list of british prisoners in colditz

They were joined by members of the Glider Pilot Regiment captured at the Battle of Arnhem in September 1944. The main camp was located in a complex of fifteen forts that surrounded the whole of the city. There were as many as 700 different work parties (Arbeitskommando) to various factories and other locations from this camp. During 1941 and 1942 many Allied air crews that had been shot down were taken to Lbeck, then later transferred to Oflag VI-B, Warburg. The roster of 1 January 1945 showed that there were 5,014 officers and 377 orderlies in the camp. 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. Rachel Kempson, We also have many records from the escape and evasion parts of the TNA, originally compiled by MI9, typically these are contained in the National Archives WO373 series which covers recommendations for awards and may also have transcribed citations in some cases. The following morning, one of those trains stopped outside the station of Modena and a number of the POWs in a variety of ways took leave of the train and scarpered into the surrounding undergrowth. 172 min Up until October 1943 - 2459 officers and 302 other ranks, 1 October 1943 - 2561 officers and 292 other ranks. In 1941 more officer prisoners arrived from the Balkans Campaign mostly British, Yugoslavian, Serbs and Greeks. Over 5,000 Allied merchant seamen were captured by German forces during the Second World War, most of whom were at some time held at the camp Marlag und Milag Nord, Westertimke, near Bremen, Germany, (Marlag held Royal Navy personnel and Milag Merchant seamen). That month there were a total of 38,831 prisoners registered at the camp. 18,307 POWs with 550 Officers here in Bavaria. Those fortunate enough to have a coat shared it with others. Oflag IVC, Colditz, 1941. Originally, Stutthof was a civilian internment camp under the Danzig police chief. In June 1943 it was placed under the administrative control of Stalag VIII-B Lamsdorf and was renamed Stalag IV-B/Z. In the U.K. it was entrenched in our culture and truly inspired fear. Between 1939 and 1945 1 million POWs of 46 nations passed through. Twice as many KL inmates were then housed in, the already overcrowded, British POW barracks here. Near the town of Bautzen (spelt Bautsee/Bautsen on the reports in Wo229/5/1), several wooden huts housing 70 British POWs and other nationalities. The northernmost POW camp in nazi occupied Europe. Part of one barrack was set aside for use as a chapel. James Garner, The prisoners lived in the factory buildings which couldnt accommodate such large numbers. Escaped en route to Leipzig for court martial. Several single story stone buildings here near the Village of Erika, about 290 British POWs worked nearby at a local Briquette factory, there was also a large mine in this area. OFLAG VIIIh Oberlangendorf, Czech republic, OFLAG IXa Spangenburg bei Kassel, Germany. Building the Colditz Glider. In December 1940, 1,691 Polish prisoners were recorded as being there. Stalag XII-C Wiesbaden Hessen-Nassau, Prussia Location N/E 50-08, Stalag XII-D Waldbreitbach Rheinland, Prussia Location N/E 50-07. POW Quarters were roomy and designed so as to be cool and airy in the hot summer months. Part of the facilities were used as Oflag XIII-A for officers. Some of the first escapees were recaptured and returned to the camp before the escape had even been discovered by the camp authorities. Stars: Lazarett (reserve hospital) on a hillside overlooking Bilin village with 150 patients. 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. There was also a further 'camp' adjacent called 'Belaria' which was opened in 1944 and used to house those suspected of attempting or aiding escape(rs). 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. Ultimately, the confused situation meant that by the end of 1943 some 50,000 POWs had been rounded-up and transported to camps in Germany. The next larger transport (1067 prisoners) arrived on December 7th, 1939 also from Stargard, Oflag II-d. French officers were also brought to this camp after the defeat of France in 1940. They were moved to a different location closer to Cuxhaven, Westertimke, in 1942. Stalag XVIII-C Markt Pongau, Austria (also known as Stalag 317). Officers were not required to work, although they could volunteer, the convention did allow officers to be requested to work but neither the European Axis (although the Japanese certainly did) nor Allies used them so. In March 1943 a Lazarett ("Camp Hospital") was built there. Hot showers and barbers were available, and an issue of clothing, though poor in quality, satisfied an urgent need. We are particularly interested in lists of names and individual photographs, letters and diaries of this period. 