The drawings of officers and two closely written diaries of the French prisoner of war and NCO Pierre Esch reveal a different perception of imprisonment. Officers fared better under international law. They did not work and were billeted in their own officer camps.

They organised a culture and sports programme as a distraction from hunger, cold, cramped conditions, and worries about relatives in German-occupied territories. Before liberation, the disastrous conditions in the nearby main camp for the unranked soldiers were also to affect the officers.