Homecoming camp Gronenfelde

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In the Gronenfelde camp near Frankfurt (Oder). After their release, the former prisoners of war are led into the waiting railroad cars at Gronenfelde station and brought to their hometowns.
The memorial for peace in front of the former Horn barracks.

The returnees camp Gronenfelde was after the Second World War, the central returnee camp for German prisoners of war in the east. The camp was located near Frankfurt (Oder) south of Boossen at the fork of the railway lines from Frankfurt to Seelow and Rosengarten / Berlin. Today the Seefichten landfill is in the same location.

story

As early as 1915, a camp for around 23,000 soldiers of various nationalities was built in Gronenfelde. The Russians imprisoned there built today's Heilandskapelle out of wood. In 1946 the city administration of Frankfurt (Oder) was commissioned by the provincial administration and the central administration for German resettlers to set up a camp for soldiers returning from captivity in the Soviet Union . The proximity to Gut Gronenfeld gave the camp its name. As early as 1942, the Reich Ministry of the Interior had a camp for foreign workers built here. After the war, the Soviet troops first used the camp as a collection camp for prisoners of war and from April 29, 1946 as a quarantine camp .

In March 1946, the Frankfurt Social Welfare Office hired staff to carry out cleaning and repair work in the camp.

The report of a tour of the camp on May 9, 1946 makes the poor condition of the camp clear. The windows of the barracks were broken or missing, as were the doors. The roofs were leaking and there was no running water.

In mid-April 1946, a separate camp administration was appointed, which was subordinated to the Brandenburg provincial administration and supervised by Frankfurt. Max Homann became the warehouse manager .

On July 27, 1946, the first returnees reached the camp, which had since been largely repaired. When they arrived in Frankfurt, the men were greeted either in the Horn barracks or in the Gronenfelde camp by members of the SED and prepared for the new situation in Germany. Other parties later took on this function. The men were forwarded from the camp, depending on where they lived. Nine doctors, 30 nurses and six paramedics were available medically. The first transports came mainly from Hungary , Poland and Romania , and only later from the Soviet Union . When the first transports arrived from the Soviet Union, there was a change in the process. By then the men had arrived directly at the Gronenfelde camp. Now they had previously been admitted to the Hornkaserne camp , called POW camp 69 Frankfurt Oder , where they were deloused and were able to wash. There were repeated complaints about the treatment there by the German camp police . So, under the pretext that all rubles would be stolen from them in Gronenfelde, they exchanged money at bad rates, stole money and exchanged good clothes for those returning home for worn ones. The next day they were sent to the Gronenfelde camp three kilometers away, where further transport could be organized. The camp exchanged the rubles they had brought with them at the rate of 1 ruble for 2 Reichsmarks . After the currency reform of the Soviet Union from 1947, the men received 0.63 RM per ruble. The press reported in detail on September 25, 1946, when the 120,000. Prisoners passed the camp. Representatives of the authorities, political parties and trade unions had also gathered. The first civilian prisoners from the Soviet Union arrived at the camp on September 27, 1946. Until 1947 the deceased were buried in the Nuhnen cemetery , then in Frankfurt's city cemetery. In order to relieve the hospitals of Frankfurt, hospital trains were used twice a week from September 10, 1946 , which transported the sick in the direction of their home. The first train carried 689 sick people, three doctors, ten paramedics and 18 nurses. From July to December 1946, 492 returnees died in Frankfurt. The main post office in Frankfurt opened a post office in the warehouse in 1947, which was expanded a year later. This made it possible to send telegrams at three counters and to use two telephones. Postcards were transported free of charge. In order to expand the medical capacities of the camp, a contract was signed on July 17, 1947 between the Brandenburg Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and the City of Frankfurt to take over the municipal emergency hospital Westkreuz at Breiten Strasse 24, now Rosa-Luxemburg-Strasse .

On July 27, 1947, the camp's one-year existence was celebrated, and the director of the Assmuss City Theater gave the opening speech at a rally. Furthermore, the Lord Mayor Wegener and the Mayor of Frankfurt Jentsch and others spoke . On October 26, 1947, Rudi Ohme became the 300,000. Returnees guided through the camp, which was used for a rally in the camp. A list of personnel from September 19, 1947 indicated 67 employees for the actual camp, including a doctor and two paramedics. Furthermore, there were 39 employees in the Westkreuz medical station , including two doctors, and the transport staff with 34 employees, including four doctors. In addition, there were a few employees who were not directly subordinate to the warehouse administration. In the winter of '47 there was a critical shortage of firewood. The situation was probably caused by a lack of initiative on the part of the camp management. State Minister Schwob wrote to the Lord Mayor of Frankfurt on December 17, 1947: It is significant that all the other camps have managed to get sufficient supplies of wood, and that Gronenfelde alone has not achieved this. It remains to be assumed, therefore, that the camp manager does not have the resolve to cope with difficult situations.

