list of british prisoners in colditz

A number of the French were from African colonial regiments and were used for the worst work such as collecting refuse. Opened originally in December1941, 431other ranks were reported here on February 26th 1943. Collective alphabetical listings of POWs (as opposed to individual pouches) are contained in BT 373/3717-3722. I devoured this book. Less than eight months later Oflag IV-C was captured by American soldiers from 1st US Army. Italy also had civilian internment camps although certain POW camps had some civilian prisoners also. 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. Each hut held approximately 50 prisoners, and each compound had 20 huts, the Hut Commander slept in an area which doubled as an admin office. $17.11M, Approved Their disappearance went unnoticed the next day, so the next night another group escaped, a total of 132 men altogether. It can give details of the escape method and allied personnel who assisted in an escape. After being freed in 1941, an orderly to a French admiral wrote that that life there was boring but "not particularly onerous", with "adequate by European prison standards" sanitation, inadequate but regular rations, and cigarettes for purchase. Then, from 1950, he served as a British MP before his untimely death in March 1979 when a car bomb exploded as he drove out of the Palace of Westminster car park. They worked predominately on farms and had the possibility to obtain better nourishment. Small groups of prisoners were employed also in Lodz factories. Only 10 managed to remain free, some returned to Poland, others finding their way to the Allied lines. In German-run camps an 'Oflag' was a prisoner of war camp for officers, a 'Stalag' was for enlisted personnel, and there were also separate camps for the navy, aircrews and civilians. According to official figures in April 1944 there were 4,268 men held there. In April 1945 many POWs were force marched away from the camp where they met advance units of the US army in May. These were prisoners who defied the Nazis, attempted to escape , or were just generally hard to handle. Director: Guy Hamilton | Stars: John Mills, Eric Portman, Christopher Rhodes, Frederick Valk. On 24 November 1941, N was put in a punishment cell after being found with a (home made) chitty and behaving against the rules. After some time the officers were separated out and placed initially in the garages of the adjoining German Army armoured division. Most of these were farms and agricultural sub camps. The Stalag served as the base for distribution of International Red Cross packages and mail. The camp was liberated in May 1945 by troops of the British 7th Armoured Division, 2nd Army. These included those who had escaped from other camps, as well asthose who could be used as possible bargaining chips (minor members of the Royal Family, Churchill's nephew and others). By February 1941 there were 3,166 officers and 565 orderlies in the camp. The camp was established in May 1941. BAB -Bau-und Arbeits Battalion (construction battalion). | 7 & 8 & 26 & 27 - RA (coast & searchlight) MP corps, Savoy Hotel, Bournemouth. (this is just an example of the out-sourcing of POW labour which was used particularly by the larger camps- as you can see there are dozens of smaller sattellite camps listed spread over a very wide area). A little known detail is that although Germany signed the agreement on the date of the issue they ratified it in 1934 (- after Adolf Hitler became Chancellor in March 1933)! Twelve Frenchmen made it home, 11 Britons, seven Dutch and one Pole. 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. About 14,000 men are buried there. The military authorities decided to conscript local German civilian women to assist with the rescue and clean up work. Oflag 79 Braunschweig (Formerly VIII-F) Brunswick 52-10. 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. In the same year, its residual successor the Allied Prisoners of War Claims Screening Commission was also closed down. After another train journey the men were force marched from Kiefheide, with many men being bayoneted or shot before they reached Stalag Luft IV in Gross Tychow. Sforza costa is 12 miles south of Macerata which is close to the east coast of Italy in the Marche region. In April 1944, most of the prisoners were transferred to Oflag 79 near Braunschweig and the camp was closed. Michael Redgrave, Stars: Two days, later, on January 23, 1945, the camp was liberated by the Soviet 61st Army. At the end of 1944 prisoners evacuated from other camps began to arrive, resulting in overcrowding, and a reduction