Drawing “living skeletons”
Sketch by prisoner Omiros Pellas, reproduced from his memoir Stalag VI C: Diary of a Forced Labourer (1962).
Facing death
«I went from 92 to 50 kilos”
Stavros Tzoumertis
The conditions of detention were not the same in all camps. Prisoners of war were somewhat better off. The International Red Cross distributed parcels containing food, cigarettes, soap, and clothing. They were also allowed to send letters home. Others, however, lived in inhumane conditions. They experienced unbearable fatigue and utter humiliation. They had very few clothes and often walked barefoot. The miserable and meagre food was never enough to satisfy their hunger. Hardship and exhausting work worsened their health. There were many cases of pneumonia, tuberculosis, typhus, and malaria. Many were led to their deaths.
“I wanted to eat a kilo of bread a day, but they gave me only 200 grams”.
Parisis Maliokapis
“We eagerly waited for the bombing to start, so we could go to the fields to eat cabbages, grazing like animals. We were so terribly hungry."
Emilios Filippitzis
Inhumane sanitary conditions, hunger, and exhausting labour led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands. The photo was taken by the first mission of the International Red Cross that arrived in Buchenwald after liberation, April 1945.
Source: International Red Cross Photo Archive
Living conditions in POW camp Moosburg, Red Cross report, August 24, 1944
“Working conditions and discipline have deteriorated everywhere. This has happened over the past few weeks, and there is tension between inmates and guards.
Food is insufficient without the parcels from the Red Cross. The distribution of parcels to satellite camps is problematic and disorganized.
At the central camp, the canteen offers beer, but everyday items are scarce.
The barracks of the infirmary are inadequate, overcrowded and full of vermin. Treatment is provided by prisoner doctors supervised by German doctors, who only intervene for surgery and X-rays."
Report of the International Committee of the Red Cross, August 24, 1944.
Collection Marianna Ayiotou
Buchenwald. Medical record card of sailor Stavros Damdaniotis from Skiathos. Illnesses listed: pneumonia, suspected tuberculosis, gastrointestinal problems, epilepsy, general weakness.
Bad Arolsen Digital Archive