On January 27, 1948, a fire broke out in the business room barrack, which had to be extinguished by the fire brigade . The illegal possession of weapons by camp manager Vogel was revealed, who was then immediately released, and the deputy manager Rösch was appointed acting head. In the winter there was also a lack of heating material. From April 1, 1948, Bernhard Janke , previously the camp's political instructor , was appointed camp manager. In the summer of 1948, a traveling cinema screened films in the camp for three months. From the summer of 1948, the residents of Brandenburg , Berlin , Mecklenburg , Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt were sent directly home instead of via another camp. The Reichsbahnamt 7 therefore set up a ticket office. The tickets were financed by the individual countries.

The health situation of those returning home has improved significantly over the years. In 1947 about 70 percent were sick, in 1948 only 12 percent. The need for hospitalization had also decreased; In 1947 it was 0.5 percent, in 1948 0.33. Due to this improved situation, a relief of the medical stations and hospitals became noticeable. Therefore, the City Council of Frankfurt was able to take over the Westkreuz medical station on May 18, 1948.

Arrival at the camp (1948)

In the fourth quarter of 1948 the number of people escorted through the camp fell sharply, and in January and February 1949 the transports ceased entirely. At the end of March 1949, the number of transports suddenly increased again and demanded the passage of 31,000 people within ten days. Also at the beginning of 1949, Mr. Ziegelsdorff became head of the camp, but he was released on September 7th of the same year and replaced by Ernst Schäfer on September 12th, 1949 . On March 27, 1949, there was a minor fire that was started by an oven. But the damage was minor. In September 1948 a shop was opened in the camp. Due to the steadily growing demand, an additional store of the HO was opened in 1949 . On April 13, 1949, the first transport of expellees from what is now Polish areas arrived in the Gronenfelde camp . Starting in September 1949, the registration lists that had been kept up to that point were transferred to a card index in order to have better access to the data. In December 1949 the largest passage of prisoners, approximately 95,000, was recorded. In January 1950, the last transports from Brest to Frankfurt came with around 18,000 returnees and civilian internees.

After the end of these transports, the camp was converted from February 1950 to the passage of resettlers from Poland as part of family reunification . Primarily, however, the camps in Wolfen and Fürstenwalde should be used for this. The first resettlement transports from Poland arrived on February 20, 1950. At the end of March 1950, new transports of prisoners of war from the Soviet Union were announced. The camp manager Ernst Schäfer resigned in 1950 and was replaced by Erich Slupik on April 15th . On May 3, 1950, the last return transport passed through Gronenfelde. On May 6, 1950, the Berliner Rundfunk announced the end of the repatriations based on information from the Soviet news agency Tass . Therefore, the camp was handed over to the city administration of Frankfurt on August 15, 1950, which ended the history of the camp.

Transports

At the beginning, the transports were mostly carried out in simple freight wagons, as no passenger cars were available. From January 1948 the situation improved and passenger cars were used, albeit with exceptions.

  • Residents of Brandenburg in their places of residence
  • Residents of Greater Berlin to Berlin
  • Residents of Mecklenburg to Schwerin
  • Residents of Saxony-Anhalt after Pretzsch-Körbin
  • Residents of Saxony to Leipzig
  • Thuringian residents to Erfurt
  • Residents of Bavaria (American sector) to Oelsnitz
  • Residents of the rest of the American, British and French zones to Erfurt
  • Residents of the former German eastern territories to Fürstenwalde and later to Pirna

These transports were later switched. From July 23, 1948, the transports took place in the British zone via Heiligenstadt and for the entire American and French zone to Oelsnitz. From April 27, 1948, transports for the entire western zone went via Erfurt with the exception of returnees from Bavaria, who continued to drive to Oelsnitz. Another change was made in April 1949. From now on the inhabitants of the French zone and Hesse (American) were directed via Eisenach. The other returnees in the American sector were directed through Oelsnitz and later through Gutenfürst. In 1947 31 hospital trains with 11,000 men were used, in 1948 the number could be reduced to 15 trains with 4,000 men.

Following this transport within the GDR, returnees from the West went on to a border transit camp .

building

In 1946 there were 22 wooden barracks;

  • 15 for the accommodation of the returnees
  • 1 for the furier
  • 1 kitchen
  • 1 for carpentry, hairdressing, sewing, shoemaking
  • 1 delousing system
  • 1 district
  • 1 office and accommodation for the staff
  • 1 coal shed

Due to the destruction that was found and the generally poor economic situation, basic things were also missing in the camp. The water supply could be started with a discovered motor via a pumping station. The sewage was disposed of in septic tanks.

