The Senior British Officer was Major-General V. M. Fortune. Neave went on to work as an intelligence agent for MI9 and served with the International Military Tribunal at the Nuremberg trials in 1946. Allied prisoners - British, Dutch, French and Polish - pool their resources to plan numerous escapes from the "escape-proof" German P.O.W. Dirk Bogarde, The POW bet on the races, and money was raised and donated to the Red Cross. This route into Switzerland was discovered by Larive in 1940 on his first escape attempt from an Oflag in Soest. 98 Castelvetrano (Palermo, Sicily) San Giuseppe Iato (Sicily). Bathing was provided once a month outside the camp. It housed 600 POW's - British, French, Belgium, Dutch and Poles. Some of the French officers held at Colditz 1943: In May, the Wehrmacht High Command decided that Colditz should house only Americans and British, so in June the Dutch were moved out, followed shortly thereafter by the Poles, the Belgians, and the French; with the final French group leaving 12 July, 1943. In December 1943 James slipped out of the shower block, but was arrested at the port of Lbeck. Also a separate part of the camp was set aside as a hospital for prisoners Reserve Lazarett 742. During the Second World, War Oflag IV-C, situated in the thousand-year-old Colditz Castle, was one of the most famous German Army prisoner-of-war camps for enemy officers. At the end of 1943 within Stalag VIII-B Teschen there were about 50,000 Soviet prisoners, and another 10,000 from other countries, including Great Britain, the Commonwealth and Italy. Airey Neave was also involved in getting Nazi persecution claims investigated in the 1960s (see series FO 950 at TNA) whilst he was a Member of Parliament. The original camp (known as the old camp) was surrounded by barbed-wire fence. The largest POW camp in Austria and 2nd largest in the entire German Reich. Wounded and captured at Calais, he was taken to Stalag XXA near Thorn in Poland and managed to escape with a fellow prisoner in April 1941. It was created in November 1939 for Polish officers captured in the September campaign. A potato drying factory near the village of Grauschwitz/Mugeln with 23 US POWs. Despite harsh conditions in the living chambers, the officers were granted relative freedom and had a part of the fortress gardens at their disposal. 3,788 POWs recorded here on 26th February 1943, originally opened July 1942. The first HQ was in Fort 17, but during the first half of 1940, the camp authorities were moved to a two-storey house, now in Okolna Street, opposite Fort 13. This information will help us make improvements to the website. From May 1940, after the invasion of Norway and the Battle of France, prisoners arrived in large numbers, until they totalled 150,000 from all occupied countries, except Britain. The treatment was a little worse. Reaction to the armistice varied from camp to camp. Hot showers and barbers were available, and an issue of clothing, though poor in quality, satisfied an urgent need. There again they got out to search for a car going to the Netherlands. Equally, there were stalags which only had officers in them so nominally called a Stalag but in reality, more an Oflag, these were typically a compound of a larger POW camp housing other ranks also, or a Stalag Luft where most aircrews were officer grades. Reports on many individual Royal Air Force servicemen taken prisoner in occupied Europe, detailing the circumstances of their capture, are in AIR 14/470-471. 86 min Aerial photographs of camps are in AIR 40/227-231. On the eastern, right, bank of the River Warter, near to the present day St. Roch bridge, stood Fort Rauch, the most southern of the right bank fortifications. Trevor Howard, John Mills, Sports equipment and textbooks were obtained from the Red Cross and YMCA. Originally opened in June 1942, 1002 officers were held here on 26 Feb 1943. By June 1940 most of the Poles had been transferred to other camps and replaced with Belgian and French troops taken prisoner during the Battle of France. One attempt to escape occurred when a group of POWs were being transported in open trucks through Italy. Originally designed to hold 4,000 in July 1942. The Fund's operations include assistance to widows and orphans of fallen colleagues in the country, the fees for the lawyers defending prisoners before German courts, the payment of salaries of the cadets and soldiers, as well as cultural and educational activities. PG 103 had 19 sub camps dotted around the neighbourhood at factories and farms. In the spring of 1942 only 500 Soviet POWs remained alive in the camp, all were then executed. Colditz was meant to be totally secure and the Nazis were sure that no one would ever break those bonds. Jack Hawkins, Sessue Hayakawa, Tous Public At the peak there were about 10,000 prisoners at the camp. In 1943 2,500 British Commonwealth soldiers came from the battles in Italy, and later in the same year an undefined number of Italian soldiers came from Albania. Drama, History, War. This camp was moved to Hammelburg in April 1943 under the same designation. 