Table of Contents
Appendix 6e
Inauguration of YMCA Reading Hall at Crossen-an-der-Oder
This program commemorates the opening of the YMCA reading hall at the prison camp at Crossen-an-der-Oder on 29 May 1915. The cover of
the program features a photograph of the main entrance to the prison camp at the top and a photo of the new reading hall with a German
flag waving above the building on the bottom. The inauguration ceremony was divided into two parts. The first featured addresses by the
camp's commandant, Lieutenant Colonel Haase, and presentations by YMCA officials including Pastor G. Schrenk (a German WPA Secretary), G.
Rosenkranz (the director of the German National YMCA), and Gerhard Niedermeyer (the General Secretary of the German Christian Student
Movement). The camp orchestra performed at the inauguration along with Russian folk singers. On the third page of the program, German
participants could find the translation of the Russian songs. The second part of the program featured gymnastic and marching exhibitions
by Russian and French prisoners.1
Appendices to Chapter 6:
Appendix 6a:
Appendix 6b:
Appendix 6c:
Appendix 6d:
Appendix 6e:
Inauguration of YMCA Reading Hall at Crossen-an-der-Oder
Appendix 6f:
Notes:
Note 1: Programm zur Einweihungsfeier der Lesehalle im Kriegsgefangenenlager Crossen a/Oder 29. Mai 1915, 29 May 1915. Armed Services Records Box 53, Folder: "Prisoner of War Work in Germany-1915-1917," Kautz Family YMCA Archives, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN. back