Inside The Controversial Camps That America Ran for German POWs Post-WWII

During World War II , prisoners of war (POWs) were often captured and detained in camps. The Geneva Convention specified the guidelines for their treatment. Nonetheless, in camps located in Allied-occupied Germany, POWs were intentionally classified in ways that allowed the Allies to get around these guidelines.

These camps, referred to as the Rheinwiesenlager and formally known as Prisoner of War Temporary Enclosures (PWTE), are not often mentioned.

Allied success in Europe following the D-Day landings

Following the success of D-Day , the Allied forces advanced through occupied territories and penetrated into Germany. Despite pockets of resistance from enemy troops, a substantial number surrendered, placing the care of these prisoners under the Allies' responsibility.

Initially, custody of prisoners was shared between the British and American forces. However, by early 1945, the British refused to accept more into their existing camps. Consequently, the responsibility shifted entirely to the Americans, who faced the daunting task of accommodating the increasing influx of German POWs as the Allied advance continued.

To address this issue, the US Army established the Rheinwiesenlager , a network of prison camps scattered across Allied-occupied Germany. These began operations in April 1945, and their significance increased after Germany's surrender the following month, as they played a crucial role in preventing potential uprisings against the Allied presence.

Layout of the Rheinwiesenlager

The Rheinwiesenlager was established on West German soil under Allied control. Positioned on agricultural land near railway tracks, these sites were enclosed by barbed wire fences. The area was divided into smaller sections, each intended to hold 5,000-10,000 people . Despite this design, many camps became severely overcrowded, accommodating over 100,000 prisoners, with estimates suggesting a total population between one and 1.9 million.

Detainees at the Rheinwiesenlager were primarily ordinary soldiers of the Wehrmacht , while higher-ranking German officials, SS members, and other prominent figures were relocated elsewhere.

Much of the camp's internal organization was managed by the prisoners themselves, who handled tasks like labor, medical care, and food preparation. Oversight of the compounds often fell to fellow inmates, who were offered additional rations to maintain order and ensure compliance within the perimeter of barbed wire.

While the camps included facilities for kitchens, medical care, and administration, these were not used as living quarters. Instead, most detainees were forced to make do with makeshift shelters by digging into the ground.

Disarmed Enemy Forces (DEFs)

The poor conditions endured by these prisoners, evident in their makeshift outdoor lodgings, underscored the harsh treatment they received from their captors. This mistreatment was permitted by their classification not as prisoners of war (POWs), but as Disarmed Enemy Forces (DEFs).

Before the opening of the Rheinwiesenlager , Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower introduced this new classification, effectively depriving DEFs of the protections afforded to POWs by the Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War (1929) . The American forces justified this on the grounds that they were members of a state that no longer existed, allowing for many forms of mistreatment.

Under this classification, authorities could "legally" prevent the Red Cross from visiting and stop the delivery of humanitarian aid. The Geneva Convention was specifically crafted to prevent the abuse of POWs, yet without its safeguards, DEFs were subjected to mistreatment with little to no repercussions for their captors.

These circumstances have led many to view the actions of Eisenhower and those overseeing the Rheinwiesenlager as deliberate inhumane treatment.

Rheinwiesenlager conditions

Overall, the conditions in the Rheinwiesenlager were horrific.

Historian Stephen Ambrose investigated many claims made about the camps, and concluded , "Men were beaten, denied water, forced to live in open camps without shelter, given inadequate food rations and inadequate medical care. Their mail was withheld. In some cases prisoners made a 'soup' of water and grass in order to deal with their hunger."

Begging for more food wasn't an option either, as those prisoners were often shot as "escapees," should they have gotten near the barbed wire fences. Reports also claim locals would be shot if they tried to provide aid to the POWs.

Legacy of the Rheinwiesenlager

Given the living conditions of the Disarmed Enemy Forces, it's no wonder the death toll was high. However, because they weren't officially known as prisoners of war, few records were kept. Instead, many Germans would simply go missing from roll call, never to be seen again.

Due to the lack of records, death estimates vary, depending on who you ask. The official statistics from the US Army state that around 3,000 people died while in the Rheinwiesenlager. German estimates, however, provide a figure of 4,537.

James Bacque, the author of Other Losses: An Investigation Into the Mass Deaths of German Prisoners at the Hands of the French and Americans After World War II , alleges the number is between 100,000 and one million. However, his claims have been discredited by his peers.

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Regardless of the overall death toll, the treatment of DEFs has been heavily criticized, despite it going largely unnoticed in more recent years. Many have pointed out that the Americans violated a host of international laws on the treatment of prisoners, even though they weren't classified as POWs, particularly in their feeding - or lack thereof.