In the closing months of World War II, the protections established under the Geneva Conventions were not always applied uniformly. In some areas of occupied Germany, many surrendering German soldiers were designated as “disarmed enemy forces” rather than being formally classified as prisoners of war, a distinction that influenced how certain legal protections were carried out.
To handle the immense number of captives taken near the war’s end, Allied forces created a series of temporary camps in western Germany known as the Rheinwiesenlager, or Prisoner of War Temporary Enclosures. These large open-air camps held vast numbers of German troops, often under extremely difficult conditions. Severe overcrowding, poor sanitation, and shortages of food and water contributed to widespread hardship, particularly during the chaotic weeks following Germany’s surrender.
Although the camps held hundreds of thousands of prisoners and remain significant to understanding the immediate postwar period, the Rheinwiesenlager are less frequently highlighted in broader histories of postwar Europe. Even so, they continue to be studied and debated as an important part of the war’s complex aftermath.
Allied success in Europe following the D-Day landings
After the success of D-Day, Allied forces pushed through the occupied areas and into Germany. Although they met some resistance, many German soldiers surrendered, and the Allies became responsible for housing and caring for them.
At first, both British and American forces shared this responsibility. But by early 1945, the British refused to accept new prisoners due to limited space in their camps. This left the Americans with the full responsibility of handling the increasing number of POWs as the war continued.
To manage the growing number of captives, the U.S. Army set up the Rheinwiesenlager—a group of prison camps located throughout Allied-occupied Germany. These camps began operating in April 1945 and became even more important after Germany’s surrender in May, helping prevent any possible uprisings during the early days of the occupation.
Layout of the Rheinwiesenlager
The Rheinwiesenlager were created on agricultural land in western Germany that had come under Allied control, with many of the camps located near railway routes to make transporting prisoners easier. Barbed-wire fencing surrounded each site, which was divided into enclosures intended to hold roughly 5,000-10,000 people each. Actual numbers soon surpassed those planned limits, and some camps eventually contained more than 100,000 prisoners. Estimates indicate that approximately 1 million to 1.9 million people moved through the Rheinwiesenlager camp system in total.
The majority of detainees were ordinary Wehrmacht troops who surrendered as the war came to an end. Senior officers, members of the SS, and other notable individuals were generally separated from the main camp populations and transferred to other locations for questioning, prosecution, or additional investigation.
There were no shelters for living quarters
Daily life in the Rheinwiesenlager frequently depended on prisoners themselves to handle the practical needs of the camps. With limited official oversight inside many enclosures, detainees organized work details, cared for those who were ill or injured, and divided the scarce food available among thousands of prisoners. At some sites, particular groups were assigned tasks that included preserving order or carrying out required labor. These responsibilities could occasionally provide small benefits, such as somewhat larger food portions or more adequate shelter.
Although areas within the camps were designated for functions such as cooking, medical care, and administration, these facilities could not house most of those being held. Consequently, the overwhelming majority of prisoners remained without permanent accommodation and were forced to create makeshift protection for themselves. Some dug shallow depressions in the earth, while others relied on blankets, scraps of canvas, or crude barriers constructed from whatever materials could be found. With minimal protection from rain, cold, and other harsh conditions, survival demanded constant resourcefulness, stamina, and persistence.
Disarmed Enemy Forces (DEFs)
The harsh conditions faced by these prisoners, reflected in their crude outdoor shelters, highlighted the severe treatment they received from their captors. This treatment was allowed because they were designated as Disarmed Enemy Forces (DEFs) rather than prisoners of war (POWs).
Before the Rheinwiesenlager camps were created, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower introduced this new classification, stripping away the protections guaranteed to POWs under the Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War (1929). American forces defended this decision by asserting that these individuals belonged to a state that no longer existed, thereby justifying alternative forms of mistreatment.
Was the inhumane treatment intentional?
Under this classification, authorities could “legally” block Red Cross visits and withhold humanitarian aid. The Geneva Convention was specifically designed to prevent the abuse of POWs, but without its protections, DEFs were exposed to mistreatment with little accountability for their captors.
These events have led many to view the actions of Eisenhower and those in charge of the Rheinwiesenlager as intentional acts of inhumane treatment.
Rheinwiesenlager conditions
Overall, the conditions in the Rheinwiesenlager were horrific.
Historian Stephen Ambrose investigated many claims made about the camps, and concluded, “Men were beaten, denied water, forced to live in open camps without shelter, given inadequate food rations and inadequate medical care. Their mail was withheld. In some cases prisoners made a ‘soup’ of water and grass in order to deal with their hunger.”
Begging for more food wasn’t an option either, as those prisoners were often shot as “escapees,” should they have gotten near the barbed wire fences. Reports also claim locals would be shot if they tried to provide aid to the POWs.
Legacy of the Rheinwiesenlager
Given the living conditions of the Disarmed Enemy Forces, it’s no wonder the death toll was high. However, because they weren’t officially known as prisoners of war, few records were kept. Instead, many Germans would simply go missing from roll call, never to be seen again.
Due to the lack of records, death estimates vary, depending on who you ask. The official statistics from the US Army state that around 3,000 people died while in the Rheinwiesenlager. German estimates, however, provide a figure of 4,537.
James Bacque, the author of Other Losses: An Investigation Into the Mass Deaths of German Prisoners at the Hands of the French and Americans After World War II, alleges the number is between 100,000 and one million. However, his claims have been discredited by his peers.
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Regardless of the overall death toll, the treatment of DEFs has been heavily criticized, despite it going largely unnoticed in more recent years. Many have pointed out that the Americans violated a host of international laws on the treatment of prisoners, even though they weren’t classified as POWs, particularly in their feeding – or lack thereof.