Gückelhorn, W./Kleemann, K. Die Rheinwiesenlager 1945 in Remagen und Sinzig

Facts about a mass tragedy in 1945. This documentary establishes that tens of thousands did not die behind barbed wire. Almost seven decades after the end of the Second World War, the number of survivors is dwindling every day. After surrendering on the Western Front, many soldiers of the former Wehrmacht experienced hunger, suffering and disease in the notorious Rhine meadow camps and survived. Quite a few died. In the post-war period, legends arose about these camps that do not stand up to the facts. For example, the causes of imprisonment as prisoners of war were ignored, or the completely inaccurate figure of one million deaths was published. Authors Wolfgang Gückelhorn and Kurt Kleemann have carefully researched and evaluated the facts. They present them objectively with documents and some previously unpublished archive material. Eyewitness accounts and photos impressively show both the suffering of the prisoners and the efforts of the victorious powers to permanently solve the recognised food supply problems. Special attention is paid to the soldiers who lost their lives in the camps. Clear evidence now shows that there was no mass death in the Sinzig/Remagen Rhine meadow camp during the four months it was in operation. In May 1945, the camp reached its peak with approximately 260,000 prisoners. Today, 1,212 soldiers are buried in the cemetery of honour in Bodendorf. This documentation explains how this came about.