Care for the returnees

In February 1947 returnees received the following travel provisions (per day); 940 grams of bread or 470 grams of rusks; 78 grams of sausage or canned meat, 30 grams of fat, 17 grams of sugar, 0.2 grams of tea or coffee, 30 grams of salt, 10 grams of soap.

Less food was made available for displaced persons; 515 grams of bread or 258 grams of rusks, 15 grams of sausage or canned meat, 10 grams of fat, 20 grams of sugar, 5 grams of coffee, 13 grams of salt, 30 grams of jam or 15 grams of sugar. Furthermore, children of resettlers received 0.5 liters of milk up to their first year of life, then 0.25 liters of milk up to their fifth year of life.

The amount and composition of travel provisions was changed regularly, and travelers were entitled to different amounts. At the beginning, all those traveling on received food for three days. From the beginning of 1947 a differentiation was made. For people with their home in the areas occupied by the Western Allies and Thuringia there were three daily rates, for everyone else two. From February, those returning to Brandenburg or Berlin were provided with only one daily rate, those in the rest of the Soviet occupation zone with two and the others with three daily rates, although the rate for Thuringia was later raised to three again.

According to Rösch, the provincial administration of the state of Brandenburg paid financial support to destitute returnees until October 14, 1946. Therefore, the People's Solidarity of Brandenburg did this in part by paying up to 30 RM depending on the need of the returnees. Hirthe, on the other hand, said that from the summer of 1946 each returnees received 3 marks, which had been collected through donations. In addition, the central administration for German resettlers paid out 50 Reichsmarks to those traveling home and displaced persons from August 1, 1947. After the currency reform it was 50 marks for the Soviet occupation zone and 20 for the western zones. Just two months later, from October 12th, a uniform amount of 50 marks was paid out. This happened on the basis of the order 178 of the Colonel of the Soviet Military Administration in Germany from July 16, 1947. From October 1, 1947 to June 1949, a total of 27,823,640 marks were paid out.

“Up to 5,000 men a day arrive in Gronenfelde near Frankfurt an der Oder from Russia in three to four freight trains to be finally released as prisoners of war by the Soviets. [...] Almost everyone is on the verge of starvation when they arrive in Gronenfelde after a two to three week journey. 'For the first time in years, we were able to eat our fill in Gronenfelde,' they report in unison. There is enough bread, bacon and meat in this release camp. Via Friedland and Hof it then goes to the western zones. [...] Returnees in Gronenfelde receive a farewell fee of 50 marks from the Russians when they are released, and they are told that this sum will be exchanged at the demarcation line. It's the last bad joke to be allowed on this human misery. The fifty marks prove to be invalid Reichsmarks at the border. In their zone, the British and Americans hand the returnees from Russia tickets home and 10 Deutsche Mark as allowance. "

- Report in the Salzburger Nachrichten of August 21, 1948

Donations made it possible to pay more goods to the returnees. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) donated food, dry milk, medication, other medical supplies and roofing felt to make the camp winter safe . The Swiss Red Cross (SRK) provided special provisions of 0.5 liters of soup made from dry milk and nutrients, sugar or 0.5 liters of canned beans with meat and 100 grams of salted herring. The Swedish Demokratiska Hjälpkommiten för Tyskland Stockholm donated 15,000 cigarettes. Church organizations also strived for the welfare of the returnees. At the beginning they were still working directly in the camp, later this became undesirable and the help could only be given in hospitals and the station mission.

Private helpers, especially women, also sacrificed their time and goods in order to give them to the returnees. For example, from October 1946 to October 1947, around 12,000 items of clothing were mended by volunteers.

The medical staff was alternately provided by the countries of the Soviet occupation zone , who worked an early shift, from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and a late shift, from 2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. In the camp infirmary, treatment was only given on an outpatient basis or as an inpatient for a maximum of two days. From 1947 to 1949 Dr. Michael Gehring . This regularly prepared monthly reports. From January 25 to February 25, 1947, he reported 5,171 treatments, 168 admissions to the camp infirmary and 112 to hospitals. Five of these returnees died, two from dystrophy , one from pneumonia and two from febrile bowel disease. However, not all arrivals were examined; this was only carried out after the relevant order of March 25, 1947.

