Large numbers of German prisoners of war were held in Britain between the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 and late 1948. Their numbers reached a peak of around 400,000 in 1946, and then began to fall when repatriation began. The experiences of these prisoners differed in certain important respects from those of captured German servicemen held by other nations. The treatment of the captives, though strict, was generally humane, and fewer prisoners died in British captivity than in other countries. The British government also introduced a programme of re-education, which was intended to demonstrate to the POWs the evils of the Nazi regime, while promoting the advantages of democracy. Some 25,000 German prisoners remained in the United Kingdom voluntarily after being released from prisoner of war status.Hansard (HC) 22 April 1947

World War II Early phase of the war Initially, the only Germans captured by the British were naval personnel (mainly submariners) and members of the Luftwaffe (German air force). The first prisoners were the captain and crew of a submarine, U-39, on 14 September 1939, only days after the outbreak of war. The commanding officer, Captain Gerhard Glattes, was to serve one of the longest terms as a POW in British hands: he was finally released in April 1947 after seven and a half years in captivity.Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. German U-boat Commanders of World War II (USA: United States Naval Institute, 1999)

Initially two prisoner of war camps were established: Camp No. 1, Grizedale Hall, Lancashire This forty-room mansion was reserved for officers and became known as the 'U-boat Hotel'. It had space for 200 prisoners of war, but in November 1939 it was occupied by only twenty-one men.Hansard (HC) 21 November 1939 Camp No. 2, Glen Mill, Oldham, Lancashire This was a former cotton mill, housing 2,000 'other ranks', or in other words, those who were not a commissioned officer.

During the early phase of the war, Britain adopted a policy of sending all enemy prisoners to Canada. This measure was intended to preclude the possibility of POWs escaping and making their way back to Germany. A further reason given was that food and other necessities were in short supply within the United Kingdom. Consequently, men were generally shipped to Canada as soon as there were enough to fill a troop carrier. This meant that the total held within the UK seldom exceeded 2,000 men, whereas about 9,000 German prisoners were being held in Canada by late 1942.

Middle phase of the war The situation changed dramatically following the Desert War. The United States had been at war with Germany since December 1941, and in late 1942 British and American forces began a joint campaign against German and Italian troops in North Africa. These Axis forces finally surrendered in May 1943, leaving the Allies with around 260,000 enemy prisoners of war on their hands. About half of these POWs were German, half Italian. The United States and Britain had previously agreed that in any joint operations they would share prisoners on a 50-50 basis, regardless of which nation's army had actually captured the individual soldiers concerned. (This meant, for example, that all POWs captured in the Desert War would be divided equally between Britain and the US, although the majority of prisoners in this particular campaign had been taken by the British).Jung, H. Die deutschen Kriegsgefangenen in amerikanischer Hand — USA. (Wissenschaftliche Kommission für deutsche Kriegsgefangenengeschichte, 1972) pp. 11–12, 243 However, Britain's resources were already over-stretched, and its government asked the US to take some 130,000 prisoners in addition to its own 'share'. The American government agreed to this on condition that they would be able to use the POWs as a labour force within the United States, and subject to Britain's undertaking to foot the bill for shipping the men back to Europe when the time came. It was agreed that these men would technically count as British prisoners, even though they were to be detained in American camps.

Britain's own German prisoners from the Desert War were held in camps in the Middle East, with the exception of a few high-ranking officers who were sent to Britain for interrogation. (Britain's Italian prisoners were also taken to the United Kingdom, where they were housed in a network of camps, and were used as a workforce, predominantly in agriculture.Hansard (HL) 3 December 1941)

Late phase of the war

After D-Day—the invasion of Europe—very large numbers of German military personnel were taken prisoner. Immediately after the Allied landings, captured German troops were rounded up and taken to the invasion beaches, where a small fleet of LST (Landing Ships, Tank) had been detailed to transport them to England.The National Archives: WO 199/2432

As a rule, those whose surnames began with a letter in the first half of the alphabet were sent to the United States. This group was ferried to Portland, Dorset, and then onward to a reception camp at Devizes, Wiltshire. After a few days they were transferred via Liverpool to the United States. But when ports such as Cherbourg subsequently came under Allied control, shipments of German prisoners could be transferred by troopships directly to the US. Those whose names began with a letter in the second half of the alphabet were transported to the United Kingdom, arriving at the cluster of ports comprising Portsmouth, Gosport and Southampton. The majority were then taken to a transit camp at Kempton Park Racecourse for interrogation, and onward to a network of several hundred camps around the country, many of which had earlier been built and occupied by Italian prisoners, who were due to be repatriated earlier than the Germans. For the first time, the number of German prisoners of war held in Britain reached a substantial total.

