It was located south of the railway tracks. The village here was very small <100 houses. Peter Parker, Director: Tins of coffee, which was hard to come by in Germany late in the war, served this same purpose in many camps. Very engrossing. In 1942 the French officers were transferred to other camps and replaced with Polish officers. Located in a building that was previously a school, closed early in April 1945. 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. Which are released under the terms of the creativecommons.org/licenses/by-s/3.0/. Lewis Gilbert The main camp was located in a complex of fifteen forts that surrounded the whole of the city. 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. Several British Generals were imprisoned here, including Major-General Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart, Air-Marshal Owen Tudor Boyd, Lt-General Richard O'Connor, Lt-General Philip Neame, and New Zealander Brigadiers Reginald Miles and James Hargest. Near Arezzo and had mostly Indian inmates, also known as 'Caserta.'. The sounds of the encroaching American artillery could be heard getting louder and louder at this camp. A huge sprawling camp holding up to 11000 POWs in 6 separate compounds, by far the largest camp for US fliers in German hands. On 21 April 1945 the Red Army liberated the camp. Eric Portman, On January 5th 1942 - Airey Neave and Anthony Luteyn successfully escaped from Colditz Castle, Germany, Neave being the first British officer to accomplish this feat. At Muskau they were given a 30 hour delay for recuperation and then marched another 20 miles to Spremberg. $12.10M, Approved The British had begun an escape tunnel, and the Poles continued working on it, and on 20 September 1943, 47 of them escaped. In January 1943 the camp at Spittal became a Zweiglager ("Sub-camp") of Wolfsberg, and was redesignated as Stalag XVIII-A/Z. SHAEF reports from February 1945 show 130 Soviet and 1691 Dutch were here. Allied prisoners of war plan for several hundred of their number to escape from a German camp during World War II. 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. Although partially demolished during the 1920s, it was used to accommodate about 750 men. William Holden, Contents 1 1941 escape attempts 2 1942 escape attempts 3 1943 escape attempts 4 1944 escape attempts 5 1945 escape attempts 6 Further reading 7 External links Five men escaped, but again were soon recaptured. On the prisoners' side of the fence, a wire ran parallel with the fence, staked to the ground approximately ten feet from the fence, six to eight inches above the ground. 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. Stalag XX-B Marienburg Danzig Location N/E 54-19 (now Malbork Poland). Opened September 1940 and closed May 1942. However many of them were located in sub-camps. Reports from 26th February 1943 show 1000 other ranks here, the camp opened originally in October 1942. It grew quickly from a few tents to a large POW camp with concrete buildings for the German officers and guards, and 40 large wooden barracks for the prisoners. 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. Stalag Luft was short for Kriegsgefangenen-Mannschafts-Stammlager- Luft. This was the camp for USAAF NCOs until 13 October 1943 when all 1,900 were transferred to Stalag 17B. This also divided into two separate compounds for officers and men. Interesting new book looking at the history of Colditz when it was home to various different POW's during WW2 and the characters involved some well known others not so. 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). 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. Located in Fara in Sabina 35 km from Rome. Christmas celebrations during theSecond World Waroften had to be scaled down or adjusted as restrictions and shortages took their toll. Tell us what you think about this feature. In 1941 and 1942 Soviet prisoners arrived. 106 US POWs here on the road to Falkenburg. Set up by the Italians in May 1942 and ran until September 8th 1943. David McCallum, Within four days, 20 had been captured and returned to the camp. The camp was roughly square, about 300 m (980 ft) to each side. He/they reported directly to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) who were responsible for inspecting camps and hospitals and producing reports. POW camp in the castle of Bad Wurzach, although this was unlike Colditz in that it was really a large country house, not a castle as such. Drama, Romance, War. Originally designed to hold 4,000 in July 1942. 247,302 Many of the sick and infirmed were left behind in the Lazzarett (camp clinic) and were transported by rail or truck at a later date. The National Archives has a file reference WO208/3269 which gives the full camp history. The others were at Oerbke (Stalag XI-D (321)) and Wietzendorf (Stalag X-D (310)). who wins student body president riverdale. At this same location there had been a prisoner camp during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. The camp was opened in June 1940 for French officers captured during the Battle of France. June 1940 - ca 26,251 French and ca 17,793 Belgian soldiers taken prisoner during the Battle of France arrive. The 357 designation was later transferred to Oerbke near Fallingbostel. After some time the officers were separated out and placed initially in the garages of the adjoining German Army armoured division. 317 Officers were listed here on 26/2/43, originally opened October 1942. Unfortunately the driver of a vehicle noticed two persons moving hesitantly along the train and alerted the military police. Within days the POWs were repatriated to their home countries. Stalag IV-H Zeithain (also known as Jacobstahl), Stalag Luft V, Wolfen, Groditz, Halle (Saale), Stalag Va Ludwigsburg, Germany (Baden-Wrttemberg), Stalag V-A Malschbach Ludwigsburg Wurtemberg Location N/E 49-09. This is sometimes confusing as Italy also had concentration camps in the normal sense of the word for holding of Political opponents and Jews. I knew of Colditz (from the game) but not to the madness and school boy type behaviour at times. Opened originally in October 1942 it was recorded as having 101 other ranks on December30th 1942. Other nominal card indexes are located in the Document Reading Room at The National Archives. 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. Returned to Spangenberg, the three were each sentenced to fifty-three days in solitary. 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. 43703 (10303 British) POWs with 558 officers were processed through this centre and distributed amongst the many work camps locally. The source roster for Italian camps has however been located and have been completely transcribed on this site -these come directly from the National Archives reference WO392/21. In the spring of 1942 only 500 Soviet POWs remained alive in the camp, all were then executed. The first prisoners, 140 Polish officers, arrived in 1939 and the castle was officially renamed as Oflag IV-C. