Lamont Johnson This route into Switzerland was discovered by Larive in 1940 on his first escape attempt from an Oflag in Soest. For lack of huts they were mostly housed in tents. After this incident, Upham was considered extremely dangerous and was placed in solitary confinement. It can give details of the escape method and allied personnel who assisted in an escape. There was much zigzagging, to escape the encroaching Soviet Red Army from the east. Finally in late December 1944 1,800 Americans arrived, captured in the Battle of the Bulge. The northernmost POW camp in nazi occupied Europe. The old chapel was torn down and construction work on the prison facilities started in 1940. An epic story of survival, class wars and daring escapes: inside the fortress walls of Colditz Castle. 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. camp for captured Allies goes through a series of failed escapes only to culminate in a daring plan for a dramatic mass escape. The camp was liberated by troops of the U.S. 12th Armoured Division on 29 April 1945. When the Soviet front approached, orders were given to move the prisoners to other camps further west. Located at 53 degrees, 41 minutes North, 16 degrees, 54 minutes East. They were flown back to Paris on May 12, many of them free for the first time in five years. This book was a refreshing change because it dealt with German captors who kept their humanity and followed their legal responsibilities to their prisoners from France, Germany, Holland, And even India. Over 200,000 soldiers of the British armed forces were captured during the Second World War and placed in one of the different types of prisoner of war camps run by the Germans until 1945 and Italians until late 1943, sometimes even both! Feldpost 07465 (27/1/42-14/7/42) Stalag 310 Weitzendorf (Soviet POWS), Feldpost 07667 (3.10.1944) Stalag 304 Zeithain (Soviet POWS), Festetich Street (Civilian Camp), Budapest, Hungary 47-19, Field Hospital 519, Raab (Gyor), Hungary 47-17, Field-Hospital 1244 ABT/2-D Bad Nauheim Rheinland, Prussia 50-08, Freising Hospital (Serves Stalag VII-A) Moosburg Bavaria 48-11, Frontstalag 122 Civilian Internment Camp Clermont France 45-03, Frontstalag 194, Vittel Civilian Internment Camp Vosges France 48-06, Frontstalag 221 Civilian Internment Camp St. Medard France 45- 0, Giromagny For Civilians Giromagny France 47-06, Haftanstald Kattowitz Upper Silesia 50-19, Hohe Mark Hospital (Serves Dulag Luft) Oberursel Hessen-Nassau, Prussia 50-07, Hospital #11 (Serves Stalag X-A) Schleswig Schleswig 54-09, Hospital 18-A (Serves Stalag XVIII-A) Villach-Karnten Carinthia, Austria 46-14, Hospital 3 B and 4 (Graz) Graz Styria, Austria 47-15, Hospital At Bilin (Serves Stalag IV-C) Bilin Bohemia 50-13, Hospital At Kosel Kosel Upper Silesia 50-18, Hospital at Muenstierel Lazaret(Serves Stalag VI-G) Bonn Rheinland, Prussia 50-07, Hospital at Stalag I-B Hohenstein East Prussia 53-20, Hospital at Stalag II-A Neubrandenburg Mecklenberg 53-13, Hospital Franzis Kusplatz Prague Bohemia 50-14, Hospital Karoly Boulevard, Budapest, Hungary 47-19, Hospital Le Calvaire Pont-Chateau France 47-02, Hospital Meiningen #1288 (Serves Stalag IX-C) Meiningen Saxe-Meiningen 50-10, Hospital Sandbostel (Serves Stalag X- Sandbostel Schleswig 53-09, Hospital Lingen (Thuine) (Serves Stalag VI-G) Hanover Prussia 52-07, Ilag (Civilian Internment Camp) Bergen-Belsen Hanover, Prussia 52-10, Ilag 18 Spittal Am Drau Carinthia, Austria 46-13, Ilag 7/H Laufen (Civilian Internment Camp) Bavaria 48-13, Ilag 7/Z Tittmoning (Civilian Internment Camp) Bavaria 48-12. Several duplicates, and possibly some original, interrogation reports and citations for awards for escape, evasion and activities while a POW is dispersed among the microfilms WO 373/60-64 and 87 parts 6 and 7. For three months after their removal the camp was used as a transit camp for Soviet prisoners. About 5% of the Soviet prisoners who died . Stars: There are also unconfirmed listings of another OFLAG 83 LXXXIII at Winniza in the Ukraine. In May 1941 Oflag XIII-B was created in a separate compound for Serbian officers captured during the Balkans Campaign. In June 1942, to ease overcrowding, three new barracks were built, and 400 British NCOs were transferred to Stalag XVIII-B at Spittal. Most prisoners were used in coal mining work in the Ruhr valley. It is subdivided by nationality as Belgium, Chinese, Czech, Denmark, France, Holland, Italy, Poland and Greece. Located in Fnfeichen, a former estate within the city limits of Neubrandenburg, Mecklenburg, northern Germany. Who knew that "other ranks" weren't permitted to escape? P.G. Many escaped but most were returned to the prison. District XV Nearest city Strasbourg, now in France. The Poles were transferred to other camps, and in March 1941 it was redesignated Stalag XVIII-A, with French and Belgian prisoners being transferred in from Stalag XVII-A. There were no restrictions on the number of letters a POW could receive. The sick were mistreated when dysentery and diarrhoea set in. Oflag XIII-A was opened in August 1940 to accommodate mainly French officers captured during the Battle of France. 