It was used by the Nazi Organisation Todt, a forced labour programme, to build bunkers, gun emplacements, air-raid shelters, and concrete fortifications. Among those officers imprisoned were 30 from Poland, 30 from France, 9 from the Netherlands, 1 from the United Kingdom, and a Colonel from Norway. Sub-camps sometimes held more than 1,000 prisoners, usually split by nationality, although English speakers were usually together for this purpose. The Germans could not be collaborated with. | POWs were sent out to labour in nearby farms, sawmills, factories, goodsyards and cutting ice on the river Vistula. Stalag 316 Wolknowysk (Vawkavysk, Belarus). After the Armistice, anybody wishing to leave the camp was forcibly prevented from doing so under the orders of the senior British officer who was following to the letter the orders of Allied HQ to remain in the camp and await the arrival of Allied forces. Another tunnel built by Norwegian prisoners was discovered before its completion. Details of ships captured or lost due to enemy action are in BT 373/1-359, searchable in Discovery, our catalogue, by ship's name. 150 feet above sea level, bungalows surrounded by playing fields and gardens, educational courses also were held here! In 1944, as forced labour by concentration camp prisoners became increasingly important in armaments production, a Focke-Wulf aircraft factory was constructed at Stutthof. Finally, in late December 1944, Americans captured in the Battle of the Bulge arrived. The British part was quite small. However many of them were located in sub-camps. Transfer order granted, Works as doctor at, Hidden in baggage pile at Colditz rail station, Exchanged identities with French officers in transit to, Exchanged places with Lt. Stepninc and Lt. Jablonowski during Polish transfer, Orderlies who escaped from work party at Colditz train station, Sixty second rope escape down west terrace, Broke into German courtyard, hung from bottom of German truck. During WW2, German POWs in Britain plot to escape from their prison camp in Scotland. The camp was built around a Polish boys' school by adding barracks. Other mainly administrative and policy files on merchant navy POWs are dispersed among FO 916, MT 9 (code 106), FO 371, WO 32 (code 91A). P.G. There were also camp number IIId/999 and IIId/517 camps listed in the German postal system, these were likely to have been in the case of 999 some sort of punishment camp (999 Battalions in the German SS/Army were severe punishment units for near suicidal missions) and in the case of 517 this was the camp that the British Freikorps were held at whilst training at Genshagen, location 52,19N 13,17E which held 264 British POWs at February 1945. Initially the camp was guarded by Naval troops. Situated in a previous almshouse, large and modern. Reports on the condition of British and Dominion PoWs in German and Japanese camps towards the end of the war occur in AIR 40/2361 and 2366. Peter Parker, Stalag XIII-D Nuremburg (Oflag 73) Bavaria Location N/E 49-11. The book 'Fascism's European empire' (Italian Occupation during the second world war) by Robert Rodogna which originally used the USSME (Italian Army archives) for camp listings. Camp was opened 19th August 1942 and on the 15th Nov 537 Prisoners arrived from PG 60 followed the next day by 538 more. Director: A newly wealthy English woman returns to Malaya to build a well for the villagers who helped her during war. In general, the German Army complied with the provisions of the Geneva Convention regarding the care of officers of the armies of the western Allies, including Poland. 351 officers held here as of 26/2/43originally opened April1941. Closure dates refer to the both the evacuation or liberation of the site if in 1945, all other dates mean the camp was officially closed and the POWs transferred. From the Camp looking north through the perimeter barbed wire system, there was a spectacular view of the Dolomites and the mountains of nearby Yugoslavia. Lager Helgoland was filled with Soviet Organisation Todt workers. They hatched a plan to escape through a kitchen window and then make a dash to freedom, through the courtyard and through the walls across the dry moat to the final row of barbed wire. We have a large collection of these magazines within our source material and these are available to view online via our documents collections pages. I devoured this book. District XIII- Nearest city Stuttgart in the Southwest of Germany. Sylvester Stallone, Originally a catholic seminary, accommodation was a 3 storey building (Villa Albertoni) with a large courtyard & terrace and very liberal use of barbed wire to enclose the Prisoners compound. Then a separate camp, Oflag II-E, was built for them on the west side of the main road. Several work sub-camps were attached to this camp, the main camp was known as the film studio. The next day, 28 April, the column finally arrived at Lubeck on the Baltic coast. It opened in the spring or early summer of 1941, operating until the end of the war. Campo PG 65, had been established in March at Gravina, about thirty miles inland from Bari. 1 -Household Cavalry, Combermere