bavarikon4UFrench prisoners of war in Regensburg during the First World War
To this day, the First World War in Germany is overshadowed by the much more intensive consideration of the Second World War. Which is why the captivity of prisoners of war, which was already a mass phenomenon in the First World War, is only explored to some extent.
For the prisoner-of-war camp in Regensburg, the "Le pour et le contre" camp newspaper produced by the prisoners themselves and a collection of theatre programmes and Christmas cards from the years 1914 to 1917 offer insights into the everyday life of French prisoners of war in Germany.
The prisoner-of-war camp in Regensburg
The prisoner-of-war camp in Regensburg was one of twelve camps that existed in Bavaria during the First World War. In addition, there were eight separate camps where officers were accommodated.
3,265 Frenchmen (including six officers), 49 Russians, three Belgians, five Englishmen, one Romanian, 1,402 Italians (including one officer) and one civilian internee lived in Regensburg in October 1918. With these approximately 4,700 prisoners, Regensburg was one of the smaller camps.
Cultural life in the prisoner-of-war-camp in Regensburg
It was not unusual for prisoners of war to engage in sporting and cultural activities that interrupted the monotonous camp routine. The camp commandant's headquarters even encouraged this, not least for propaganda reasons. Many camps therefore had libraries and language courses were also offered. Prisoners put on plays or published their own newspapers or magazines. More than 100 such camp newspapers are known in Germany alone.
The newspaper acquired by the Staatliche Bibliothek Regensburg (Regensburg State Library) at an antique book dealer's gives an insight into the fate of hundreds of French prisoners of war in Regensburg: "Le Pour et le Contre - Journal hebdomadaire des Prisonniers de Regensburg" (The pros and cons - the weekly newspaper of the prisoners [of war] in Regensburg) is the title of a camp newspaper written and printed in Regensburg between July 1916 and April 1917. The newspaper published by D. Lamy appeared on Sundays in 39 issues between 16 July 1916 and 8 April 1917.
Le Pour et le Contre provides information about internal camp affairs and offers an insight into the soldiers' everyday lives. In addition, the newspaper also reflects discussions about civic issues (religion, religious practice, women's rights, etc.) and the prisoners of war's relationship with the people of Regensburg. The prisoners of war's difficult situation is also discussed with the aspect of forced passivity and captivity in a foreign country being mentioned alongside reflecting on what is happening during the war. Le Pour et le Contre is also to be seen as a medium that highlights the role of art under the circumstances of imprisonment. This can be seen, for example, in the discussion of several plays by well-known French playwrights performed in the camp, in the reprinting of short poems and parodies, and in the publication of feature articles.
>> This collection is part of the holdings of the Staatliche Bibliothek Regensburg (Regensburg State Library).