in food rations. The camp was created in September 1939. Helmut Griem, 43449 (6486 British) POWs with 661 officers held here. The first group of French prisoners of war were brought to Choszczna just after the fall of France in June 1940, The senior officer being Colonel Gonnard. PG 103 had 19 sub camps dotted around the neighbourhood at factories and farms. More prisoners arrived in July 1944 transferred from Oflag VIII-F. On 24 August 1944 the camp was strafed by American and British aircraft. Stalag II-E Schwerin Mecklenberg Location N/E 53-11. Andrew L. Stone Reports from SHAEF dated February 1945 showed 1 Belgian, 1 Yugoslav and 2870 French were held. By Christmas 1940 there were 60 Polish officers, 12 Belgians, 50 French, and 30 British, a total of no more than 200 with their orderlies. Stars: However that afternoon a detachment of over a hundred SS-Feldgendarmerie (SS Military police) entered the camp, mustered over 3,000 men and marched them out, heading east. 3,788 POWs recorded here on 26th February 1943, originally opened July 1942. The numbers increased sharply in 1943 when a further 65 army officers arrived with a contingent of other nationalities, including American, French, Dutch and Polish. 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. In 1942, Lager Norderney, containing Soviet and Polish POWs, and Lager Sylt, holding Jews, were placed under the control of SS Hauptsturmfhrer Max List. In October 1944, as the Red Army approached, the guards abandoned the camp leaving 4,029 Soviet prisoners behind. I knew of Colditz (from the game) but not to the madness and school boy type behaviour at times. 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. Stalag 316 Wolknowysk (Vawkavysk, Belarus). We'd like to use additional cookies to remember your settings and understand how you use our services. Muhlhausen Opened in February 1940 and closed on 29/3/45, the hospital was located at Bad Sulza. Out of POW yard into Kommandantur attics, into storeroom on south side of German yard, Jumped fence in park, wearing civilian clothes. 52 Pian di Coreglia (Chiabati, Genoa). The main part of the camp consisted of four large wooden barracks, two of which were connected by a passage and known to POWs as the "cooler". Director: I greatly enjoy WWII history but sometimes books on that topic are too brutal, and depressing. The camp then served as a British detention centre for ex-Nazis, before finally closing in mid-1947. I listened to the audiobook with Simon. Located near the town of Bergen in Lower Saxony. The site chosen was on a river plain of the Natisone, south-west of the town of Cividale and the nearest railway line. 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). They were employed building new barracks and a water supply. This is an excellent account of Colditz, a special prisoner of war camp for special prisoners. By July 1944 it housed 9,000 Allied airmen. In March 1945 a large group of prisoners arrived in deplorable condition after marching the 500 miles from Stalag VIII-D in severe winter conditions. There were also seven Dutch and 27 Polish generals, with orderlies. Others were sent to work on farms. It took them a further four days to reach safety in Switzerland. Each section comprised four large and one medium size barracks. On June 6, 1943 the camp was redesignated Oflag 64; it became an American officers-only camp with the arrival of officers captured in the North Africa Campaign in Tunisia. The camp reported having 298other ranks on 26th February 1943. This information will help us make improvements to the website. Originally opened in May1941 the camp reported having 1officers and 10other ranks on 26th February 1943. While WWII Allied officer Jack Rose is held prisoner in Germany's notorious Colditz Castle, he recruits a band of fellow escape artists in the ultimate break-out only to discover that the greatest betrayal awaits him on safe ground. Please click on the Hire a Researcher button on the left-hand side navigation bar for more information. Oflag 64 or XXI-B Schubin (Moved to Usedom) Poland, Altburgund. The Colditz Glider. On 14th September, German troops arrived to escort the prisoners northwards, to captivity in Germany, but not before hundreds of them had escaped into the hills. Beds were for officers, elderly and the sick. In June 1943 it was renamed Stalag Luft VI and used to hold British and Canadian Air Force NCOs, and from February 1944, also Americans. Similar material, with reports on German interrogation methods, is in AIR 14/461-465. With so many escape-prone prisoners housed together it was inevitable that they would plan escapes. Returned to Spangenberg, the three were each sentenced to fifty-three days in solitary. Stalag 317 or (XVIII-C) Markt, Pongau (St. Johann) Salzburg, Austria, Stalag 326 or VI-K Forelkrug Uber Paderborn Westfalen, Prussia, Stalag 344 Lamsdorf (Formerly Stalag VIII- Silesia), Stalag 357 Oerbke (Near Fallingbostel) Prussia. Stars: This camp was moved to Hammelburg in April 1943 under the same designation. 