Freistadt prisoner of war camp
The Freistadt prisoner of war camp was one of the four large camps for prisoners of war of the First World War in Upper Austria . The camp was established in the city of Freistadt in the Mühlviertel in autumn 1914 and housed up to 20,000 prisoners from Russia and Italy. In 1915 the warehouse was expanded to include four warehouses with a total area of 452,000 square meters. The prison camp was largely dismantled by 1921. Today very little reminds of the camp.
history
The first rumors about the establishment of a prisoner-of-war camp in the city of Freistadt with 4,000 inhabitants surfaced for the first time on September 23, 1914. The plans for the camp were drawn up on September 30th by the kuk military supervision in Linz. On October 10, 1914, the district administration of Freistadt negotiated with the landowners.
The building materials for the camp were brought in by the Summerauer Bahn and brought to the camp by field train from the Freistadt train station. The timber came from the Bohemian Forest and food was also transported by train.
The construction work turned out to be difficult, as the first snow fell on October 1, 1914, so the construction became a mud battle, but the first buildings were completed quickly. The first to arrive was the guards in Freistadt, 600 German masters from Vienna who were housed in the Marianum and in the castle barracks.
The first part of the camp was ready for occupancy by November 10, 1914, and was soon filled. The construction of the second camp started at the end of November. In January 1915, 13,000 prisoners of war were housed in the prison camp in 51 residential barracks. To alleviate overcrowding, camps 3 and 4 were built in 1915. A camp hospital was also built in 1915. In 1916, a separate cemetery was built in the Jaunitzbachtal , as the available graves at the cemetery in Sankt Peter were exhausted.
After the end of the war, the camp was abandoned and only a small guard was left to avoid looting. The camp was like a ghost town . Although a large part of the buildings and furnishings were again transported away by train, there was also a sale of everyday objects and food to the population of the Freetown. So received z. B. the school sisters the bathroom and laundry and the Marianum the electric dynamo system. The sale of the warehouse was completed by January 28, 1921 and brought in around 2.9 million crowns for the city.
The camp complex
The basis of the barracks was the normal type for POW camps, i. H. the barracks were 40 meters long and 12 meters wide and made of wood. In total, 91 residential barracks and over 260 other barracks were built for various purposes, the plans of which are in the city archives.
Camp 1
Camp 1 comprised 26 residential barracks, 4 kitchen barracks, 1 laundry, 1 bathing barrack, 1 disinfection barrack and other barracks for workshops, guards and administration. A water tower and six elevated posts were also built. The warehouse had an area of 90,000 square meters. 1,835 meters of roads were laid in the camp and the facility was secured by a 3,578-meter-long fence.
Camp 2
Camp 2 was south of camp 1 and comprised 25 residential barracks, 8 kitchen barracks and 3 workshop barracks. The structure of the warehouse was similar to that of the older warehouse 1. In total, the warehouse had an area of 120,000 square meters. 3500 meters of roads and 10 elevated posts were built in the camp.
Camp 3
Camp 3 was located south of camp 2, already close to the then municipal boundary , the Jaunitz . Camp 3 was purely a residential and work area, as camp 4 was built at the same time. Camp 3 comprised 40 residential barracks and 4 kitchen barracks on 150,000 square meters. In camp 3, 2670 meters of roads were built and the area was secured by a 2322 meter long fence.
Camp 4
Camp 4 was not a prison camp, but the accommodation of the guards and officers. The warehouse had a size of around 36,000 square meters and was surrounded by a 744 meter fence.
More warehouse buildings
- Camp hospital
The camp hospital was built in 1915 following camp 2. The area covered around 56,000 square meters and served the sick from all camps. The camp was separated from the other area by a street (today: Bahnhofstrasse) and offered the inmates good food, possibly even better food than that of the civilian population.
- Officers' prison barracks
The officers' hut for Russian officers was in the park of the student convict. This barrack was far better equipped with running water and rooms for servants than the crew barracks and corresponded to the spirit of the time that officers (nobility) need separate accommodation.
- Faecal incineration plant
There were two faecal incineration plants with two ovens each in the Feldaist valley and Jaunitztal valley. The excrement was disposed of in the ovens to limit the risk of an epidemic in the camp.
- Field railway
A field railway with a track length of 8158 meters was built to supply the camp. The wagons were drawn by horses. The railway had a connection to the Freistadt train station (about 1,600 meters as the crow flies from camp 1) of the Summerauer Bahn and was used for supply, disposal and transport within the camp. All important places (e.g. toilet facilities, quarries) inside and outside the camp were connected to the railway. In Camp 3 there was a small train station with three tracks.
- Well and water supply
A well was dug in the Jaunitztal and the water was pumped into the camp using a pumping station. This water was used for showers and cleaning work. The city provided the drinking water. To ensure security of supply, new springs were built north of Freistadt, which are still used today for the city's water supply.
- Pigsty
Next to the faeces incineration plant on the Jaunitz there were three 14 × 23 meter pig stalls that served to supply the camp. There was a slaughterhouse right next to the stables.
- Parade ground
To the west of camp 3 there was a 170 × 400 meter parade ground.
Impairments to the community
The prisoners were mainly guarded by the kuk Landsturm Guard Battalion No. 10 and the kuk Landsturm Territorial Battalion No. 3. The relatives lived in private accommodation in the city until Camp 4 was set up.