86 min For security reasons Appendix A had a very limited circulation, Consists of military information and intelligence which was distributed to the Armed Forces and other interested departments. 1939: The first prisoners arrived in November 1939; they were 140 Polish officers from the September Campaign who were regarded as escape risks. As a result of this, and other escape attempts, the camp was evacuated in October 1941 with all prisoners being sent to Oflag VI-B. Dulag or Durchgangslager (transit camp) These camps were intelligence collection centres, Prisoners were always supposed to come to one of these before going on to a permanent Stalag/Oflag camp, stay duration could be as short as just one or two days. Fort 17 (XVII) named after Michala Zymierskiego. The original content was at Category:Colditz prisoners of World War II. ' But the numbers fall far short of conveying the sheer drama in the German camps. | On 24 July, 68 Dutch officers arrived, mostly members of the Royal Dutch East Indies Army, who had refused to sign a declaration that they would take no part in the war against Germany. French and Italian soldiers were also kept here (from the end of September 1943 to March 1944). George Segal, Paul Brightwell, PG-13 As most of the prisoners have sadly all passed now I wondered who if anybody was still running a Colditz association? A few of these orderlies had been assigned as batmen to senior officers and were incarcerated along with them, however, most were assigned by the Germans once captured and many disliked their new role intensely and suffered because of it. In September 1942, British officers from Oflag VI-B Dssel, were transferred to VII-B after a mass escape (the "Warburg Wire Job"). Lt. Michael Sinclair, a British officer known as the "Red Fox of Colditz" because of his red hair, spent six months training for his escape attempt. The exact date of the escape is not known, but many sources quote it as occurring during the Whitsun weekend. 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. The file WO 208/3242 is particularly informative. They also organized the dates of escapes so that one group did not interfere with another. The first POWs arrived on 12 September. Whether describing and analyzing the actions of double agents loyal to the United States, Britain, or Russia or other topics, Macintyres approach to conveying espionage history is clear, concise, entertaining, and remarkably well written. Stalag 316 Wolknowysk (Vawkavysk, Belarus). A SHAEF report dated 10/2/45 reports these 2 camps marching westwards, location was 52N 14E. Stalag IV-D Torgau (Elbe) Sachsen, Prussia Location N/E 51-13. POWs were moved out of this camp on March 10th 1944 towards Germany. Placed on swampy ground, with a damp, cold climate, it is one of the most notorious prisoner-of-war camps. The treatment was a little worse. John Beaumont, Opened originally in May 1942, 460other ranks were reported here on December30th 1942., this may well be the figure for all of the work camps however. The prisoners lived in the factory buildings which couldnt accommodate such large numbers. At Muskau they were given a 30 hour delay for recuperation and then marched another 20 miles to Spremberg. A Leipzig 4-5 storey hotel near Konig Albert park housed 89 British POWs. He was also recaptured. Some POWs had a brutal and life-threatening time from day to day particularly as the war dragged on into 1944 and 1945, the magazines tended to concentrate on keeping families morale up rather than giving accurate news, whether this accuracy was possible or not is arguable, however. It was relatively easy to escape from a farm, but much more difficult to evade recapture. Beds were for officers, elderly and the sick. Like the Soviets they were not accorded the protection of the Third Geneva Convention and were housed next to them. | Also at Suwalki, Poland. That said, Im delighted to say that the project has now restarted but, because of social distancing, it will take longer to complete. In August 1943 the camp was severely damaged during an Allied air-raid. About 14,000 men are buried there. After the French campaign French