Seite - 824 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

824 Camps would not only take place in the hinterland but also, increasingly, in the vicinity of the front as forced labourers. Building work took place predominantly in Styria, Lower and Upper Austria, Bo- hemia and Moravia, as well as in the military command area of Bratislava (Preßburg), whereby it was not only the region that played a role but above all also the capacities that were kept in mind, since it was intended that the prisoner of war camps would have large-scale dimensions. In Milovice, 19,000 prisoners already had to be accommo- dated in the winter of 1914/15, whilst it was 15,000 in Terezín and 14,000 in Liberec (Reichenberg).1950 Just how the space requirements increased in leaps and bounds can be seen, for ex- ample, in Knittelfeld, where in August 1914 negotiations began regarding the erection of a camp for 1,500 prisoners of war. In September a demand of 5,000 persons was assumed and, ultimately, 15,000 were reckoned with. In mid-October 1914, accom- modation needs for 20,000 men were already cited.1951 In Styria, another camp was established in Feldbach. It was supposed to take in 32,000 prisoners of war. The establishment of the camps was then generally a matter for the prisoners of war themselves, who were deployed as construction workers and set up barracks in which 400 persons were to be housed. The actual population, however, was for a time 50 per cent higher. Epidemics broke out, like in Mauthausen. The Diocesan Bishop of Linz, Rudolf Hittmair, also died of typhus following a visit to Serbian prisoners of war in Mauthausen.1952 The same picture emerged as in the refugee camps. This meant that an overload could be expected the next time, since neither the hygienic nor, above all, the sanitary facilities could be changed overnight, nor were the medical care and medicines sufficient to achieve a rapid improvement of the situation. The death that the soldiers had escaped at the front found its way into the camps on a mass-scale. The relocation of the prisoners of war was begun, likewise the rigorous adherence to hygiene regulations, which had been laxly handled up to winter 1914. Gradually, the authorities got to grips with the epidemics. A certain harmony could be observed here, since in Germany and in the camps of the Allies devastating epidemics during the first winter of the war were also a deadly companion to prisoner of war captivity.1953 The construction of camps did not stop after the first ones had been erected. The next were built and, above all as a result of the victory at Gorlice–Tarnów, there was a mass arrival of Russian prisoners of war. Germany and Austria shared the human war booty of 140,000 men. In Sigmundsherberg in Lower Austria, and in Freistadt and Marchtrenk in Upper Austria, large new camps were established. Space for additional accommodation repeatedly had to be found or the existing camps expanded. In Sigmundsherberg near Krems, accommodation was required for 30,000 enlisted men and 200 officers.1954 There was the usual haggling over rent per acre and year. In late summer 1915, a further expansion was contemplated by the War Ministry. Now