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List of prisoner-of-war camps in Allied-occupied Germany

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The Rheinwiesenlager camps

Following is the list of 19 prisoner-of-war camps set up in Allied-occupied Germany at the End of World War II in Europe to hold the Nazi German prisoners of war captured across Northwestern Europe by the Allies of World War II. Officially named Prisoner of War Temporary Enclosures (PWTE), they held between one and two million Nazi German military personnel from April until September 1945.

Prisoners held in the Allied camps were designated Disarmed Enemy Forces, not the Prisoners of War. This specific designation was introduced in March 1943 by SHAEF commander in chief Dwight D. Eisenhower in order to conform with the logistics of the Geneva Convention.[1][2][3]

Camps of the U.S. Army

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The Rheinwiesenlager camps are listed from north to south. Most of them were located near villages on the western side of the river Rhine.[1]

Town Federal state Period Notes
Büderich North Rhine-Westphalia April - June 1945
Rheinberg North Rhine-Westphalia April/June - September 1945
Wickrathberg North Rhine-Westphalia April/June - September 1945
Remagen Rhineland-Palatinate April - June 1945
Sinzig Rhineland-Palatinate April/June - September 1945 women's section
Siershahn Rhineland-Palatinate April/June - September 1945
Andernach Rhineland-Palatinate April/June - September 1945
Diez Rhineland-Palatinate April/June - September 1945
Urmitz Rhineland-Palatinate April/June - September 1945
Koblenz Rhineland-Palatinate April/June - September 1945
Heidesheim Rhineland-Palatinate April/June - September 1945
Winzenheim / Bretzenheim Rhineland-Palatinate April/June - September 1945 camp for Waffen SS, later French transit camp - 1948
Hechtsheim Rhineland-Palatinate April/June - September 1945
Biebelsheim Rhineland-Palatinate April/June - September 1945
Bad Kreuznach Rhineland-Palatinate April/June - September 1945
Dietersheim Rhineland-Palatinate April/June - September 1945
Ludwigshafen Rhineland-Palatinate April/June - September 1945
Böhl-Iggelheim Rhineland-Palatinate April - June 1945 April/June - September 1945
Heilbronn Baden-Württemberg April/June - September 1945

References

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  1. ^ a b International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in WW II, "German prisoners of war in Allied hands."
  2. ^ Ambrose, Stephen E. (24 February 1991). "Ike and the Disappearing Atrocities". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  3. ^ Stanhope Bayne-Jones, "Enemy Prisoners of War."