After VE-Day The practice of transferring prisoners either to Britain or to the US continued until the German surrender in May 1945, when still larger numbers of German troops became prisoners of the Allies. (See German prisoners of war in northwest Europe). The majority of these POWs were held in camps within Germany, and in former German-occupied territories, such as Belgium.

Conditions in the British-run camps in Belgium were described as extremely harsh, and when the Financial Secretary to the War Office, Frederick Bellenger, received reports on the situation he is stated to have been 'filled with horror'. The camps in Belgium were then closed down and all the prisoners were transferred to Britain by late July 1946.Hansard (HC) 30 July 1946

In early 1946, the United States chose to repatriate all of the POWs in its camps. The Germans were informed that they were being repatriated to Germany, where they would be set free. However, some 130,000 of these men were "British-owned" prisoners, according to the "50-50" split referred to above. Instead of being transported to Germany and released, they were delivered to Liverpool and were informed on arrival that they would have to remain in captivity in Britain for a further unspecified period. These events caused considerable resentment among the Germans, as many of them had fought against and been captured by American forces, and had been unaware until then that they were technically prisoners of the British.

With the arrival of these additional prisoners, the total in Britain exceeded 400,000 in September 1946.

Numbers of German POWs in Britain, 1945–1946 Around 200,000 at the time of German surrender in May 1945. It peaked at 402,000 in September 1946. Year Month No. of POWs 1945 December 211,300 1946 March 265,000 June 385,450 September 402,200

Repatriation

Following pressure from politicians, religious groups, the Red Cross, and from a sizeable sector of the public, the British government began to repatriate the German prisoners in September 1946.

Reasons given for not following this course of action sooner include: Britain's need for a work force for agriculture and for the reconstruction of buildings and infrastructure damaged during the war; The collapse of Germany's economy: Britain claimed that Germany would not have been able to support an additional 400,000 men. Some prisoners, however, expressed the view that they should have been allowed to return home and rebuild their own country, instead of working in Britain.Hansard (HL) 11 July 1946 In practice, though, it is unlikely that accommodation for the men could have been provided, at least in the initial period following Germany's surrender. It is also doubtful whether materials, transport and other resources required for the country's reconstruction could have been provided at that time; Britain's commitment to repatriate its Italian prisoners of war: Italy had switched sides, and the Italians were no longer regarded as the enemy. It was not until all the Italians had been returned to their country that resources (including shipping) could be made available for the repatriation of the German POWs.

Once repatriation of the German prisoners had commenced, most of the men had been returned to Germany by the latter half of 1948. Even at this late stage, Britain was still desperately short of agricultural workers while, at the same time, a significant number of the POWs were reluctant to return to Germany. (Reasons for this included their original home now being within the Soviet sector; being in a relationship with a British woman; and adverse reactions to the atrocities committed by the Nazis). Britain introduced a scheme under which men could be discharged from their prisoner status and could apply to stay on as civilian workers. About 30,000 men asked to join the scheme and just under 25,000 were accepted. Some of the other men who stayed on under this initiative are still resident in Britain at the time of writing (2016).

Numbers of German POWs in Britain, 1946–1948

Year Month No. of POWs 1946 December 355,200 1947 March 305,800 June 267,250 September 220,000 December 155,700 1948 March 82,800 June 2,790

Welfare

Medical and dental care in the POW camps were provided by visiting British doctors and dentists, or by German prisoners with appropriate qualifications gained in Germany before enlisting in the forces. An International Red Cross report states: 'In the USA and Great Britain, at the end of the war, there was practically no change: the living conditions of the prisoners of war remained similar to those in force during the war.'

Work Even before the German surrender some of the POWs were put to work as agricultural labourers on a trial basis.J. Anthony Hellen: 'Temporary settlements and transient populations. The legacy of Britain': 1940–1948: Erdkunde, vol. 53, 1999, p. 198 After VE-Day all prisoners were required to work (excluding officers who could not be forced to do so. Some officers did, however, volunteer for certain tasks). Most POWs were employed on farms, as Britain urgently needed a high level of food production, and there was a shortage of agricultural workers. Some performed other duties, as shown by the following table, which reflects the situation in mid-1946.

Type of employment Comments No. of POWs Agriculture Including camp staff associated with agriculture 163,000 Preparation of building sites 22,000 "Other useful work" 94,000 Not employed Inc. 11,000 sick and in detention 46,000 "Unemployable" Mainly officers and protected personnel (medical, etc.) 13,000 Total 338,000

At first it was usual for groups of about 30 men to be escorted by armed guards to the fields where they were to work. They were kept under close supervision at all times. However, following the German surrender, the British government allowed some prisoners to be billeted on the farms where they were employed under minimal supervision.