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. Some of the Dutch prisoners escaped when en route to Neubrandenburg camp via train by jumping from the boxcars and managed to get home. There are also reports of POWs being held at Concentration camps such as Auschwitz, Dachau etc. District XX Nearest city Olsztyn, Poland (German name: Allenstein). July 1941: About 20,000 Soviet prisoners captured during Operation Barbarossa arrived. Wing Commander and air ace Douglas Bader's man was a medical orderly by profession and according to the Geneva Convention was offered early repatriation only to have Bader, his officer, refuse to let him go! These first prisoners were the permanent staff of the camp and helped new POWs become accustomed to camp life. From May and June 1940 Dutch and Belgian prisoners arrived from the Battle of France, followed by French. Upham was only allowed to visit the toilet when the train was travelling at high speed, to prevent him from jumping through a window. By September 1940 the prisoners at the camp were mainly French, with 100 officers up the rank of colonel, and 28 generals. Stalag X-B was a World War II German Prisoner-of-war camp located near Sandbostel in north-western Germany. These documents were not kept with the main report but passed to the appropriate Allied authorities investigating alleged war crimes. Infamous for the unprecedented murder under the orders of Hitler/Himmler by the Gestapo of 50 Prisoners of War and the attempted cover up of these murders afterwards. Others worked in local brickyards, in private industrial enterprises, in agriculture, or in the camp's own workshops. Only two of the escapees managed to return to France. Eight Channel Island internees died in Laufen camp during the period of internment. Located at coordinates 54 degrees 23 minutes North, 12 degrees 42 minutes east. It can take a year or more to receive information back, however, the ICRC archive records are usually also cross-referenced against the original German records and a copy of the original record is supplied which confirms all details held, these can range from a single A4 sheet to a few pages depending on whether a complaint was placed with the ICRC during the war. These magazines were published monthly and sent to prisoners families. General information of this camp is held at the TNA under reference WO 224/9. 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. Besides, some include dates of death, exchange, repatriation and arrival back in the United Kingdom. The camp itself was large, but it was split up into nationalities, British, Poles, Indians, and Soviets. | In their place British, French and other Allied officers were transferred to Hadamar from the citadel of Mainz. The camp was created in 1941 as the base camp for a number of work-camps (Arbeitskommando) for prisoners of war working in the mines and industries of Upper Silesia. The first evacuation occurred on 29 January, 1945 in blizzard conditions. Fowler died March 1944, Escape through kitchen into German yard, across yard into Kommandantur cellar, out cellar into dry moat. On the approach of Allied forces in April 1945 all fit prisoners from the camps and neighbouring labour units were marched east to Stalag XVIII-C. Officially, the camp was liberated by elements of the British 8th Army on 11 May 1945. Later in September 1943 PG60 was turned into a concentration camp for political prisoners and Jews. Building work commenced on 5th June 1942 and the camp could house up to 6000 POWs. VIEW HERE A MAP OF POW CAMPS IN GERMANY - PUBLISHED BY THE RED CROSS & ST. JOHN WAR ORGANISATION. David Tomlinson, This was the camp for USAAF NCOs until 13 October 1943 when all 1,900 were transferred to Stalag 17B. Oflag VII-A Murnau was a German Army POW camp for Polish Army officers during World War II. Friesack Camp/Camp Friesack is a name commonly used to refer to a special World War II prisoner of war camp where a group of Irishmen serving in the British Army volunteered for recruitment and selection by the Abwehr (German Intelligence) and the German Army. Grumello del Piano/del silenzio /Grumillina. The shifting balance of power nicely charted as the war went on and the German position worsened. 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. Because of approaching Soviet troops, all POWs capable of walking were marched out. The main camp was in a former brewery in a suburb of the town with a few large brick buildings up to 3 storeys high. 151 Officers held here as of 26/2/43 Originally opened June 1941. Whilst they were ostensibly for collection of air force personnel their main purpose was as interrogation centres for newly captured aircrew, before they were transferred in batches to the permanent camps. Notably during the winter of 1941-1942 roughly 25 thousand people died there, mostly Soviet soldiers. Stalag XI-B Fallingbostel Prussia (Work Camps) Location N/E 53-09. camp, and is mistakenly awarded with the Iron Cross by the Germans. Opened in February 1942 &built with a brand new stone barracks for the incoming POWs. 