Barracks Windsor, Berks, 3 - RAC and Reconnaissance Corps, The Drill Hall, Barnet, Herts, 6 - RA (LAA) Ibex House, The Minories, London EC3. They were moved to a different location closer to Cuxhaven, to Westertimke, in 1942. Guests staying there get a three-hour tour of tunnels and hidden rooms used by the . District XX Nearest city Olsztyn, Poland (German name: Allenstein). The lucky ones got far enough to the west to be liberated by the American army. From the 15th of August 1940 there were 356 officers and 140 other ranks. The German records were taken between September 1944 and March 1945, the Italian records August 1943 and were recorded by the Casualty (PW) Branch of the Directorate of Prisoners of War in London during the war. In June 1943 it was placed under the administrative control of Stalag VIII-B Lamsdorf and was renamed Stalag IV-B/Z. Located between Milan and Turin, this camp had up to 25 sub camps, housing mostly Australians and New Zealanders, up to 25 work camps were attached to this main camp. Six months later, after 76 Allied airmen escaped from Stalag Luft III, 50 were murdered by the Gestapo. Paul Chapman, The exact date of the escape is not known, but many sources quote it as occurring during the Whitsun weekend. Emptied by German forces in December 1944 and POWs transferred elsewhere. If you fail to find a name, it is unlikely, although still possible to find details from the ICRC archives (see below), if you have confirmed a name and camp but wish to know a little more, the ICRC may, again, be able to assist. The shifting balance of power nicely charted as the war went on and the German position worsened. When the Soviet front approached, orders were given to move the prisoners to other camps further west. An air strike on 6 December 1944 killed 118 POWs, there being no air raid shelter provided. At one time, they travelled 40 miles, only advancing a few. On 13 August the first two Dutchmen escaped successfully from the castle followed by many more of which six officers made it to England. The main camp was located in a complex of fifteen forts that surrounded the whole of the city. In 1941 and 1942 Soviet prisoners arrived. John Sturges If one is interested in spy craft and traitors during World War II and the Cold War there are few authors that have produced more satisfying works than Ben Macintyre. Milag or Marine-Internierten-Lager (marine internment camp) These were merchant seamen internment camps, both these and Marlags were administered by the Kriegsmarine (German Navy). Twice as many KL inmates were then housed in, the already overcrowded, British POW barracks here. Kazimierz is in the centre of Krakow: the old Jewish quarter including the area when Oskar Schindler's factory was located. Within a few days they were liberated by British troops pushing eastward. Stars: For three months after their removal the camp was used as a transit camp for Soviet prisoners. Part of the facilities were used as Oflag XIII-A for officers. Val Guest 357 officers and 58 other ranks were reported here on 26/2/43. In addition, another tunnel was dug to store contraband. On 30 August 1942 the camp was the scene of "Operation Olympia", also known as the "Warburg Wire Job", another mass escape attempt. | Stalag X-C Nienburg Hanover, Prussia Location N/E 52-09, Stalag XI-A (POWs from Stalag L4 & L1) Altengrabow Brandenburg, Prussia 52-12. The camp was located at Waggum near Braunschweig in Germany, also known by the English name of Brunswick. Stalag I-A was a German prisoner-of-war camp located near the village of Stablack, about 8.5 km (5.3 mi) north-west of Preuisch Eylau, East Prussia (now Bagrationovsk in Soviet Kaliningrad Oblast). Tell us what you think about this feature. Medical reports on conditions in POW camps, with some reports on escapes, are among the Medical Historian's Papers in WO 222/1352-1393. The POWs lived in barrack huts that were divided into two dormitories each housing around 100 men, with a small kitchen and a washroom between them. Besides, many reports include appendices which can provide the names and addresses of civilian helpers, nature of help given, and relevant dates; details of the escape method and fellow POWs who assisted in an escape; the usefulness of officially provided escape aids, which ones were used, and suggested improvements and/or additions. Each section comprised four large and one medium size barracks. H 203 Castel S.Pietro (Bologna) Military Hospital. that had been held in Italian prisoner of war camps were transferred to Oflag IV-D. Other reports on POW camps are held in CO 980 and HO 215. Any camp coordinates using the old system of degrees & minutes etc were taken from these reports directly. Conditions initially were very poor, with more than 1,000 men accommodated in tents while huts were being constructed. We still hold two meetings a year at the Union Jack Club London. In 1939 as a result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact it was annexed by the Soviets and on July 26, 1941 was occupied by the Nazis and is now in the Ukraine. Recaptured they were returned to Stargard and spent 24 days in solitary confinement. In 1943 