I have a question that I always wonder about asI look at photos of German POW. So many seem to be wearing non combat uniforms. Surely most of them were captured in combat situations wearing combat uniforms. How did they acquire while in captivity the non-combat clothes they are wearing in the photos ?
There are many reasons this could be. Kreigsmarine (Navy) personnel were often fished out of the water and often had their soiled/wet/damaged uniforms exchanged for basic Navy dungaree's shortly after capture. This could be true of Luftwaffe aircrew picked up in the drink as well. Some men would be captured wounded and issued replacement clothes after leaving the hospital/sick bay. Some men lost their uniforms because the were covered in gore/filth or infested with lice or other vermin and deemed unsalvagable.
Keeping them clothed is the responsiblity of the holding power. Uniforms wear out over time especially if manual labor is involved.
Thank you. But in cases where POW needed new clothing, how come they were provided with enemy military uniforms, and not just prison garbs ? Where did those enemy military uniform come from ? Were POW supplied with clothing by their own country ?
Some uniform items possibly came from those who died of wounds or sickness while in custody. I reckon the Red Cross could have supplied uniforms from the home country of the POWs in question. Towards the end of the war I suppose that endeavor was curtailed significantly due to the fortunes of war. In some of the larger POW camps, there were tailors by trade amongst the soldiers who possibly set up shop to repair and make similar looking uniforms that were issued to them. And maybe the families of the POWs could have included uniform items mailed from home too. That's about all I can think of right now.
In this case, if I understand you correctly, this may be a case of prisoners sharing spare kit to less fortunate mates, or the recycling of uniforms of those PoW's who have died for some reason or even possibly the case where enemy stores were captured along with men and the excess being handed out as needed. Generally when none of the above is available a modified version of basic army uniforms (of the captors) was provided with some form of bold lettering or symbols to distinguish them from their captors like a large P or PW. Allied PoW's were sent care packages, but I am not sure the reverse was done for Axis PoW's.
Good photo on IWM website to add to this thread. GERMAN PRISONERS OF WAR IN BRITAIN: EVERYDAY LIFE AT A GERMAN POW CAMP, UK, 1945. © IWM (D 26733)IWM Non Commercial Licence
PoWs in Britain were issued with refurbished British battledress dyed brown or black when their own uniforms wore out. The uniforms had brightly coloured cloth patches to show their status, shapes and colours varied between Home Commands. These were worn on the jacket's back, right knee front and left knee rear. In a lot of cases, Germans kept their own uniforms for church parade and wore the battledress the rest of the week.