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. Then were put into a barn, under guard, and slept for the night. WWII POW and Internment Camps by Derek Tomlin this was particularly useful for adding numbers of POWs held to the data of many camps. Data and factual references were sourced from: The National Archives, Wikipedia, The International Committee of the Red Cross, POW Allied Prisoners of War in Europe 1939-1945 by Adrian Gilbert and various other books mentioned in the tutorial where possible. To the north of the road were seven prisoner accommodation blocks. The purpose of this is as follows: These can contain names and addresses of helpers, nature of help given, and relevant dates. Moosburg was the central point in Southern Germany for the distribution of Red Cross parcels. . Up to 6,000 POWS housed in this camp, 30 miles Northeast of Naples. The previously marked Secret files from SHAEF (Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force) 254-1 files held at the National Archives (1,036 pages long) under reference WO229/5/0/1. The castle, that overlooks the town of Colditz in Saxony . Water (often contaminated) POWs drank from ditches beside the road or ate snow when available. Punishment of prisoners was severe, particularly after July 1944 when the SS took over jurisdiction of camp security (although did not place guards generally) US prisoners who did not follow regulations or tried to escape were sentenced to as much as a month in a special solitary confinement building, Soviet POWs fared far worse however, and were generally killed either immediately or worked to death at the nearby Mauthausen KZ. 357 officers and 58 other ranks were reported here on 26/2/43. They were transferred to other camps, and the camp was closed on 29 October 1941. I knew about this prisoner of war camp from having read and reread and loved. The first contained Allied prisoners in unsatisfactory conditions, but generally in compliance with the International Red Cross Convention. Italian occupation of Greece/Balkans etc -some highly useful information on internment and POW camps all gleaned from the notoriously difficult to access USSME Italian Army archives. Work camps for the Ellera- Pietrafitta railway for mostly eastern European POWs. In July 1941 the prisoners of Ilag X-B were set to work dismantling their barrack huts at Sandbostel, then rebuilding them at Westertimke, finally completing the Milag camp in February 1942. They were liberated by the British 11th Armoured Division on 1 May 1945. Shelter was either a barn or under the stars, in the rain, snow, or whatever happened to be. Terence Alexander, Not Rated Margnano lignite mine, listed elsewhere as 'Morgnano' -clearly a spelling error. The camp was organised into huts about 40 yards long and 8 yards wide. The Senior Officer on Liberation was Colonel Hubert Zemke of the US army air corps. A large (10 acre) island on lake Trasimeno in Umbria. The camp was supposed to be closed completely late in 1944 when most of the camp were transferred to Sagan (Stalag Luft III) but a few of the sick remained to be liberated by the Soviet a few months later. Contents of the Canadian parcel included: Unlike the American and British parcels, Canadian Red Cross parcels did not include cigarettes or tobacco. There are four primary sources for post-armistice escape reports for Italy: https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/hire-a-researcher/about and WO 208/5393-5404 contain reports made by escapers who travelled south to Allied lines; WO 208/4238-4276 and WO 208/4368-4371 hold reports made by those who made it to neutral Switzerland. A simple list of (mostly) British or Commonwealth war films about prisoners of war. A very well researched and invaluable insight into the escape and the nature of the men who carried it out. The main camps were all designated PG prigionieri di Guerra, although they were also abbreviated 'CC' meaning Campo diconcentramento. 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. 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. In Italy and Greece this work was performed by the Allied Screening Commission (ASC); in Northwest Europe, Intelligence School 9, Awards Bureau, IS9 (AB). The remaining prisoners responded to the threat of a pitched battle on their doorstep by digging slit trenches. Stars: Guy Hamilton 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. Another attempt occurred when he was being moved between prison camps on a civilian train while guarded by two Germans. Located in Laufen Castle, in Laufen in south-eastern Bavaria from 1940 to 1942. At 07.30 the escape party left the store, timed to be shortly after the change of the German sentries the idea being that the new sentries would be unaware of who had already entered the store. 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. P.G. On the night of 17 September 1943 a large group of prisoners escaped. Drama, War. Michael Redgrave, As in other permanent camps the sheets on the beds were the biggest surprise to new arrivals. Guests staying there get a three-hour tour of tunnels and hidden rooms used by the . The Geneva convention comprised a few other agreements made concerning Prisoners of war, notably the Hague regulations of 1899 and 1907 and the pre-war version which was initially signed on July 27th 1929. 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. The prison buildings consisted of 2 compounds, each with its own cook-house, ablution block, recreation huts and orderly Rooms. The captured Polish soldiers arrived first, then the French and Belgians in June 1940. Built there the rain, snow, or in the camp were French... In 1941 more officer prisoners arrived from the citadel of Mainz with the International Red Cross parcels from May June. Snow, or in the hot summer months repatriation and arrival back the... Accommodation blocks and individual photographs, letters and diaries of this camp is held at Concentration camps such Auschwitz! 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