prisoners of war were imprisoned here. SHAEF reports of February 1945 show 224 French and 172 Greek POWs held here, although we have seen letters from Polish Officers also kept here earlier in the war. It should be noted that the Japanese did not allow inspections of their camps in Malaya or Singapore. Five work sub-camps, including Prati, San Don di Piave, Torre di Confine, La Salute. Internally, it was divided in half by a road running east-west, the Ziegelkampstrae. VIEW HERE A MAP OF POW CAMPS IN GERMANY - PUBLISHED BY THE RED CROSS & ST. JOHN WAR ORGANISATION. Visit this page for family history research enquiries, Excessive severity: Treason and the Grenadian Rebellion of 1795, A love story that threatened the Commonwealth: Seretse Khama and Ruth Williams, Introduction to conservation for digitisation, Accroaching royal power in 1380s London: The downfall of Nicholas Brembre, Friends of The National Whilst these magazines make a nave but charming read and often gave some useful information on what to put into a prisoner's parcel and various other questions of concern to the POWs' families, they did not portray an accurate reflection of camp life in almost all circumstances. The bunk beds were in blocks of nine- three on the top, three in the middle and three on the bottom. In late September 1939 the camp was changed to a prisoner-of-war camp to house Polish soldiers from the September Campaign, particularly those from the Pomorze Army. On a snowy day in December, 1943, while he looked out over the German town of Colditz, POW Bill Goldfinch noticed snowflakes outside his window . This road (the SS448/Due Mari) is now reached via the E45 Autostrada 1st exit after Perugia. I devoured this book. In 1941 some 300 of these took part in the Nazi propaganda film Germanin. | On 22 May 1940 all 1,336 Polish prisoners were transferred to Oflag VII-A Murnau, and were replaced with British, French and Belgian officers taken prisoner during the battle of France. Forged papers used by a British escapee from Colditz to make one of the first "home runs" back to the UK from the notorious German prisoner-of-war camp are being sold . Director: Guy Hamilton | Stars: John Mills, Eric Portman, Christopher Rhodes, Frederick Valk. Moved to Hotel Golden Lion - an annex of the Leipzig Warren lazaretto in February 1944. Articles 27 to 34 listed the conditions of the work that could be required. It was in Stanislau, a city that until 1918 was part of Austria-Hungary in the interwar years under the Polish name Stanislawow. Starting in 1940, this gloomy, Saxon castle above a small town in eastern Germany was used to house the most "difficult" of the Allied POWs. 201 Bergamo hospital (also listed as H 201). OFLAG 4 IVa Hohenstein-Ernstthal/Bad Schandau, Germany. They passed through the gate, and then, wearing faked Luftwaffe uniforms, headed to an airfield near Kassel intending to steal a Ju 52, which Newborn had flown before the war, and fly home. Opened July 1941, 119 other ranks were held here on 26/2/43. Opened August 1940, closed September 1942. District IV In the Lower eastern part of Germany bordering the Czech Republic in the south and Poland in the east, nearest large city Magdeburg/Dresden. 12 Candeli / Vincigliata near Florence. Opened November 1939, Liberated 16th April 1945. In 1941 more officer prisoners arrived from the Balkans Campaign mostly British, Yugoslavian, Serbs and Greeks. From April 1940 onwards the camp expanded with the completion of three wooden barrack blocks. 45 US prisoners held here. It was a fairly small camp with around 500 POWs, mostly Anzacs. Marlag und Milag Nord was a World War II German prisoner-of-war camp complex for men of the British Merchant Navy and Royal Navy. Director: Kazimierz is in the centre of Krakow: the old Jewish quarter including the area when Oskar Schindler's factory was located. It comprised eight barracks for the inmates and a "kommandantur" for the SS guards, totalling 120,000 square metres. Eventually the camp from 1942 to early 1944 accommodated two thousand Dutch officers who between 1940 and 1942 were taken prisoner in the Netherlands. There are other buildings holding dayrooms, the kitchen, the infirmary with isolation ward, a hall with shower, baths, stores and shoemakers and tailor's workshops. In the morning, they were given two slices of bread, counted, and the march began again for twenty-five or thirty kilometers until they reached the next appointed village. Emptied by German forces in December 1944 and POWs transferred elsewhere. Tin of 50 cigarettes or tobacco (sent separatelyusually Player's brand cigarettes or Digger flake pipe tobacco). There are also reports of POWs being held at Concentration camps such as Auschwitz, Dachau etc. Noted as having 2 shed like buildings at 53 degrees 26 minutes North, 11 degrees 52 minutes south map reference T74045C, Parchim had a POW camp during WWI located in this vicinity also. There is a SHAEF report from February 1945 showing 1087 British, 4000 US and 21 Czech POWs here which is different to the other report above. 