Ruhleben P.O.W. Camp was a civilian detention camp during World War I. It was located in Ruhleben, then a village 10 km (6.2 mi) to the west of Berlin, now split between the districts of Spandau and Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. The camp was originally a horse racecourse.
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The camp detainees included male citizens of the Allied Powers living, studying, working or on holiday in Germany at the outbreak of World War I. They also included the crews of several civilian ships stranded in German harbors or captured at sea. There were also quite a number of fishermen captured from trawlers which were sunk in the North Sea in the first days of the war - these were mainly men from Hull, Grimsby and Boston. The camp contained between 4,000 and 5,500 prisoners, most of them British. Life in the camp has been described in several books and essays subsequently written by detainees. These include To Ruhleben – And Back by Geoffrey Pyke,[1] who successfully escaped from the camp in 1915, and Life in Ruhleben, 1914–1918 by Frederick Keel.[2]
The German authorities adhered to the Geneva Convention and allowed the camp detainees to administer their own internal affairs. Gradually, a mini-society evolved in the camp. Letters, books, sports equipment and a printing press were all allowed into the camp and the detainees organised their own police force, magazine, library and postal service. The latter, known as the Ruhleben Express Delivery, was organised by Albert Kamps and began operating in July 1915. Soon it was handling over 6000 pieces of mail per month and 16 different postage stamps, which have since become collectors items, were issued. In April 1916 however the German postal authorities declared the service illegal and it ceased operating. In addition, a number of independent businesses, including a casino, also developed within the camp.
The camp detainees also arranged their own entertainment. Among them were several musicians including Ernest MacMillan, later to become a conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. MacMillan was a prominent member of the Ruhleban Musical Society and directed performances of Mikado and a pantomime version of Cinderella. MacMillan transcribed the music for the former from memory with the help of four other musicians. Among those who attended these performances were James Gerard, the United States ambassador. MacMillan also gave lectures on each of Beethoven’s symphonies, which were followed by piano duet performances played by him together with composer Benjamin Dale. MacMillan was also a member of the Ruhleban Drama Society and acted in productions of Othello, Twelfth Night and The Importance of Being Earnest.
As well as music and drama, sports also played a major role in the life of the camp detainees. Among the detainees were several former professional footballers including four former England internationals, Fred Spiksley, Fred Pentland, Samuel Wolstenholme and Steve Bloomer, a Scotland international, John Cameron, a German international Edwin Dutton and John Brearley, once of Everton and Tottenham Hotspur. The Ruhleben Football Association was formed with Pentland as chairman and Cameron as secretary. Cup and league competitions were organised and teams adopted the names of established teams such as Tottenham Hotspur and Oldham Athletic. As many as 1,000 attended the bigger games. On May 2 1915 an England XI featuring Pentland, Wolstenholme, Brearley and Bloomer played a World XI captained by Cameron. Towards the end of the war an international triangular tournament called the Coupe de Allies , featuring a British XI, a French XI and a Belgium XI, was organised. Other sports such as cricket, rugby, tennis and golf were also popular within the camp. In May 1915 a Rubleben XI, featuring Bloomer and Brearley, played a Varsities XI in the Rubleban Cricket League. In July 1916 a Lancashire XI, featuring Bloomer, beat a Yorkshire XI that included Wolstenholme.
During the 1936 Summer Olympics, it hosted the shooting competitions of the modern pentathlon event.
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