NCJ Number
130907
Journal
Federal Prisons Journal Volume: 2 Issue: 2 Dated: (Spring 1991) Pages: 37-43
Date Published
1991
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This interview with Myrl E. Alexander, the chief of prisons (1945-46) in the region of Germany administered by U.S. military authorities, addresses the structure used to administer prisons immediately after World War II, the prison conditions, and the inmate services.
Abstract
The U.S. zone consisted of three States in the southern part of Germany -- Hesse, Bavaria, and Wurttemberg-Baden. Alexander, who was the warden at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury prior to his assignment to Germany, was the chief of prisons for the entire zone. A German chief of prisons was responsible for the prisons in each of the three States. Prison staff were all Germans, and German prison staff were carefully selected to ensure that they had no strong ties to Naziism. Some of the prisons were of modern design after the Pennsylvania model, and others were converted monasteries from the period of the Holy Roman Empire. There was initially a problem in ensuring adequate food and heat which contributed to a substantial increase in inmate hospitalizations and deaths in January and February of 1946. Alexander appealed to the military authorities for more food and coal, using the argument that the American-administered prisons would otherwise appear to be like concentration camps. More food and coal were subsequently supplied, and the inmate illness and death rate decreased. Inmate vocational training and education were minimal, and there was substantial order in the prisons. Alexander served as chief of prisons for 11 months.