question about Umsiedlungslager

[huddyhuddy]

Hi,

Was a Umsiedlungslager something like a DP camp, but in Germany during the war?

Neil.

[HPL2008]

"Umsiedlungslager" means "resettlement camp"; this appears to be a camp related to the resettlement program for ethnic Germans ("Volksdeutsche").
Large numbers of ethnic Germans from Eastern Europe were moved westward in order to be resettled in Germany or occupied Poland and temporarily (or not-so-temporarily) billeted in camps.

[huddyhuddy]

So this wold be some sort of 'refugee' assistance ration for those ethnic Germans...one can find such items for post-war victims but this is a first for a German issued item. They would also be intitled to WHW vouchers too?

[HPL2008]

So this wold be some sort of 'refugee' assistance ration for those ethnic Germans...one can find such items for post-war victims but this is a first for a German issued item. They would also be intitled to WHW vouchers too?

Actually, everybody needed these Kleiderkarten (= clothing vouchers) to purchase items of clothing in times of rationing, so these were in no way directly related to the resettlement program.

Here are other examples:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...eiderkarte.jpg
Reichskleiderkarte
http://www.die-sturmartillerie.com/auktion/0253.jpg

As for precise data on the kind of benefits the dwellers of these resettlement camps (of whom there were some 275,000 in April 1941 and still some 131,000 in March 1942) were entitled: Sorry, I really don't know...

[huddyhuddy]

Yes, but this one being issued to a refugee, a resettled Volksdeutsche, makes it more interesting than a regular issued piece to a civilian...