a tunnel was being dug from a hut closest to the wires. Many prisoners escaped into the Apennine Mountains when guards deserted as the Italian Armistice was announced on 8th September 1943. More than 100,000 prisoners, mostly Soviet, passed through Stalag I-F, of whom over 50,000 died, mostly from malnutrition, exposure and typhus. In June 1940, part of Stalag IV-A was separated and made into an Oflag for Belgian, British, and French officers taken prisoner during the Battle of France. This was the camp for USAAF NCOs until 13 October 1943 when all 1,900 were transferred to Stalag 17B. Nevertheless, Upham prised open the toilet window and jumped onto the tracks, knocking himself unconscious. Meanwhile, the column slowly headed east, finally crossing the River Elbe, north of Hamburg, on 18 April. The camp was renamed Oflag IX-A/H (Hauptlager, "Main camp") in June 1940, after Oflag IX-C at Rotenburg an der Fulda became a sub-camp (Zweiglager) designated Oflag IX-A/Z. Norderney camp housed European (usually Eastern but including Republican Spaniard) and Soviet enforced labourers. This page was last edited on 26 September 2022, at 08:59. The camp was liberated on 1 February 1945 by the Soviet Army. 9 miles west of the port of Brindisi, mainly Indian POWs. who wins student body president riverdale. From December 1944 to March 1945 STALAG 13d (XIII-D) was designated Oflag 73. In November 1941 a typhoid fever epidemic broke out in Lager-Ost. Stalag XX-B Marienburg Danzig Location N/E 54-19 (now Malbork Poland). On the night of 27 September 1944 British aircraft attacking the nearby railroad junction in Nrde, dropped some bombs on the camp, killing 90 officers. Also, Papers dealing with the treatment of British POWs in German hands are in DEFE 2/1126-1128. The camp at Mahrisch-Trubau contained around 2,000 officers, mostly British captured in North Africa and the Greek Islands, but there were also numbers of Greek, French and American POW. The remaining inmates asked that he inform the Americans of their plight which he did, and despite Koenigstein being in the Soviet zone, a decision was taken to swiftly remove the French generals from the castle on May 11. Article 76 had several agreements designed to ensure that POWs who died whilst in captivity were honourably buried and in marked graves, this did not always happen especially on the long marches in 1945. From April 1940 onwards the camp expanded with the completion of three wooden barrack blocks. Privacy Policy and
The prisoners of war - mostly from France and the Soviet Union - had to perform forced labour in nearby factories and in agriculture. Although using the neutral Red Cross parcel to send items (usually disguised or hidden) in the parcels which would aid would be escapees would contrive the Geneva Convention, MI9 (the British military intelligence section specifically set up for escape and evasion) did fix special parcels. The first evacuation occurred on 29 January, 1945 in blizzard conditions. A substantial quantity of material concerning British and Commonwealth POWs - mostly Air Force personnel - can be found in the Headquarters Papers of Bomber Command (AIR 14), and in the Air Ministry's Directorate of Intelligence Papers. 42521 (4546 British) POWs with 1029 officers in total held at this camp and the surrounding work camps. On 7 November, six British officers, the "Laufen Six", named after the camp (Oflag VII) from which they made their first escape, arrived: Harry Elliott, Rupert Barry (later Sir Rupert Barry), Pat Reid, Dick Howe, Anthony "Peter" Allan, and Kenneth Lockwood. On 25 February 1945 most of the remaining prisoners were forced to march westward in advance of the Soviet offensive and endured great hardships before they were freed by Allied troops in April 1945. | Most of the men were moved by train to Stalag XX-A in West Prussia, but some 900 were taken to the port of Memel, where they were put aboard the merchant ship Insterburg for a 60-hour journey to Swinemnde. PG Three men were killed, and 14 seriously wounded. Reports from SHAEF dated February 1945 showed 1 Belgian, 1 Yugoslav and 2870 French were held. The village here was very small <100 houses. By 1 January 1945, the camp held 1,578 British, American, Soviet, Polish and Canadian troops. Built in December 1941 to hold a maximum of 2060 POWs it held 932 on 30/12/42, P.G. British POWs are forced to build a railway bridge across the river Kwai for their Japanese captors in occupied Burma, not knowing that the allied forces are planning a daring commando raid through the jungle to destroy it. It is extremely rare for any records to be found from these holding camps: they were quite literally a barbed wire compound with at best tents for shelter, no real infrastructure and well guarded. Adventure, Drama, War. There was still little or no food available, and the pace was much slower, advancing 4-5 miles a day. The National Archives holds over 100 files concerning the murder of 50 Allied airmen who escaped from Stalag Luft III in March 1944: an incident known as 'The Great Escape' which make fascinating reading. 