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. The Germans used Stutthof prisoners as forced labourers. 189 officers held here in an ex Monastery, as of 26/2/43originally opened May 1942. List of attempts to escape Oflag IV-C - Wikipedia List of attempts to escape Oflag IV-C Below is a list of attempts to escape from Oflag IV-C, the famous prisoner-of-war camp . After the Fascist authorities left Perugia and the British arrived at Sant'Arcangelo on 19 June they were eventually rowed to safety by the island's fishermen, to whom a monument has been erected in the open space next to the Lace Museum. (Much of the information from the Wo229 SHAEF reports was directly from the Swiss Red Cross representatives who had visited the camps and work commandos themselves). As of 2012 the site of the camp is occupied by the barracks and training school of. Oflag 64 or XXI-B Schubin (Moved to Usedom) Poland, Altburgund Location N/E 53-17. You can embed or download low-resolution images free of charge for private and non-commercial use under the IWM Non-Commercial Licence. Littledale returned to Britain in 1943. US, Serbian, Italian and French/Belgian POWs were held at this camp. Stalag 316 Wolknowysk (Vawkavysk, Belarus). learnt some new things about the castle which didn't know beforehand. The Red Cross arranged them following the provisions of the third Geneva convention of 1929. The roll for Changi is fuller and is in AIR 40/1899-1906. In June 1940 British, Belgian, Dutch and French senior officers and a small number of orderlies were transported to Mainz from transit camps in France and Belgium after the end of the Battle of France. Edward Underdown, Not Rated that had been held in Italian prisoner of war camps were transferred to Oflag IV-D. They were then transported to the Buchenwald concentration camp and executed. He and five other prisoners were to leave the castle disguised as a work party removing clothes from the clothing store, four to be dressed as Polish orderlies, one disguised as a German officer, the other as a German soldier. Fort 14 (XIV) named after Jozefa Dwernickiego. The largest population present within the camp was Soviet, followed by the French, Belgian, Dutch, British and Commonwealth, Italian, and American prisoners were also present in large numbers. | 'Moritz' and 'Max' (second dummy) were made of plaster by a fellow Polish POW and painted by another Dutch POW, Lieutenant Diederick van Lynden. Records concerning war crimes committed against Allied POWs have mostly been preserved in WO 235, WO 309, WO 310, WO 311 and WO 325 with other material in FO 371, WO 32 (code 94), TS 26 and among the Foreign Office records of the Control Commission for Germany (CCG). The remaining prisoners responded to the threat of a pitched battle on their doorstep by digging slit trenches. In 1935 the Wehrmacht began to build a large military complex close to the town of Bergen in what was then the Province of Hanover and the barracks were completed in 1937. From the end of February 1944 until 18 June 1944 the castle was used as an internment camp for Jews and political prisoners, sent there for their own safety by the Fascist Prefect of Perugia Armando Rocchi, who was under German instructions to send them instead to a concentration camp at Fosssoli, Carpi di Modena. Most of these Italian prisoners were suffering from tuberculosis or had been injured while working. The camp was finally liberated on 28 April 1945 when a Soviet armoured division reached Neubrandenburg. Initially, prisoners from the Merchant and Royal Navy were confined in several camps in northern Germany. It has had a chequered history over the past 500 years and has been used for a variety of purposes including a hunting lodge, workhouse, mental hospital, sanatorium, political prison and hospital. Richard Attenborough, Disembarking in Italy, POWs were given a quick clean-up at their port of disembarkation, usually Brindisi or Taranto. | Please click on the Hire a Researcher button on the left-hand side navigation bar for more information. Lists of Royal Navy personnel interned in enemy camps may be found in many of the files in ADM 1 (code 79) and ADM 116 (code 