37 officers held here as of 26/2/43 originally opened September 1941. The camp was located on the outskirts of the village of Wutzezt. | It held 1 British and 12 US POWs according to a red cross visit passed onto the SHAEF in February 1945. In reality, however, successful escapes were rare. 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. This camp has been noted as both Oflag 68 and 88 so there appears to be some confusion over the numbering. Some of the material on this page was partially derived from < en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalag> and ,, , , , Piotr Setkiewicz 'The Histories of Auschwitz IG Farben werk camps 1941-45. The Soviets handed out some of the Red cross parcels stockpiled here and the water supply had been cut off by 1st May. 'Imperial Prisoners of War held in Italy dated August 1943. As the Second World War drew to a close, two organisations were formed to investigate the help given by individuals and organisations to Allied escapers and evaders. Grumello del Piano/del silenzio /Grumillina. This was the POW camp next door to Auschwitz death camp and the inmates of Auschwitz frequently worked alongside British POWs on this work detail. Home organisations and families could also send parcels either directly or by organisations set up to aid POWS via the Red Cross containing all manner of items from sports and games to books and some clothing. Originally opened in May1941 the camp reported having 144officers and 1,785 other ranks on 26th February 1943. The interrogating Gestapo officer was so confident the war would soon be won by Germany that he told Larive the safe way across the border near Singen. 81 min Adventure, Drama, War. His escape from Colditz took place on 9 September 1942. In October 1944 a small number of higher ranking officers arrived from the Warsaw Uprising. Patric Knowles, A Lazarett (hospital) cared for prisoners that were sick or had been injured in industrial accidents or air-raids. There again they got out to search for a car going to the Netherlands. At the beginning of 1942 almost 1,000 POWs died daily. Nevertheless, it was recognised that in most instances an evader/escaper had little opportunity of observing enemy activities due to the normal practice of 'hiding-up' during the day. In each of the barracks surrounded by barbed wire lived 140-200 people. Another camp which had housed Austrian POWs in WWI & reopened as a POW camp in August 1940. The Italian camps were in operation right up until the armistice on September 8th 1943, however the Germans very quickly took control of the north of Italy immediately afterwards and any POWs either still in the camps (under the stand fast order of the British high command) or in the vicinity were quickly rounded up and sent north to camps in Germany. 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. For this item, that is: If you would like to use IWM collections materials in a way that is not covered above, require a commercial licence, high-resolution copies, or have manipulation requests, please contact theMedia Sales & Licensing Team. Oflag IX-A/Z Rotenburg An Der Fulda Hessen-Nassau, Prussia 51-09. The 7 forts above which comprised Stalag 312 were also administered by Stalag 20A. Stalag II-C Greifswald Pomerania, Prussia Location N/E 54-13. Their repeated, elaborate, and sometimes bizarre attempts at escape are a nice change from the stories of Grunts on the front lines. Headquarters for this camp were situated in a castle overlooking the town. It lasted until March 1942 and an estimated 45,000 prisoners died and were buried in mass graves. In October 1942 the camp was repopulated with Jews and run by the infamous Amon Goth (Later the commandant of Plaszow KZ concentration camp) this had many thousands of Jews brought here from the Warsaw Ghetto, and these were the Jewish families (men, women and children) who were working for various German run firms in the locale, particularly the Toebbens uniform factory. Sometimes bizarre attempts at escape are a nice change from the stories of on! In April 1944, most of the US Army to escape, or just! Defied the Nazis, attempted to escape, or were just generally to. 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