117 min In September 1943, as the Italian government neared collapse, the inmates of Sulmona heard rumours that the evacuation of the camp was imminent. Stalag XX-A Thorn (British) Poland Location N/E 53-18. Often, the food was placed in the barn in the dark of night for the men to get what they could. As well as giving personal details, name, rank, number, unit and home address, these records can include: date and place of capture; main camps and hospitals in which imprisoned and work camps; serious illnesses suffered while a prisoner and medical treatment received; interrogation after capture; escape attempts; sabotage; suspicion of collaboration by other Allied prisoners; details of bad treatment by the enemy to themselves or others. Work camps under the jurisdiction of Stalag IIIB, A civilian work camp for Poles (Gemeinschaftslager). However the situation improved as the war went on. However in doing so risking the farmers and the POWs' lives. In late 1944 small numbers of American, Romanian, British and Polish prisoners arrived. Drama, War. Hot showers and barbers were available, and an issue of clothing, though poor in quality, satisfied an urgent need. The camp itself was large, but it was split up into nationalities, British, Poles, Indians, and Soviets. Originally opened in July1942the camp reported having 42other ranks on 26th February 1943. | The camp was liberated 26 March 1945 by the United States Army. Camps were split into military districts these were as follows: Please note when searching for camps' names, these will not only be listed by type and number but also location. The German's would frequently refuse to recognise ranks as being of NCO status even after the British Government had sent proof of individuals rights in this respect, this coupled with the fact that a few POW Privates would pretend to have a higher rank to escape compulsory work meant that anyone below a significant rank would struggle in choosing not to work. For completeness however, theyare listed below, where no address is listed it is probable that the local barracks also housed the records office. On November 8th 1940 all French were then transported to Oflag IIa in Prenzlau, however later in 1942 the camp became almost all French with transfers from other officers camps. Fowler died March 1944, Escape through kitchen into German yard, across yard into Kommandantur cellar, out cellar into dry moat. Later in 1943 onwards it also housed British/Commonwealth POWs although they were very much the smaller numbers of those incarcerated, and later still US POWs, it was evacuated due to the approach opf the Red Army in February 1945. On 19 April units of the 15th Panzergrenadier Division positioned tanks and artillery next to the camps. Stalag IV-D/Z Annaburg (Formerly Oflag 54.E) Sachsen, Prussia Location N/E 51-13, Stalag IV-F + Work Camps Hartmannsdorf-Chemnitz Saxony Location N/E 51-12. The first Soviet prisoners arrived in October 1941, and were housed in a separate enclosure. | The buildings were solid brick structures with cement floors and tar/felt roofing. In order to accommodate them the entire population of Marlag "M" were moved into "O". Tran Van Khe, Approved Also noted as 'Sforza costa Liguria' elsewhere, although this may be a mistake as PG 56 was in this location. Cigarettes in the parcels became the preferred medium of exchange within most camps, cigarettes were also used to bribe German guards to provide the prisoners with outside items that would otherwise have been unavailable to them. This march was one of the "Long Marches". Large new barrack buildings of white stone, roofed with red tiles or slates, were divided into seven or eight bays, each holding twenty or so two-tier bunks. 12 Candeli / Vincigliata near Florence. An order, however, was almost immediately received from British HQ that none of the PoWs were to leave the camp and would be considered deserters if they did so but to await liberation by the Allied army a few days later when it reached Bologna. POWs were transferred from camps in Italy, mainly British Commonwealth officers from the Battle of Crete and North African Campaign. Stalag II-A Neubrandenburg Mecklenberg location N/E 53-13. In June 1941 a new compound Oflag 62 was opened for high-ranking Soviet officers captured during Operation Barbarossa. Over the next few weeks the prisoners were transported via Klagenfurt to transit camps in Bari and Naples, from where they were eventually repatriated. Located in Warthegau, a western province of Poland that had been incorporated into the German Reich in 1939. 1,015 Officers held here as of 26/2/43 originally opened October 1942. Newly released documents at The National Archives show the three remarkable and successful escape attempts made by three British-born Officers - Flight Lieutenant Hedley S Fowler, Lieutenant. The camp was established in May 1941. Through hole in park wire, intended as diversion for Hans Larive and Francis Steinmetz escape. Some of the material on this page was partially derived from < en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalag> and
Stockton Police Breaking News Today,
Why Did Tosh And Owen Leave Torchwood,
Jo March I Want To Be Loved Monologue,
Articles L