79), although the exact files are not identifiable from our catalogue. | Most of them attempted, (some many times) to escape, using ingenious and simple methods. There are document pouches for individual seamen in BT 373/360-3716. The Soviet POWs fared far worse: (in a common policy) were sent to work camps and treated as traitors for surrendering. Stalag XVIII-A Wolfsberg Carinthia, Austria Location N/E 46-15, Stalag XVIII-A/Z Spittal Drau (Became Ilag 17) Carinthia, Austria Location N/E 46-13. That day the Kommandant, Hauptmann Steiner, had handed over control of the camp to the Senior British Medical Officer and the "Men of Confidence". They crossed a bridge over the river Oder on 21 January, reached Goldberg on 5 February, and were loaded onto a train. A cocky German fighter pilot is shot down over England in 1940 and makes numerous attempts to escape to fight again. The contact address is International Council of the Red Cross (ICRC), Archives Division, 19, Avenue de la Paix, CH-1202 Geneva, website: ICRC Archives. POW Camp 801 Castel Camp forced labour camp. An American POW leads a group of mainly British prisoners to escape from the Germans in WWII. Nick Tate, Built on what had been the training camp at Hammelburg, Lower Franconia, Bavaria, Germany. In 1941 more prisoners arrived from the Balkans Campaign mostly British and Yugoslavians (mostly Serbs). Between August and November 1942 there was a second camp at Maribor, Stalag XVIII- B/Z. Opened originally in January1942, 93other ranks were reported here on December30th 1942.. "Only the generals slept alone". Indexed by name sequences, WO 208/5405-5436 consists of the original loose-leaf documents upon which the reports in WO 208/3348-3352 are based. During World War II these latter provisions were consistently breached, in particular for Soviet, Polish, and Yugoslav prisoners. It was carried out by French and Polish prisoners. | camp during World War II and uses bribery and larceny to take de-facto control of the camp. 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. 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. The first occupants were Polish officers captured during the invasion of Poland. The cards normally give details of camp and POW number; surname and full forenames; date and place of birth; discharge A number and rank/rating; the name of the ship, official number and date of loss; next-of-kin and relationship; home address. Opened June 1941, 186 other ranks were held here on 26/2/43. However many of them were located in sub-camps. Stalag XIII-C Hammelburg Om Main Bavaria Location N/E 50-10. They give details of name, rank and service/army number as well as regiment/corps, prisoner of war number and their final camp location (in Italy/Germany/both). Sylt camp held Jewish enforced labourers. October 1944 -soldiers from the Polish Warsaw Rising came, including over 1,000 women soldiers and officers. In June 1941 British and Commonwealth officers from the Battle of Crete and the North African Campaign arrived. On 14th May 1942 all Polish POWs were transferred to Oflag II D Gross Born, where prisoners were all French. The camp was liberated by the Red Army on the morning of 12 April 1945. Most ANZAC POWs were transferred to PG 57 early in 1942, some did remain behind in Sulmona as batmen to officers, being given separate accommodation in the lower section of the main camp. At most other camps there were several nationalities, although they were usually separated into national compounds. Nearly 50,000 died there of hunger, disease, or were just simply murdered. The oldest British prisoner. Many of these soldiers were interned at Oflag VII-B. Florence Desmond, During WW2, German POWs in Britain plot to escape from their prison camp in Scotland. The number of inmates reached its peak of 5,944 officers and 796 orderlies. After two to three days, the column reached Stettin. The workers who constructed the original buildings were housed in camps near Fallingbostel and Bergen, the latter being the so-called Bergen-Belsen Army Construction Camp. in September 1943 PG60 was turned into a concentration camp for political prisoners and Jews. In March, 1200 French prisoners were brought to Colditz Castle, with 600 more being imprisoned in the town below. At the instigation of the U.S. and Swiss governments, the International Committee of the Red Cross put pressure on the German government not to keep civilian non-combatants in a POW camp. Most British & Commonwealth Stalags, Oflags and Dulags are all listed above. The local German forces refused free access to the camp, so an assault into the area was made by the Guards