34795 (4168 British) POWs with 340 officers held here. Sports equipment and textbooks were obtained from the Red Cross and YMCA. Director: E.g. The myth of Colditz is treated to the author's objective scrutiny teasing apart unexpected aspects of the fortress POW camp such as the snooty class distinctions evident amongst the prisoners. This scene was photographed by the Germans as "evidence" and later reprinted in his biography (Mark of the Lion, by Kenneth Sandford). However in doing so risking the farmers and the POWs' lives. Further back stands a stone structure enclosing the toilets. 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. This site allowed room for expansion of the camp facilities and its main feature was the ruined old Chapel of San Martino, sometimes known as San Mauro or Grupignano. 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. Enlarge November 1939 - Polish officers and a small number of orderlies were transported to Hadamar from other collection camps in Poland. Lager Fnfeichen was located in Fnfeichen, a former estate within the city limits of Neubrandenburg, Mecklenburg, northern Germany. The camp was originally established in June 1942 near Schokken (now Skoki) 30 km (19 mi) north of Poznan, in what had previously been Oflag XXI-A, opened in September 1940 as a camp for Polish officers. When the Wehrmacht invaded the Netherlands they were short on material for uniforms, so they confiscated anything available. The camp was divided into three groups of 900. Lignite mine work camp near Giano dellUmbria. Each nationality tended to stick to themselves and there was little national intermingling. 203 Bologna hospital in Castel S Pietro. Skelton ("Skelly") Ginn fused the perimeter floodlights, 41 prisoners carrying four 12-foot (3.7 m) scaling ladders made from bed slats rushed to the barbed-wire fence and clambered over. It lasted until March 1942 and an estimated 45,000 prisoners died and were buried in mass graves. In the camp there were eight medical officers, the seriously ill were treated in the prison hospital in Stargard. Between August and November 1942 there was a second camp at Maribor, Stalag XVIII- B/Z. They crossed into Switzerland at 01.30 on 13 September 1942, and were taken to the British legation at Bern. In April 1944 the count of internees in Laufen included 459 British internees (417 Channel Islanders) and 120 American civilians who had been trapped in Europe when war was suddenly declared in December 1941. Italian camp rosters up to 1943 are very scarce and difficult to source, if the person you are searching for remained a Prisoner after 1943 it may well be useful to search the German camp records as they have a definite possibility of being recorded there. The first prisoners, 140 Polish officers, arrived in 1939 and the castle was officially renamed as Oflag IV-C. Brian Degas, Stalags were operated in both World War I and World War II and intended to be used for non-commissioned personnel (Enlisted ranks in US Army, Other ranks in British Commonwealth forces). The purpose of this is as follows: These can contain names and addresses of helpers, nature of help given, and relevant dates. Airey Neave was sent there in May 1941 after escaping from his previous camp. burdocks (German Schwertbrderstrasse, from the north-east) and Brownies (German Goldene Pforte, from the south-east.). In 2 April 1945 the Commandant announced that he had received orders to leave the camp with most of his guards, leaving a only small detachment behind to hand over the camp to Allied forces, who were already in Bremen. There are reports this camp was transferred upon the armisitice through the Brenner pass into Austria and rehoused at Stalag VIIIb. OFLAG IX a/h Spangenberg-Kassel Hessen-Nassau, Prussia. PG60 was then closed. 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. (These are the sources for the German/Italian camps information contained on this site -they are hand transcribed and are fully searchable). Raffaella Carr, 2411 POWs mostly USAAF, evacuated to Stalag IV on 14/7/44. According to the German Security Officer, Captain Reinhold Eggers, the Dutch officers appeared to be model prisoners at first. 