egbert Posted 30 January , 2008 Author Share Posted 30 January , 2008 Ian, some more Kepis enjoying German food! (Pete no comments on German food please!!!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Dunlop Posted 30 January , 2008 Share Posted 30 January , 2008 Quite right, Egbert. I really enjoyed MacDonalds in Köln Hauptbahnhof Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiegeGunner Posted 30 January , 2008 Share Posted 30 January , 2008 More great pics, Egbert. Are the brick buildings still there? If the original pics are sharper and less grainy than the low-res versions you're posting, how about sending hi-res copies of a couple of the most interesting ones to Chris, the pal who is currently exhibiting some of his wonderful colorised images on another thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 30 January , 2008 Author Share Posted 30 January , 2008 Ian, I own the original pics; I do not need colorized versions. This thread is for you Brits- courtesy of Wahn A.F.B. If you guys need a colorized version feel free to contact me and have the relevant pic sent to you in mB size Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 30 January , 2008 Author Share Posted 30 January , 2008 Oops, just see roberts and Micks postings: Robert quite please , Mick, some few of the Imperial houses are still there - some have been posted here in one of the earlier pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 31 January , 2008 Author Share Posted 31 January , 2008 French NCO PoWs eating in their barrack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian turner Posted 31 January , 2008 Share Posted 31 January , 2008 Serious question, Egbert Looking at the meal spread out it looks quite extensive for POW life. Do you think these views were posed for cosmetic reasons (= propaganda). Having heard about the usual 'cabage water' rations I wonder if these were the portions that the prisoners normally received on a daily basis? Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 31 January , 2008 Author Share Posted 31 January , 2008 Ian you never know, it might be propaganda. I thought about it too, so you are not alone. Later through the thread I will post 1 or 2 pics from the camp postal office with literally tons of food parcels coming through the Red Cross from UK etc. That might be a reason why they MIGHT have had acceptable rations. One thing is for sure: the PoWs did not receive better official daily rations of food than the starving civilians. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete1052 Posted 31 January , 2008 Share Posted 31 January , 2008 Zair gutt, nice photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 1 February , 2008 Author Share Posted 1 February , 2008 Zair gutt, nice photos. Sehr gut Pete. Ok here is the next: water carrying party for cleaning the dishes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiegeGunner Posted 1 February , 2008 Share Posted 1 February , 2008 Nice pic, Egbert. Is that outside the prisoners' compound? Looking through the gap between the huts, I can't see a fence. Interesting to see that in 1914 they said "Geschirr reinigen" – when did "spülen" come into use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 1 February , 2008 Author Share Posted 1 February , 2008 Its within the compound as it is a huge complex, remember there were 10.000 PoWs. Both terms are current terms, whereas geschirrreinigen is a more distinct term , referring explicitly to dish washing. "Spuelen" can be used in the same sense but also i.e. "flushing with water", or "liquid cleaning of"... something etc etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 2 February , 2008 Author Share Posted 2 February , 2008 Bath Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 4 February , 2008 Author Share Posted 4 February , 2008 At the barbers shop {Unter den Linden} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian turner Posted 5 February , 2008 Share Posted 5 February , 2008 The more I see of this sequence of pictures the more I think of 'show-piece' camp, with everything dedicated to make camping life enjoyable for the inmates.... they depict a standard of living somewhat higher than the prisoners would have enjoyed in their own homes! Who would want to leave? Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truthergw Posted 5 February , 2008 Share Posted 5 February , 2008 Egbert these are wonderful pictures, thanks for showing them. Is it possible that the one you have described as ' bath ', is also a laundry? The cages for moving wet blankets perhaps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 5 February , 2008 Author Share Posted 5 February , 2008 Well Ian, Wahn surely was NOT a show piece camp. Nothing hints to this theory. In contrast there were some few show piece camps, like Goettingen (see the thread of Goettingen camp) which were clearly identified in the aftermath literature, which I have read already. Wahn was a normal PoW camp ; no other clues in the camp history, made available to me by the local library and museum. I suggest the pictures are a bit staged in order to look favorable. The text in English, French and Russian reveals the fact that the postcards most likely were available for sale to the PoWs in order to send them home. If I were a PoW there, I surely had posed for the pictures for the remote case that my portrait/image will be published and thus my NoK had a proof of my presence there.... WRT the bath: the German text clearly says its a bath, but looking more critical to the pic it also could be a washing facility (laundry) as I see roller baskets. I am not so sure, the tubs could be very well bathtubs for larger groups of PoWs as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Bennitt Posted 5 February , 2008 Share Posted 5 February , 2008 The caption in French reads 'blanchisserie', which is a laundry. cheers Martin B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiegeGunner Posted 5 February , 2008 Share Posted 5 February , 2008 Egbert, doesn't "Wasch- und Badeanstalt" mean "Laundry and Bath House"? "Blanchisserie" in French means laundry too. I think the large rectangular troughs (each divided into two square vats) are for washing laundry and the bath tubs for the men are along the back wall of the building (4 in view). It would make sense for the two 'wet' functions to be in the same building, to share a hot water supply and drainage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 5 February , 2008 Author Share Posted 5 February , 2008 Egbert, doesn't "Wasch- und Badeanstalt" mean "Laundry and Bath House"? "Blanchisserie" in French means laundry too. Nope! Wasch-und Badeanstalt is clearly German and means its a bath/wash facility for people. Otherwise it would be a Waescherei! So the issue remains open. What makes me suspicious: for a laundry facility I am missing the heaters (coal fired) below each of the tubs to heat the water up to boiling temps. In those times they fired tubs individually in order to reach the required 100 degrees Celsius. The other indication that this could be a bath facility is the one single piping (not warm and cold separately) for each tub . This could allow for a decent warm water (not boiling) feeding from a nearby heating facility for men to be bathed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiegeGunner Posted 6 February , 2008 Share Posted 6 February , 2008 Nope! Wasch-und Badeanstalt is clearly German and means its a bath/wash facility for people. Otherwise it would be a Waescherei! Langenscheidt's dictionary: Waschanstalt = laundry Wahrig Deutsches Wörterbuch: Waschanstalt = Betrieb, in dem man gegen Entgelt Wäsche waschen lassen kann. The bathtubs for bathing in are along the back wall of the room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 6 February , 2008 Author Share Posted 6 February , 2008 Langenscheidt's dictionary: Waschanstalt = laundry Wahrig Deutsches Wörterbuch: Waschanstalt = Betrieb, in dem man gegen Entgelt Wäsche waschen lassen kann. The bathtubs for bathing in are along the back wall of the room. Mick just trust me a little bit. I know some few German and its zillions of finesses. "Badeanstalt" is clearly bath and mentioning of "Waschanstalt" in the same context means facility where PEOPLE can wash themselves ! (Waschanstalt has two different meanings in German: one where people may wash THEMSELVES and another which stands for for laundry. Just take it as I have explained it!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 6 February , 2008 Author Share Posted 6 February , 2008 Hope this picture is more clear on what they are doing there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 8 February , 2008 Author Share Posted 8 February , 2008 ...in the locksmith's shop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 9 February , 2008 Author Share Posted 9 February , 2008 Then - French craftsmen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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