Armoured Division and the camp was liberated on April 29, 1945. The third tunnel ran westwards from the westernmost barrack block under a sentry tower on the south-western corner of the camp. The prisoners came from the Polish Army Krakow, SGO Polesie and the defenders of the coast. Approximately 4,700 U.S. infantrymen were held there, far exceeding the capacity of the camp and resulting in very severe overcrowding, even after their officers and NCOs were later transferred to other camps. Stalag XXI-D Posen (Posnan) Poland Location N/E 52-17. November 21st brought hundreds of wounded prisoners from the field hospitals. Transfixing. Additional wooden barrack huts were also constructed on the grounds, to accommodate the camp's growing prisoner population. Andrew L. Stone Fourteen British officers were killed and 46 were wounded. 247,302 Less than eight months later Oflag IV-C was captured by American soldiers from 1st US Army. Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall. 2928797 Private Walter Murray Queens Own Cameron Highlanders died 13/8/1942
Official position given is 43:14N - 13:41E
Jack Lee A Lazarett (hospital) cared for prisoners that were sick or had been injured in industrial accidents or air-raids. Believed killed by SS at, Cut bars on north side of castle, reached wire fence. Operated from 1939 to June 1940 when inmates were transferred to Oflag VIb. Privacy Policy and
On 5 May 1945 the Norwegians were transported east to a camp near Lignica in Silesia, then travelled for several days by train to Hamburg and Aarhus, Denmark, finally arriving in Oslo on 28 May 1945. Others went to a satellite camp - Campo 78/1 - established at Aquafredda high in the hills to the north-east of Sulmona, but close enough to come under the administration of Campo 78. What makes the stories of these two men - John Baptist Crasta in south-east Asia, and Captain Birendranath Mazumdar in Germany - special is that both were Indian soldiers with the British army, and that both left accounts providing rare insights into the testing experiences of Indian PoWs. For Polish officers, this camp opened in October 1939 with the first transport of 1000 officers. Although all the camp buildings had not been completed, there were well-built ablutions and latrines, served with a good water supply, and a proper infirmary. A limited number of non-commissioned soldiers working as orderlies were allowed in Oflags to carry out the work needed to care for the officers so dont be too surprised to find a Corporal in Colditz! Each camp had its own sports field, and there was also a library with around 3,000 books. For the first few months they lived in the open or in tents during a very cold winter, while they built the wooden and brick huts for the permanent camp. At the end of 1943 it was evacuated and renamed Oflag 64 - & was probably the only German POW camp set up exclusively for U.S. Army officers. As with a lot of German POW camps originally this was a much smaller camp based at the ex Hitler Youth hostel set up in the castle and transformed between an officers camp only then into a stalag with all the satellite work camps I have listed here. Other reports on POW camps are held in CO 980 and HO 215. In 1942 the Nazis deported all soldiers from the Dutch army to POW camps all over Germany and the Reich including Stalag 371. Jack Lee, The camp was evacuated in January 1945 as the Red Army approached At 11:00 PM on 27 January 1945 Germans marched the POWs out of Stalag 3 with Spremberg for their destination. At first they lived in tents, throughout the severe winter of 1939-1940, and construction of all the huts was not completed until 1941. British and Commonwealth officers and other ranks captured in North Africa, International Association of the Red Cross, professional researcher to seek these files out, services of a professionally accredited researcher, https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/hire-a-researcher/about, Household Cavalry, Combermere Barracks Windsor, Berks, database will include British and Commonwealth forces, POW Allied Prisoners of War in Europe 1939-1945, WWII POW and Internment Camps by Derek Tomlin, Many exclusive records, found only on our site, 1 on 1 Personal assistance from military photo and document experts, Access to Orbats mapping tool, allowing you to trace your WW1 ancestors steps. Douglas Bader - British fighter pilot, Wing commander in Battle of Britain; Per Bergsland - Norwegian pilot of No. Despite the designation of "escape proof," Colditz turned out to be the ideal camp for escape-inclined Allied prisoners. Another SHAEF report on camp strengths