Numbers of returnees

year Prisoners of war Civil internees
Men women children
1946 149.289 8,972 6,626 197
1947 218.736 12,593 10,403 94
1948 334,571 4,616 4,743 81
1949 386,687 5,414 6,283 134
1950 36,225 525 74 8th
total 1,125,508 32,120 28,129 514

literature

  • Rösch: Looking back at the Gronenfelde returnees camp near Frankfurt / Oder. May 15, 1950, here based on a copy from the Historischer Verein zu Frankfurt (Oder), Mitteilungen Frankfurt (Oder) , No. 2 1998
  • Helmut Hirthe: The Gronenfelde returnees camp - an important station on the way to a new life. In: Wolfgang Buwert (Ed.): Prisoners and returnees in Frankfurt (Oder). Potsdam 1998, pp. 59-92 ISBN 3-932502-10-8 .
  • Helmut Hirthe: The returnees camp in Frankfurt-Gronenfelde. In: Jürgen Maerz (Ed.): We were 19. Frankfurt (Oder) 1995, pp. 282–284
  • Wolfgang Buwert, Klaus Eichler: The medical facilities for returnees in Frankfurt (Oder). In: Wolfgang Buwert (Ed.): Prisoners and returnees in Frankfurt (Oder). Potsdam 1998, pp. 93-108, ISBN 3-932502-10-8 .
  • Heidemarie Bucki: "Das Lager" - About the largest returnees camp in the East in the forgotten city of Frankfurt (Oder) and the struggle for survival of a young family. Projekt-Verlag Cornelius, Halle 2008, ISBN 978-3-86634-602-4 .

Web links

Commons : Homecoming Camp Gronenfelde  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hirthe, 1998, p. 59
  2. ↑ Buwert / Eichler, 1998, p. 97
  3. ↑ Hirthe, 1998, pp. 63-64
  4. ↑ Buwert / Eichler, 1998, p. 97, but they were probably not all directly active in the camp, but also in the surrounding hospitals
  5. ↑ Hirthe, 1998, p. 79
  6. ↑ Hirthe, 1998, p. 69
  7. ↑ Hirthe, 1995, p. 283
  8. ↑ Hirthe, 1995, p. 87
  9. ↑ Buwert / Eichler, 1998, p. 100
  10. ↑ Rösch, 1950, p. 14 and p. 21
  11. ↑ Rösch; 1950; Pp. 18-19
  12. ↑ Stadtarchiv Frankfurt (Oder) , BA II 854, letter of December 17, 1947, here after Hirthe, 1995, p. 89
  13. ↑ Rösch; 1950, p. 22
  14. ↑ Rösch; 1950; P. 25
  15. ↑ Hirthe, 1998, p. 72
  16. ↑ Rösch; 1950; P. 33
  17. ↑ Rösch; 1950; P. 30
  18. ↑ Rösch; 1950; P. 32
  19. ↑ Rösch; 1950; Pp. 33-34
  20. ↑ Hirthe, 1995, p. 90
  21. ↑ Hirthe, 1995, p. 90
  22. ↑ Rösch; 1950; P. 27
  23. ↑ Altmann, Roland: In windowless time, p. 151
  24. ↑ Rösch; 1950, p. 15
  25. ↑ Rösch; 1950; P. 15
  26. ↑ Rösch; 1950; P. 13
  27. ↑ Rösch; 1950; P. 13
  28. ↑ Hirthe, 1998, p. 80
  29. ↑ Rösch; 1950; P. 16
  30. ↑ Hirthe, 1995, p. 86
  31. ↑ "Honeymoon ended". In:  Salzburger Nachrichten. Published by the American armed forces for the Austrian population / Salzburger Nachrichten. Independent democratic daily newspaper , August 21, 1948, p. 3 (online at ANNO ).Template: ANNO / maintenance / san
  32. ↑ Hirthe, 1995, p. 83
  33. ↑ Hirthe, 1995, p. 84
  34. ↑ Hirthe, 1995, p. 83
  35. ↑ For all figures: Rösch, review of the homecoming camp Gronenfelde near Frankfurt / Oder , May 15, 1950, here based on a copy from the Historischer Verein zu Frankfurt (Oder), Mitteilungen Frankfurt (Oder) , issue 2 1998, p. 38.
  36. ↑ according to Hirthe, 1998, p. 59 there were 36,256
  37. ↑ Deviating from the total number, Buwert names 1,186,451, Wolfgang Buwert (ed.), Gefangene und Heimkehrer in Frankfurt (Oder) , Potsdam 1998, ISBN 3-932502-10-8 , p. 9
    Hirthe names 1,125,688 as he for 1950 36,256 prisoners of war recorded; Hirthe, 1998, p. 59

Coordinates: 52 ° 21 ′ 40 ″  N , 14 ° 29 ′ 16 ″  E