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Ilag is an abbreviation of theGerman wordInternierungslager. They wereinternment camps established by theGerman Army inWorld War II to holdAllied civilians, caught in areas that were occupied by the German Army. They includedUnited States citizens caught in Europe by surprise when war was declared in December 1941 and citizens of theBritish Commonwealth caught in areas engulfed by theBlitzkrieg.
Amongst the internees wereBritish born citizens who were resident in theChannel Islands. In October 1941,Adolf Hitler ordered the internment of 8,000 British, in retaliation for the internment by the British Army of 800 Germans living inIran. The order was not carried out until it was reissued by Hitler in September 1942. The German commander of the islands, based inJersey, was ordered to deport to camps in Germany all British citizens not born in the islands. The numbers were reduced, with around2,200 men, women and children being deported.
There were 219 internment camps in France during the Second World War. Several Ilags were set up inFrance by the German Army to hold citizens of theUnited Kingdom and theCommonwealth countries that were caught by the rapid advance during theBattle of France. The main camps were:
The camp atBesançon was calledFrontstalag 142, orCaserne Vauban. 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.
The camp was located in the old barracks built in the middle of the 19th century atSaint-Denis, close toParis. 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 meagre 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 theatre.[1]
Also calledFrontstalag 121,[2] this was one of the more hospitable internment camps as it was located in requisitioned hotels in thisspa nearEpinal in the DepartmentVosges. Most of the British families and single women were transferred here from St. Denis and Besançon.[2]
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 theatre 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.[2]
A camp inLiebenau [de], nearMeckenbeuren in Württemberg, on Lake Constance, opened in 1940 and operated until 1945. It was in a castle and four adjacent buildings. Previously it had been a mental hospital run by nuns. OnAdolf Hitler's orders about 700 of the patients were exterminated by injection under a program retrospectively namedAktion T4.[3]
The first internees were about 300 British citizens fromPoland. More British were brought in 1941 fromBelgium,Greece, theNetherlands and other countries. Red Cross packages augmented the food rations. The guards were older German veterans ofWorld War I and treated the internees well. Several had beenprisoners of war in British camps where they had been treated well. In January 1943 many of the married women were transferred to Vittel (see above).
Built in 1939 as barracks, this camp became an Ilag accommodatingChannel Island families interned as a reprisal for the deportation of German nationals from theKingdom of Iran toCamp 10 inLoveday, South Australia.[4] The camp was located on a plateau northwest ofBiberach an der Riß in southeasternBaden-Württemberg. It consisted of 23 concrete huts that had previously served asOflag V-B for officers who wereprisoner of war. Initially, the camp was administered by theGerman Army, but in the spring of 1943 the administration was transferred to the Interior Ministry; this caused a worsening of food rations. Otherwise, theInternational Red Cross considered conditions in the camp to be satisfactory.
In January 1943, the camp held 1,011 internees: 429 men, 437 women, and 145 children.[5]: 52–55
20 Channel Island civilians died in Biberach.
This camp also heldChannel Island families. It was located in the town ofBad Wurzach and southeasternBaden-Württemberg. Previously, it had been used as anoflag housingFrench officers. Conditions were less satisfactory because it was located in a three-story 18th-century castle that had recently been a monastery, and the rooms were dark and damp.[5]: 75–76 618 internees arrived at the end of October 1942, all of them families.[5]: 71–75 In late 1944 72 Dutch Jews arrived from Bergen-Belsen. Most appeared to have English grandparents.[6]: 37 The deportees now learned first hand about conditions elsewhere.[7]: 90
12 Channel Island civilians died in Wurzach.
British and American citizens were interned inLaufen andTittmoning inBavaria, on the border withAustria. In September 1942, British single men from theChannel Islands were sent here, where they found some Americans in residence.[8]: 74–82 In 1943, the younger men over 16 who had parents in Biberach or Wurzach were moved to Laufen to release space. These two camps were always administered by theGerman Army.[citation needed]
Frank Stroobant, the camp senior, was invited in April 1943 to attend an inspection in the forest of Katyn in Russia where amassacre of 22,000, mainly Polish army and police officers, by Soviet forces had been uncovered. He was the only civilian witness at the event[8]: 118–145 From June 1943 the camp senior becameAmbrose Sherwill.
Boredom was a major problem. Some internees were permitted to undertake paid work outside camp.[9]: 195 The moral view of whether work should be done was strongly debated in the camp, but as everyone was a private individual, it was up to each person to make their own decision.[8]: 82
In April 1944, Laufen held 459 British internees (417Channel Islanders) and 120 Americans, includingJosef Nassy.[citation needed] 10 Channel Island internees died in Laufen during internment.[9]
