In Germany, stalag (/ˈstælæɡ/; German: [ˈʃtalak]) was a term used for prisoner-of-war camps. Stalag is a contraction of "Stammlager", itself short for Kriegsgefangenen-Mannschaftsstammlager, a literal translation of which is "War-caught" (i.e. POW) "team" "main camp"). Therefore, technically "stalag" simply means "main camp".[1]