A U.S. Army sergeant checks the papers of new German prisoners lined up outside of the processing center of the Recklinghausen internment camp.

A U.S. Army sergeant checks the papers of new German prisoners lined up outside of the processing center of the Recklinghausen internment camp.

When U.S. Ninth Army troops captured the concentration camp for Soviet civilians located near Recklinghausen, Germany, they converted it into a separation center for prisoners of war and war criminals. After the first German prisoners arrived at the camp they were sent to the interrogation department, which was supervised by Captain Harold Puttfer and Lieutenant H. Goodman. The camp had three sections called "cages." One of these was for women, another for persons incarcerated for minor offenses, and the third for hardened criminals. All three sections were filled to capacity, totalling 20,000 prisoners.