column, then "Kriegsgefangene"

and some more:

http://www.munsterlager.com/kriegsgefangene.html

"French and English Prisoners of War"

[Guest Paulhenney]

Was rennbahm the name of one of the different camps in muenster. Been looking at some of my great grandfathers papers this evening and have a programme made regarding a performance they put on. I'm just not sure of the significance of rennbahm wishing the different camps there. I've only just started looking into all of this and want to build a bigger picture of what happened. It seems the performance side of things was quite important as he is listed as the president in the credits at the back of the programme. Does anyone know if these performances were a frequent thing in many of the pow camps?

[petestarling]

I was posted to Munster January 1989 to January 1991 and I am sure there was a Russian cemetery on the Dorbaum training area, just outside Munster. I certainly remember going to have a look at one so perhaps that might be the location of one of the camps. Thank you for the link to the web site JWK.

I have all the RAMC POW papers from TNA so will have to have a look and see who was at Munster.

As an aside it was a great place to be posted to.

Pete

[JWK]

Paul:

Was rennbahm the name of one of the different camps in muenster.

There were three camps (see the first link I posted):

Lager I: Haus Spital,

Lager II: Rennbahn an der Hammer Straße

Lager III: Rohbau der Infanteriekaserne an der Kinderhauser Landstraße.

Pete,

there are quite a few wargraves there it seems, including a Russian cemetary:

http://www.muenster.de/stadt/umwelt/friedhoefe_kriegsgraeber.html

[petestarling]

JWK

Thanks for the link. I knew I had found some on the Dorbaum.

Pete