| Original caption: “Smiles on the faces that had almost forgotten how to smile, former prisoners from Nazi concentration camps start the long trek to their homes in France. Some of them still wear the striped prison garb with which the Nazis clothed their political Prisoners. The men are French prisoners of war, most of whom were captured when the Germans overran France in 1940.” French Prisoners of War, incarcerated as forced labor in Germany since the summer of 1940, walk arm-in-arm with female survivors of the Konzentrationslager (KZ – “Concentration Camp”) system on a road west of Berlin. Berlin had numerous work camps that were subordinate to Sachsenhausen. Most of them housed forced labor for the factories there. 370,000 forced laborers were in Berlin in April 1945. Berlin (Arado) held an indeterminate number of women prisoners, who worked in Arado Flugzeugwerke’s main office from 1944. The Berlin (Friedrich-Krause-Ufer) subcamp existed from the end of 1943 as a labor detachment of the Berlin-Lichterfelde subcamp. These male prisoners cleared rubble under the supervision of the Schutzstaffel SS. Berlin (Kastanienallee) was a small subcamp that operated from September 1941 to June 1942 for a police administration office. Berlin (Hakenfelde), in Spandau District, was a barracks for a 1,000 forced female laborers for Siemens-Luftfahrtgerätewerk from July 1943 – April 1944. Berlin (Köpenick) housed women from Ravensbrück who worked in cable factories from August 1944 to May 1945, when they were marched to Sachsenhausen. Berlin (Lichtenrade) was a subcamp for forced labor in Berlin, lacking food and shelter, many prisoners died. Most prisoners were forced marched to Sachsenhausen in April 1945; many fell out and were shot along the way. Berlin (Lichterfelde) held 1,400 forced laborers for the SS-Building Administration Reich Nord. Berlin (Marienfelde) was a subcamp from late 1942 for 5 to 600 prisoners run by the Berlin Civil Administration. On the night of August 21-22, 1943, the Royal Air Force (RAF) bombed Berlin (Marienfelde), so the prisoners were transferred to Berlin (Lichtenrade). Berlin-Neukölln (Krupp), also known as Braunauerstrasse, operated in Neukölln District from August 1944 to April 1945. 500 female forced laborers, mostly Polish Jews, worked for National-Krupp-Registrierkassen (NCR – “National Krupp Cash Registers”). Berlin (Niederschöneweide) was a subcamp in Treptow-Köpenick District that housed 500 Polish and Belgian women from Ravensbrück to work for Pertrix Chemische Fabrik. Berlin (Reinickendorf Argus), also known as Berlin (Schönholz), operated from the summer of 1944 to April 1945, housing 800 starving women for forced labor by the Argus Motorenwerke. Berlin (Siemensstadt) also known as Berlin (Haselhorst), housed 1,250 male and female prisoners from July 17, 1944, to March 27, 1945, when the camp was bombed and the internees returned to Sachsenhausen and Ravensbrück. Berlin (Spandau) was a women’s forced labor camp on Pichelswerder Strasse from October 2, 1944, to April 22, 1945. Over a 1,000 women from Ravensbrück were employed by the Deutsche Industrie-Werke Aktiengesellschaft (DIWAG) in the production of munitions. Berlin (Tegel) subcamp existed for only a few months, from November 1944 until February 1945. The 50 prisoners were used to search for unexploded air-dropped munitions in the Rheinmetall-Borsig factory. Casualty rates were very high, but the good rations meant lots of prisoners volunteered. Berlin (Wilmersdorf) operated from August 1941 to August 1943. A 100 laborers were forced to construct offices for the Führungshauptamt (“SS-Leadership Main Office”). Berlin (Zehlendorf) operated on the grounds of the Spinnstofffabrik Zehlendorf factory. 300 starving women operated looms. Forced laborers chose to leave rapidly after the Nazi German surrender. Most simply walked home, despite the lack of food or knowing where they would find shelter on the journey. Others waited for Allied transportation to take them where they wanted to go. By August 1945, only 23,000 former prisoners remained in Berlin. Soviets and Poles often attempted to refuse to go back, rejecting a life under Communism. Upon return, forced laborers often faced suspicion of collaborating with the Nazi Germans. Soviets. Poles, Czechs, and East Germans, among others, were interrogated by the Narodnyy Komissariat Vnutrennikh Del (NKVD – “People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs”) and were often deported to Siberian gulags. War correspondent Fred Ramage (1900 – 1981) started his career at 17. As a journalist, he was known for speed processing his photos to make deadlines. He was in Italy during Italian Duce and Prime Minister Benito Mussolini’s (July 29, 1883 – April 28, 1945) rise to power. Ramage followed the United States Army in Europe and was constantly on the front line. Ramage created a large archive of photos of Displaced Persons (DPs) at the end of the war. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0888.jpg |
| Image Size | 623.74 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2820 x 2007 |
| Photographer | Fred Ramage |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | May 8, 1945 |
| Location | |
| City | Berlin |
| State or Province | Berlin |
| Country | Germany |
| Archive | |
| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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