dated February 1945 showed: 986 British, 1734 US, 9486 Soviets,9 Belgian, 2 Polish,1665 Yugoslavs,1449 Italians and 15692 French were at this camp. The POWs left in the camp were liberated by the Soviet army on 8 May 1945, however this liberation like many other camps meant they were simply robbed of anything valuable by their allies and locked back up until the Soviets allowed them to return home later. In September 1942 the British prisoners were transferred to other camps, and were replaced with Polish officers, with 1,077 brought from Romania, where they had been interned since September 1939, and another 1,500 transferred from other camps in Germany. They include prisoners of all services and the merchant navy held in Germany or German-occupied territory; prisoners of all services and the merchant navy held in Italy. Four managed to reach Switzerland, the rest were recaptured. The village here was very small <100 houses. Stalag I-B Hohenstein East Prussia Location N/E 53-20. 189 officers held here as of 26/2/41 originally opened May 1941. The sick were mistreated when dysentery and diarrhoea set in. This was a work camp, making roads and operating a stone quarry. 130 officers held here at 26/2/43 oiginally opened June 1941. The main building, known as the stonehouse, had been used as a prison for a small number of airmen captured in the early months of the war, before it became a transit camp. Sep 1939 - Dulag Gneixendorf was created; renamed Stalag XVII B Oct 1939; received first American POWs in Oct 1943 (that part of the camp was then called Stalag Luft XVII B). Other rooms were used as a common room and theatre. The first prisoners included Belgian, Dutch and French soldiers taken during the Battle of France. Nominal rolls of prisoners in German camps are in AIR 40/263-281, and AIR 40/1488-1491. Kazimierz is in the centre of Krakow: the old Jewish quarter including the area when Oskar Schindler's factory was located. It is reputed that the German Camp Commandant at the time (Major Rumpel), gave the escapers a case of champagne with the words "Better luck next time, even if I'm not supposed to say so". The Man Who Broke into Auschwitz - Denis Avey [see here]. But, between 1939 and 1945, it was famously used as a prisoner of war camp to house British and Allied Officers who had previously escaped from other camps, or were deemed to be a high security risk. The camp was liberated on 1 February 1945 by the Soviet Army. Because of approaching Soviet troops, all POWs capable of walking were marched out. Terms of Service apply. The following morning they caught a train to Tuttlingen and walked to the Swiss border. It was later used by Germans (SS) as a main transit camp (Durchgangslager) for deportation to Germany of Jews and political opponents. Opened originally in May 1942, 180 other ranks were reported here on December30th 1942.. Near Perugia, Fornaci Briziarelli brick factory, POWs also worked on the Todi Orvieto road construction. The camp was opened in October 1939 as Oflag IX-A to house POWs from the British Royal Air Force and the French Arme de l'Air. Claudette Colbert, District II in the far Northeast of Germany, nearest large city Stettin. I listened to the audiobook with Simon. Approximately 6,000 officers and orderlies were in the camp. The Prisoners of War and Internment Files in the Admiralty and Secretariat Papers ADM 1 (code 79) contain documentation on many aspects of the Royal Navy's involvement with the capture and internment of the enemy and Allied POWs, naval and other services. May 1941 more prisoners arrived from the Balkans Campaign, mostly British and Serbians. It was redesignated Oflag XIII-D in September 1941. Your email address will not be published. They were moved to a different location closer to Cuxhaven, Westertimke, in 1942. | Gross: Some of the Dutch prisoners escaped when en route to Neubrandenburg camp via train by jumping from the boxcars and managed to get home. Lager Helgoland was filled with Soviet Organisation Todt workers. Lamont Johnson After this incident, Upham was considered extremely dangerous and was placed in solitary confinement. Suffixes on camps relate to their parent camp: i.e. A card index to additional more comprehensive Liberation reports in WO 208/3328-3340 is located in the Document Reading Room at The National Archives. Set up in September 1943, it housed about 1200 prisoners, mostly British. 