![Remagen prisoners](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Remagen_prisoners.jpg)
The Golden Mile (german: Goldene Meile) was an
Allied POW camp
A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war.
There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. ...
in 1945 on the fertile
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
plain known as the
Golden Mile Golden Mile or The Golden Mile may refer to:
Geographical features
* Golden Mile (Belfast), Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom (UK)
* Golden Mile (Blackpool), Blackpool, UK
* Golden Mile (Brentford), Brentford, UK
* Golden Mile (Leices ...
near
Remagen
Remagen ( ) is a town in Germany in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, in the district of Ahrweiler. It is about a one-hour drive from Cologne, just south of Bonn, the former West German capital. It is situated on the left (western) bank of the ...
in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
History
Towards the end of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, US troops established
prisoner of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...
camps along the River Rhine for the detention of German soldiers. During the conquest of the
Rhineland
The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section.
Term
Historically, the Rhinelands ...
250,000 German soldiers were captured and, following the destruction of the
Ruhr Pocket, another 325,000 joined them. From mid-April 1945 around 660,000 Germans were held in these camps.
After the collapse of the
Western Front, the Americans – themselves suffering from supply shortages – had to accommodate and care for German prisoners of war as well as two million of their own soldiers. The so-called ''
Rheinwiesenlager
The ''Rheinwiesenlager'' (, ''Rhine meadow camps'') were a group of 19 camps built in the Allied-occupied part of Germany by the U.S. Army to hold captured German soldiers at the close of the Second World War. Officially named Prisoner of War ...
'' ("Rhine Pasture Camps") were intended as transit camps, offering temporary accommodation for the prisoners. The Golden Mile was one of these camps.
The camp
The camp occupied the area between
Remagen
Remagen ( ) is a town in Germany in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, in the district of Ahrweiler. It is about a one-hour drive from Cologne, just south of Bonn, the former West German capital. It is situated on the left (western) bank of the ...
and
Niederbreisig. On 8 May 1945 it was occupied by 253,000 prisoners. Built for the most part by the prisoners themselves, the camp was surrounded by barbed wire and divided into two separate areas: the first allocated to town of Remagen, the second to the town of Sinzig. Both camp areas were bounded on the east by the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
and on the west by the embankment of a railway line.
Inside the camp, individual "cages", separated from one another by barbed wire, held the prisoners in groups of fifty, hundred or a thousand.
Care and housing
The care and housing of prisoners was extremely poor. There were initially neither wooden huts or shelters nor appropriate washing and toilet facilities. Only a few prisoners were allowed to keep a strip of canvas or a coat. The rest were exposed to the hardships of the April weather, with its frequent rain. Some prisoners dug holes in the ground using their hands and primitive tools to seek shelter from the rain. Many died in the temporary dwellings or were buried alive when their burrows collapsed. There was an issue of food once a day. This was initially barely enough to survive. Only after weeks did food for the prisoners improve. Even the drinking water supply was a problem to begin with, and prisoners had to queue for hours to get a little, strongly chlorinated, Rhine water.
Closure of the camp and aftermath
On 11 July 1945, the camp was taken over by the French, who finally closed it on 20 July 1945. Many of the prisoners were transferred to other camps or to France and some were not released until one or two years later. During the time that the camp was in existence, 1,247 inmates died of
dysentery
Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...
,
undernourishment
Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is "a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients" which adversely affects the body's tissues ...
and
exhaustion
Fatigue describes a state of tiredness that does not resolve with rest or sleep. In general usage, fatigue is synonymous with extreme tiredness or exhaustion that normally follows prolonged physical or mental activity. When it does not resolve ...
. In spite of this relatively low death rate of under 1%, many survivors returned from imprisonment traumatized by their experience.
Commemoration sites
![Gedenkstein Goldene Meile Sinzig](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Gedenkstein_Goldene_Meile_Sinzig.jpg)
Today, the prisoners are commemorated by the
Black Madonna Chapel in Remagen, a monument in
Sinzig
Sinzig is a town in the district of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the river Rhine, about 5 km south-east of Remagen and 25 km south-east of Bonn, and it has approximately 20,000 inhabitants (2004).
...
, the war cemetery in
Bad Bodendorf and an exhibition room in the
Remagen Bridge Peace Museum.
References
Literature
*
*
*
*
*
Sources
* Wolfgang Gückelhorn: ''Das Ende am Rhein – Kriegsende zwischen Remagen und Andernach'', Aachen, 2005
* Karlheinz Grohs: ''Die schwarze Madonna von Remagen – 1945: Kriegsgefangen am Rhein – Gedenken und Erinnerung'',Remagen, 1993
External links
Kurt Kleemann: 'Geplanter Tod in der Goldenen Meile? Das Kriegsgefangenenlager Remagen/Sinzig 1945', in: Kreisverwaltung Ahrweiler (publ.): 'Heimatjahrbuch des Kreises Ahrweiler 1995', Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, 1994, p. 107
{{Coord, 50.545836, N, 7.273808, E, type:landmark_dim:500_region:DE-NW, display=title, format=dms
1945 in military history
World War II prisoner of war camps in Germany
20th century in Rhineland-Palatinate
Middle Rhine