 The original inmates included mostly political prisoners, such as German communists, but with time other categories of "undesirables" were also being incarcerated there.By May 1940 the remaining political prisoners were transferred to other German concentration camps elsewhere.Already in September 1939 the camp was taken over by the military and turned into a Stalag - a prisoner of war camp, one of nine such POW camps in the area of Emsland.