The prison camp kept asking for new furnishings from the municipal administration. In addition to office furniture, lamps and wash bowls, fire extinguishers and a road roller were required, and the warehouse received the objects. Furniture from the student convict, grammar school, and marianum were also delivered to the camp. 104 pieces of furniture were delivered from the Konvikt alone. Not only did official bodies have to hand in items, but private individuals also had to deliver furnishings. For furniture, restaurants in particular were forced to surrender. A parallel bar , a horizontal bar and a horse were handed over from the gymnasiums for the reserve officers' school . It was not until January 2, 1919, that the parish received the items back.
Although the camp had its own supply, it needed resources from the city and in 1917 brought them to the limit of financial possibilities. In May / June 1915 there was a great drought in the Mühlviertel and the city had to restrict the drinking water supply for the population. That is why the springs that are still in use today were laid north of the city. The barracks were supplied with acetylene gas for lighting by the gas works. The city also had to deliver some wood and coal to the warehouse free of charge.
Life in the camp
Mostly soldiers from today's Ukraine with Orthodox and Jewish beliefs, who were members of all classes, lived in the camp . In the camp they were divided into battalions of 400 people each. More precise figures are available for February 1915: 10,800 prisoners of war were divided into 27 companies of 400 people. Each 3600 prisoners were commanded by an Austrian officer. The guard was 800 people.
The first way from the train station to the camp led to the quarantine station and the inmates were given a cap with the number of the battalion and the prisoner number on it. The living barracks were solid wooden structures with double walls and good insulation, so that there was a pleasant climate inside even in the sometimes cold winter (up to −30 degrees Celsius). The barracks were heated by large stoves and lit by kerosene lamps. Each barrack had 32 windows. The prisoners slept on straw mats and had two blankets. The barracks had to be cleaned every day.
Showers were available for personal hygiene and each prisoner could shower on average once a week. While the prisoners were showering, their clothes were disinfected in ovens and then washed. After showering, the prisoners were given new, disinfected clothes. The disinfection of clothing and the barracks was carried out with naphthalene . 27 toilets were available for the excretions, the excrement was burned in four ovens. Six military doctors were available in their own hospital wing for medical care.
Meals were provided by their own stables, their own slaughterhouse and their own bakery. Each prisoner received meat for lunch and 700 grams of bread a day. Every prisoner could buy additional food in the canteens, e.g. B. a glass of coffee costs 4 Heller . The prisoners received money sent from Russia, in 1915 a prisoner received the equivalent of 2.50 kroner for 1 ruble . There was also its own storage currency.
The well-trained prisoners were used sensibly. Workshops for shoemakers, tailors, joiners, locksmiths, blacksmiths, painters and bookbinders were set up. Prisoners were also used to build roads. Every day, 100 firefighters watch each camp for the safety of the inmates. The work in the quarries required 1,000 prisoners a day. The prisoners also created their own camp newspaper.
In Camp 3 there was a large Orthodox church where services were regularly celebrated. Jewish holidays were observed, the Jewish prisoners did not have to work on these days. A camp band and a choral society sometimes performed in public. A cinema and a sports field were also available for leisure activities. The cinema could also be visited by the civilian population. The civil population also used the street that led through the camp, today's Bahnhofstrasse.
Little is known about attempted escape and the guards were able to nip small revolts in the bud. After the tattoo , the prisoners had to return to their barracks. Only the guards made their rounds.
External sales
Regulations for the field service were laid down in the brochure Regulations for the Provision of War Prisoners in Austria from March 1, 1916. The provisions included:
- A deposit of 30 kroner per worker is required, which expires in the event of bad treatment
- Working hours, breaks, occupational health and safety, work regulations and meals were regulated in the same way as for normal, civilian workers - the existing Austrian legal situation applied
- Punishment could only be carried out by the gendarmerie or the military
- There had to be enough space to sleep and the sanitary regulations had to be adhered to
From February 15, 1916, many prisoners worked for the city administration in municipal institutions to compensate for the labor shortage caused by the war. Many prisoners were also used as harvest workers.
Epidemics and deaths
At the beginning of 1915, a few cases of typhus occurred in the camp, and strict safety regulations were then issued. The main cause of death of the 426 prisoners who died in the camp was lung disease. Large epidemics could be avoided, so very few prisoners died in the camp compared to the nearby Mauthausen - over 12,000 prisoners of the 25,000 - 40,000 inmates died there.
Todays use
Today there are single-family houses and residential buildings in the area of camps 1 and 2. Two barracks were used for cattle stables at the cattle auction hall built in 1950 on Stifterplatz (No. 2). However, these barracks are no longer at their original location.
The Haberkorn company (Seilerei) bought Barrack 66 and other nearby objects. Today's company premises are approximately the size of the former camp 3. The Archduke Karl barracks (today: Tilly barracks ) of the armed forces were opened in the area of camp 4 in 1937 .
literature
- Fritz Fellner: The city within the city. The prisoner of war camp in Freistadt 1914-1918. In: Upper Austrian homeland sheets . Volume 43, Issue 1, Linz 1989, pp. 3–32, online (PDF; 4.4 MB) in the forum OoeGeschichte.at.
- Petra Rappersberger: The prisoner of war camp Freistadt 1914-1918. Diploma thesis, Vienna 1988.
Coordinates: 48 ° 30 ′ 17 ″ N , 14 ° 30 ′ 4 ″ E