The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933-1945

The Wehrmacht established Stalag XII B in Frankenthal, in the Palatinate (map 4d), by an order of the Deputy Corps Headquarters (Stellvertretende Kommandantur) for the XII Army Corps, in Defense District (Wehrkreis) XII, dated April 1, 1940.¹ The camp was deployed in Frankenthal throughout the war.

A unique feature of the camp was its very small camp area, which was gradually improved and enlarged. The camp was located on a small site surrounding the “Pfistersche Festhalle” (Pfister’s or Pfisters’ Banquet Hall), with a large room serving as the main lodging for around 2,000 prisoners. Later, wooden barracks were added. The commandant’s office, however, was separated from the camp area and divided among various buildings spread throughout the surrounding urban area. The main task of the commandant’s office was to control and manage the large number of work detachments (Arbeitskommandos). [End Page 469]

The camp was under the control of the Commander of Prisoners of War in Defense District XII (Kommandeur der Kriegsgefangenen im Wehrkreis XII).

The following camp commandants are known:²

The campgrounds in Frankenthal and the work detachments were guarded by Reserve Battalions (Landesschützenbataillonen) 433, 434, 776, 785, and 861. During its deployment in the region, Stalag XII B occasionally provided organizational support (medical care, delivery of charitable donations, etc.) for Prisoner of War (POW) Glazier Battalion XII (Kriegsgefangenen Glaserbataillon XII) and POW Construction and Labor Battalion 42 (Kriegsgefangenen Bau- und Arbeitsbataillon 42).

No field post number (Feldpostnummer) was assigned to the camp, since Stalag XII B never deployed outside the Reich.

The Stalag was a relatively large camp, with up to 44,000 prisoners registered there.³ With respect to nationality, the French were the largest group (on average, 30,000), followed by the Poles (between 5,000 and 10,000). Citizens of other nations, such as Belgians, Serbians, and Soviets, were present there in smaller numbers. A special feature was the presence of a Chinese prisoner, mentioned in some sources, though no additional information about him is available.

The main task of the camp was the deployment of approximately 900 work detachments, where more than 90 percent of the prisoners were located. The deployment area included the Palatinate, southern Hesse, Rhenish Hesse, and northern Baden. The main emphasis was on work in agriculture; POWs were only used in industry in the Mannheim-Ludwigshafen area.

For the purpose of organization, so-called control districts (Kontrollbezirke) were inserted between the level of the commandant’s office and the labor detachments. In each case, they were run by companies of the Reserve Battalions, which were also responsible for guarding the POWs. The control districts were tasked with the direct deployment of the work detachments and with supervision of the conditions there. In addition, the heads of the control districts had disciplinary authority over the POWs. What is astonishing is the large number of control districts: 55. Other Stalags managed with approximately 10.

Even before the organization of Stalag XII B, there were Polish POWs in the region, deployed as a labor force. They had been allocated by the employment office in Ludwigshafen, and they were quartered in village halls in the surrounding area. Their assignment within the POW system cannot be conclusively determined, but there is much evidence that indicates that they belonged to Stalag XII A at this time. Stalag XII B then took over these POWs.

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Stalag XII B at Frankenthal. Prisoners behind a barbed wire fence, November 1940.

COURTESY OF ICRC.

With regard to the treatment of the POWs, different nationalities experienced different conditions. The French and Belgians were generally well treated, and they also received sizable deliveries of foodstuffs and other items from relief organizations. The treatment of the Poles and Serbians was somewhat worse but tolerable in general. The Soviets suffered the most from shortages of rations and inadequate medical care.

A distinction must also be made between the main camp and the work detachments. The situation in the labor detachments was not uniform; there were repeatedly instances in which regulations were not complied with. It was the responsibility of the Stalag to take corrective action through administrative supervision and by exerting influence on the employers.

The prisoners had a library available. They operated an orchestra and a theater ensemble, which also gave performances in the camp and for larger work detachments. Clergymen, who were POWs themselves, held religious services on a regular basis.

Medical treatment of the POWs usually began in the camp’s medical facility, which was run by physicians and personnel who were POWs, under the supervision of the Germans. In the early period of the camp’s existence, the medical facility was very small. At the beginning of 1941, it was transferred to the nearby civilian mental hospital and expanded there. After additional barracks were erected, part of the operation returned to the campgrounds. On the basis of the size of the facilities, the term Kriegsgefangenenlazarett Frankenthal (Frankenthal military hospital for POWs) was also in use.

The more serious cases were referred to military hospitals with POW wards, such as those in Bad Kreuznach, Trier, Wiesloch, and, for tuberculosis patients, Saarburg (today Sarrebourg, France). [End Page 470]

Stalag XII B received numerous visits from foreign delegations, which also visited the work detachments. The following visit reports are known: the US (protecting power) delegation—October 21, 1940 and May 1941; the Scapini Mission—May 13, July 19, August 11, October 9, and November 10–11, 1941; the ICRC—November 5, 1940, and September 5 and 29, 1941; and the YMCA—December 19, 1940 and April 24, August 6, September 24, and November 26, 1941. The overall assessment was that the camp, even considering the small camp area and shortcomings in individual labor detachments, was “attractive and good.”⁴

In the spring of 1942, Stalag XII B ceased to exist. By order of the General Army Office (Allgemeines Heeresamt, AHA) dated March 13, 1942, Stalag XII B was terminated and made into a subcamp of Stalag XII F. The work detachments were distributed among Stalags XII A, XII D, and XII F. The process of closing down the camp was concluded on April 20, 1942.