101 min Other reports have the number at as many as 2,000 in the column. In the (Fascist) Italian system camps were prefixed 'CC' or 'PG' and still split between officers and enlisted men however there was no denomination between the 2 main types of camp. The camp was situated on a former army training ground (bungsplatz), and had been used during World War I as a camp for Soviet prisoners. The SHAEF report mentions malnutrition/lice and infections hence it is thought unlikely there were any remaining Western Allied officer POWs still held at liberation at this camp. Vas du das Krieg est uber" - "For You the War is over." In March 1943 a Lazarett ("Camp Hospital") was built there. (3 days confined arrest 13-16 Dec 1941). The site chosen was on a river plain of the Natisone, south-west of the town of Cividale and the nearest railway line. Opened 12/44, this is possibly either a redesignated Oflag IIa or a sub camp of Oflag IIa. Stalag VI-C Bathorn Munster Westfalen Prussia, Closed in 1944 and Moved to Stalag IV Grosstychow East Prussia Location N/E 54-20. Documentary. Had a subsidiarywork camp located at Poggia Cancelli. At the end of 1944 prisoners evacuated from other camps began to arrive, resulting in overcrowding, and a reduction in food rations. Within a few days they were liberated by British troops pushing eastward. From 21 January 1945, many of the prisoners, particularly British and Commonwealth, were marched through Nazi-occupied Czech lands to Stalag XIII-C in Bavaria or Stalag XIII-D Nrnberg. In 1942 a large camp (Stalag 323) was built for Soviet prisoners, it was located at the other end of the training ground. Those released included military and civilians: 1,248 Soviet, 41 Poles, 16 Yugoslavs and 3 Italians. Later in 1944 it became an US officers and British other ranks holding 9142 POWs upon liberation by the Soviet Army on 6/5/1945, consisting of 7500 US AAC officers, 400 other ranks and 500 RAF Officers with 150 other ranks, additionally held were 50 other ranks of other nationalities. The barracks were enclosed by a barbed-wire fence and watchtowers to form a camp approximately 440 by 530 metres, and was opened in June 1940 to house officers, mostly French, captured in the Battle of France, as well as several hundred Poles. Each subcamp was named after one of the Frisian Islands: Lager Norderney located at Saye, Lager Helgoland at Platte Saline, Lager Sylt near the old telegraph tower at La Foulre and Lager Borkum, situated near the Impot. He was killed in action on 1 September 1944, commanding the second Battalion of the Kings Royal Rifle Corps, and is buried at Airaines Cemetery in France. I knew about this prisoner of war camp from having read and reread and loved. No beds or bedding in the buildings. At this point all Senior British Officers (SBOs) informed their men of Field Marshal Montgomerys so-called 'standfast' order. Reports of escaped Royal Air Force personnel, including some nominal lists of reported Air Force POWs, are in AIR 14/353-361; these files deal mainly with aids to escape and conduct in enemy territory. | E902 Delbruckschachte-Hindenburg coal mine. District X Nearest city Hanover, in the middle north of Germany. From April 1940 onwards the camp expanded with the completion of three wooden barrack blocks. Chiefly White Europeans couldn't blend in with the native peoples! By July 1944 it housed 9,000 Allied airmen. They crossed into Switzerland at 01.30 on 13 September 1942, and were taken to the British legation at Bern. Also listed as 'Gavi-Serravalle Scrivia Piedmont'. (Small camp with around 25 prisoners at any one time). All of these reports were made by officers and men of the armed forces and merchant navy and usually provide: service details; when and where captured; home address and civilian occupation. 31,665 Oflag X-B was opened in May 1940, and was used to hold French officers captured during the battle of France. Located in Fara in Sabina 35 km from Rome. A second tunnel, about 40 m (130 ft) long, was built from April to August 1944. There were approximately 100 Americans, sick and medical personnel, and a few that had hidden in the old escape tunnel. A basic Tent camp at Foligno, used as a transit camp to camps in Germany, this was designated for Prisoners for eastern Europe. The camp opened in December 1939 when a small number of British and French POWs were transferred in from Oflag IX-A/H. The case for the defence at War Crimes Tribunals after 1945 was often based on this, however, this was overruled as Germany had signed, and hence was argued to be in breach of the rules they had pledged to uphold, regardless of which countries' POWs they were dealing with. Different Location closer to Cuxhaven, Westertimke, in particular for Soviet, 41 Poles, 16 Yugoslavs 3... Camps relate to their parent camp: i.e a potato drying factory near the village here was very