Halbmondlager

The Halbmondlager was a prisoner-of-war camp in Wünsdorf (now part of Zossen), Germany, during the First World War. The name translates as Crescent Camp or Half-Moon Camp (sometimes also used as a name in English publications) and refers to the crescent, a symbol of Islam. The camp housed approximately 30,000 Arab, Indian, and African prisoners of war from the British and French allied armies. The primary purpose of the camp was to persuade detainees to wage jihad against the United Kingdom and France, in line with the 1914 Ottoman jihad proclamation, serving as a showcase for Germany's war propaganda. To that end, "detainees lived in relative luxury and were given everything they needed to practise their faith". The camp was the site of the first mosque to be built in Germany, a large and ornate wooden structure completed in July 1915. The mosque, requested by the Grand Mufti of Constantinople (Ottoman Empire), was financed by the Prussian Army and modeled after the Dome of the Rock. It was demolished in 1925–1926 due to disrepair. About 80 Sikh prisoners and Hindus from British India were also held in the camp, as well as around 50 Irishmen, and two Australian Aboriginal soldiers (Roland Carter and Douglas Grant). A subcamp, known as Inderlager (Camp of Indians), was established to house prisoners from India who were not openly pro-British; those who were pro-British had bee

Prison data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).