30 French, 1 Belgian, 278 Soviet, 26 Poles, 257 Yugoslav, 195 Italians, all evacuated to Nancy on 9/12/44. From December 1944 to March 1945 STALAG 13d (XIII-D) was designated Oflag 73. Allied prisoners of war plan for several hundred of their number to escape from a German camp during World War II. 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. 14 satellite work camps at Isola della Scala, Lazise, Mozzecane, Vigasio at San Bernardino, Montecchia di Crosara in the Cava Basalti stone farm, Legnago/Vangadizza at Rosta, Zevio at Villa da Lisca, San Martino Buon Albergo, Bonavigo, Oppeano in the Mazzantica Village, Mozzecane near the church, Angiari. The 1st Anzacs arrived in 1941 after processing at Capua, this became an officers only camp later in 1942 with the transfer of most other ranks to Udine PG 57 and then back to a mixed ranks camp later in 1943. There were many attempts at escape during the war, these are covered in some detail in many other publications, especially the Colditz story by Pat Reid himself. The Polish POWs were transferred to other camps on 1 June 1940 and Oflag II-D was established to house French officers from the Battle of France. Stalags and Marlags, most were mobile units especially for road and heavy construction. 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. Tunstall very interesting recollections. H 203 Ospedale Castel St. Pietro, Bologna, CC 38 Civilian Internment CAMP Arezzo Italy 43-12, CC77 (was Dulag 226) Pissiguano Italy 43-12. However many of them were located in sub-camps. Several escape attempts, one successful on March 29th 1943 - Six British and New Zealand officers escaped through a tunnel from Castello di Vincigliata (Campo 12) near Florence, Italy. 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. POW Camp 801 Castel Camp forced labour camp. When the offensive of the Soviet Red Army resumed in 1945, all inmates were marched westward on 28 January 1945. Votes: 2,738 Upham was soon recaptured and sent to the infamous Oflag IV-C (Colditz) on 14 October 1944. 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. In May 1945 the camp was liberated by the Red Army. As allied P.O.W.s prepare for a soccer game against the German National Team to be played in Nazi-occupied Paris, the French Resistance and British officers are making plans for the team's escape. Tom Courtenay, Schalkendorf in the Kreis (Area of) Opole. An ICRC report of August 1941 described the fort as being a circular building, made of red brick with three floors each with its windows facing an interior court which acts as the hub of the fort. Also listed as 'Gavi-Serravalle Scrivia Piedmont'. Allied prisoners - British, Dutch, French and Polish - pool their resources to plan numerous escapes from the "escape-proof" German P.O.W. #1)(Serves Stalag 326) Minden Westfalen, Prussia 52-09, Reserve Lazarett Nassaulahn Nassau Am Lahn Hessen-Nassau, Prussia 50-08, Reserve Lazarett Neukolln (Hospital #119) Brandenburg Berlin, Prussia 52-13, Reserve Lazarett Quedlinburg Sachsen, Prussia 51-11, Reserve Lazarett Reutlingen Wurttemberg 48-09, Reserve Lazarett Schmorkau (Hospital #745) (Serves Stalag IV-A) Schmorkau Saxony 51-14, Reserve Lazarett Weilmunster Hessen-Nassau, Prussia 50-08, Reserve Lazarett Wiesloch Heidelberg Baden 49-08, Reserve Lazarett Wilhelmspart-Magdeburg Sachsen, Prussia 52-11, Rivesaltes Civilian Internment Camp Pyrenees Orientales France 42-03, Royal Hungarian Hospital No. And perhaps the most colorful examples have emerged from Colditz, the Nazi camp for Allied officers in Germanys east from 1939 to 1945. Some of the more detailed POW camp locations (Particularly in Italy) were gleaned from (amongst others): The booklist above, particularly POW by Adrian Gilbert and also small snippets were found on an Italian site by Alberto Stramaccioni regarding camps in Umbria. In the middle of April most of the prisoners in the camp and in the outlying Arbeitskommandos were marched westward ahead of the advancing Red Army. At the peak there were about 10,000 prisoners at the camp. District VIII Nearest city Koblenz, In the middle west area of Germany. It was a dark night and they successfully reached a freight train that was switching cars at the station that was close to the farm. They were transferred to other camps, and the camp was closed on 29 October 1941. District I in what is now known as Olsztyn, Poland, then it was in East Prussia. The escapers, including Day, Buckley, Johnnie Dodge and future Carry on Film star Peter Butterworth were all recaptured within a week. Most of these Italian prisoners were suffering from tuberculosis or had been injured while working.
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