Additional Documents

A number of years ago the Hawick Museum was able to purchase some documents in German relating to the period when the Stobsiade was published. They consisted of letters written to and from Private W. Ohms from Herford in North-Rhine Westphalia, theatre programs, and some documents relating to the Stobs Teachers’ Association. It seems likely that all these documents originally belonged to Private Ohms, who, in civilian life, had been a teacher at the newly-founded Otto Hahn School in Herford. He was actively involved in the camp school in Stobs, both as a teacher, and as an administrator. The letter from the 15th of September 1917 summarises his involvement. While the letters written by prisoners can sometimes be tedious and uninformative, Ohms’ letters convey the experience of being a prisoner in the camp, trying to maintain contact with home using the restricted and often unpredictable postal service. The documents relating to the Teachers’ Association reflect its objectives and activities, and illustrate how teachers from many parts of Germany found themselves incarcerated in Stobs. The theatre programs are a further illustration of the prisoners’ efforts to keep themselves entertained, and can be related to the reports in the Stobsiade.

The website Europeana is an initiative of the European Union. It is a repository of historical and cultural information relating to Europe. A descendant of a soldier in Stobs, M. Rabenschlag has submitted documents relating to the latter's imprisonment to this website. These consist of a number of programs for events which happened in the camp, and an autograph book. The programs for the sports days and the theatre performances provide further insights into life in the camp, and can be related to reports in the Stobsiade.

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