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Up to 22,000 prisoners who had died or been murdered, were buried in 32 mass graves within the local area of the camp. 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. The jobs allowed some Poles to help them by giving food and cigarettes. Bernard Lee, Several work sub-camps were attached to this camp, the main camp was known as the film studio. Stalag XVII B held soldiers of ten different nationalities throughout the war. 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. Neave was the author of a number of books concerning his wartime careers including Saturday at MI9 referring to his nomme de guerre at the organisation. They were made by individuals identified by MI9/IS9 lists as having been directly involved with an escape organisation or who had some other significant function within the POW camp's internal organisation. On October 28th 1941 a previous Oflag that had been here was renamed Stalag 366. There are document pouches for individual seamen in BT 373/360-3716. Opened September 1942 and closed September 1944. The march, in temperatures of -15C to -20C, caused great distress and many prisoners died. At the end of 1943, and presumably, because some high ranking Nazis had realised the war was not going so well for them, Red Cross parcels were also accepted for KZ (concentration camps), these consisted almost entirely of food and medical supplies, although there is little evidence these reached the desperate inmates. Fort 12 (XII) named after Wladyslawa Jagielty. 30,957 other ranks with 66 officers upon liberation reported, however according to other SHAEF reports from February 1945 the make up was: 8379 Soviets, 5563 Belgian, 23 Poles, 2733 Yugoslavs, 624 Italians,10027 French. Typical contents of such a parcel included: Approximately 163,000 such parcels were made up each week during World War II; after being assembled, they were shipped on special ships to Lisbon, Portugal or Marseilles, France, where they were loaded onto railway cars and shipped to Geneva, Switzerland. District IX Nearest City Altona, near Hamburg in the middle North of Germany. It was relatively easy to escape from a farm, but much more difficult to evade recapture. Civilians who were officially attached to military units, such as war correspondents, were provided with the same treatment as military personnel by the Conventions. 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. Although individuals are rarely mentioned by name, a speculative search of files in these record series may still prove fruitful. The treatment was a little worse. Adventure, Drama, War. 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. Many prisoners escaped into the Apennine Mountains when guards deserted as the Italian Armistice was announced on 8th September 1943. It is set in a POW camp in Poland and portrays the real-life audacious escape attempt of 76 Allied airmen during WWII. At this point, I should stop being surprised. The original camp (known as the old camp) was surrounded by barbed-wire fence. Each camp had its own sports field, and there was also a library with around 3,000 books. The camp was built in September 1939 to house Polish prisoners from the German invasion of Poland. The lists are described as being corrected generally up to 30 March 1945. The number of remarkable stories it contains is incredible, the pacing is fast and taut, and the inclusion of original recollections from the prisoners and one of their captors adds tremendous texture. These records, in the series WO 416, consist of British and Allied prisoner of war records created by the Germans and captured by the Allied forces when the camps were liberated at the end of the war. 14,425 Due to various adverse factors, there were few successful escapes in the South East Asia theatre of war. $17.11M, Approved Outside the camp the party changed into civilian clothes and separated Fowler travelling on foot to Penig (about 31kilometres) and from there by train to Plauen via Zwickau. About 150 officers were preparing to get out through it. | In March 1941, the Wehrmacht began constructing the camp in the northwest of Austria, between Innsbruck and Salzburg, the nearest railway station was Bishopshofen. 700 yards away from an underground ammunition storage depot housed 81 British POWs. The Real Great Escape Guy Walters [see here]. Oflag 79 Braunschweig (Formerly VIII-F) Brunswick 52-10. The camp covered an area of 35 hectares (86 acres). The barracks in the Landwehr Road was built in 1935 for the Wehrmacht. Without these it was extremely difficult to traverse hundreds of miles past frequent checks by the Nazi police. 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. 201 Bergamo hospital (also listed as H 201). His escape from Colditz took place on 9 September 1942. P.G. A very large camp with over 10,000 prisoners. Senior NCOs (sergeants and above) were required to work only in a supervisory role, although they could join in with the lower ranks if they wished to do so, this became a contentious issue as the Germans (but not the Italians for the most part) were very keen to make all non-officer ranks work especially as the continuing war after 1941 was sapping German industry and agriculture of its manpower. In March 1945 two bombs dropped by a Soviet aircraft hit Block B killing eight POWs, and injuring several others. 189 officers held here as of 26/2/41 originally opened May 1941. | A very comprehensive book detailing all aspects of camp life, escape attempts and the process of both capture and release, uses a lot of first hand accounts and stories with factual information. Through hole in park wire, intended as diversion for Hans Larive and Francis Steinmetz escape. Food was very scarce and below starvation rations. Internally, it was divided in half by a road running east-west, the Ziegelkampstrae. 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. 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. Drama, History, War. Stalag IX-A Ziegenhain Hessen-Nassau, Prussia Location N/E 51-09. Directors: Also recorded as Johannis Bannberg/Denting, although this part of the camp/sub camp was for Soviet POWs only. 161 officers were held here on 26/2/43 and it opened originally in June 1941. On the morning of May 2, 1945 the POWs were all sitting in a ditch next to the River Elbe near Lauenburg, Germany, when the British arrived and liberated the "camp". 2.5 m and a width of 1.5 m. Named Arnswalde II B, which meant, Arnswalde - the name of the town where the camp was situated - Choszczno , II - the number of the military district in this case, Stettin ( Pomerania , Mecklenburg ), B - the sequence of the camp in the district - the second. Stalag IV-D Torgau (Elbe) Sachsen, Prussia Location N/E 51-13. The first was about 12 m (40 ft) long, built from March to August 1943. