- Ilag
Ilag is an abbreviation of the German word "Internierungslager". They were
Internment camps established by theGerman Army inWorld War II to hold Allied civilians, caught in areas that were occupied by theGerman Army . They includedUnited States citizens caught in Europe by surprise when war was declared in December 1941 and citizens of the British Commonwealth caught in areas engulfed by theBlitzkrieg .They also included British citizens resident in the
Channel Islands . In September 1942Adolf Hitler ordered the German commander inJersey to deport to camps in Germany all British citizens, not born in the islands. This was in retaliation for the internment by the British Army of Germans living inIran . In total over 2,000 men, women and children were deported.Internment Camps in France 1940 - 1944
Several Ilags were set up in
France by theGerman Army to hold citizens ofGreat Britain and the Commonwealth countries that were caught by the rapid advance during theBattle of France . The main camps were:Besançon
Also called "Frontstalag 142". At the end of 1940, 2,400 women, mostly British, were interned in the Vauban barracks and another 500 old and sick in the St. Jacques hospital close by. In early 1941 many of them were released, the rest were transferred to Vittel.
t.Denis
The camp was located in the old barracks built in the middle of the 19th century at St.Denis, close to
Paris . The camp was opened June 1940 and existed until liberated by theUnited States Army in August 1944. Part of the grounds were surrounded by barbed wire to provide open space for exercise.In early 1942 there were more than 1,000 male British internees in the camp. The meager food rations were augmented by theInternational Red Cross packages, so that overall their diet was satisfactory. Life was tolerable because there was a good library and recreation was provided by sports activities and theater [ [http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2Pris-_N82251.html New Zealand report p.146] ]Vittel
Also called "Frontstalag 121" [ [http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2Pris-_N78225.html New Zealand report on civilian camps, p.95] ] , this was one of the more hospitable internment camps as it was located in requisitioned hotels in this
spa nearEpinal in the DepartmentVosges . Most of the British families and single women were transferred here from St.Denis and Besançon. [ [http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2Pris-_N78225.html New Zealand report on civilian camps, p.95] ]In early 1942 women over 60, men over 75 and children under 16 were released. The overall population was thus reduced to about 2,400. The inmates included a number of American families and women.Provisions for recreation included a local theater and a park with seven tennis courts.
A young New Zealander and two British women escaped in August 1941 and made their way to England. [ [http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2Pris-_N78225.html New Zealand report on civilian camps, p.95] ]
Internment Camps in Germany World War II
Ilag V Liebenau
A camp in Liebenau, close to Meckenbeuren in Württemberg, on Lake Constance was opened in 1940 and operated until 1945. It was situated in a castle and four adjacent buildings. Originally it had been a mental hospital run by nuns. By orders of
Hitler , about 700 of the patients were exterminated with injections, to provide room for internees. [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/85/a4151585.shtml Account of Angela Maranian] ] .The first internees were about 300 British citizens from
Poland . More British were brought in 1941 fromBelgium ,Greece ,Netherlands and other countries. The food rations were augmented with Red Cross packages. The guards were old German soldiers veterans ofWorld War I and treated the internees well, as several of them had beenprisoners of war in British camps and had been treated well. In January 1943 many of the married women were transferred to Vittel (see above)Ilag V-B Biberach
This camp set up to accommodate
Channel Island families and was located on a plateau north-west ofBiberach an der Riß in south-easternBaden-Württemberg . It consisted of 23 concrete huts which had previously served asOflag V-B for officersprisoner of war . Initially the camp was administered by theGerman Army , but in spring of 1943 the administration was transferred to the Interior Ministry. This caused a worsening of food rations. Otherwise conditions in the camp were considered satisfactory by theInternational Red Cross . On clear days there was a spectacular view of the Alps.In January 1943, the camp held 1,011 internees - 429 men, 437 women and 145 children.
Ilag V-C Wurzach
This camp also held Channel Island families. It was in the town of
Bad Wurzach also in south-easternBaden-Württemberg . Earlier it had been used as anoflag housing French officers. Conditions were less satisfactory because it was located in a three-storey 18th century castle, that had recently been a monastery. The rooms were dark and damp. 618 internees arrived end of October 1942, all families.Ilag VII Laufen and Tittmoning
British and American citizens were interned in the castles of Laufen and
Tittmoning inBavaria on the border withAustria . Also all British single men from the Channel Islands were sent here in September 1942. But in 1943 the younger men who had parents in Biberach or Wurzau, were allowed to join them. These two camps were always administered by theGerman Army In April 1944 Laufen held 459 British internees (417 Channel islanders) and 120 Americans.
Repatriation
* After lengthy negotiations in
Switzerland , 900 British internees, mostly elderly or ill, were exchanged inLisbon for a similar number of Germans interned inSouth Africa in July 1944. Among the British there was a large number of the Channel Islanders. However they were returned to the British Isles, not to the Channel Islands.
* The remainder were repatriated after the camps were liberated by theUnited States Army or the French Army (Biberach) in May 1945.References
ources
* [http://www.jerseyheritagetrust.org/edu/education/downloads/deportations.doc Deportation from Channel Islands]
* [http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2Pris-_N82251.html Commonwealth citizens interned in France p.94]
* [http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2Pris-_N101872.html Conditions in Ilags, p.439]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/85/a4151585.shtml Story of Armenian woman living in Holland, interned in Libenau, etc]
* "Das war nicht nur "Karneval im August" - by Adler, Reinhold. Biberach 2002 (ISBN 3-9806818-2-3) - in German.ee also
*
Internment
* [http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/Kriegsgefangenenlager/Internierungslager-R.htm List of Ilags] in German
*List of concentration and internment camps
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