In June 1941, a camp for Allied soldiers was first established in the city quarter of Melje. They were registered as prisoners of war with the Red Cross and enjoyed the rights that this status brought. In September of the same year, however, the existing camp was enlarged to the so-called Russenlager which was intended exclusively for Soviet prisoners of war and was completely separated from the part for the Western Allies. The Soviet prisoners of war were completely unprotected by international laws and were deprived of rights associated with prisoner of war status. They lived in inhumane conditions; due to starvation, cruel treatment, and illness about 4,000 to 5,000 Soviet prisoners died in this death camp in just a few months, from the fall of 1941 to the spring of 1942, and only about 500 survived. In the spring of 1942, the extermination camp was reorganised and transformed into a work camp, where the mortality dropped significantly due to improved nutrition and better living conditions.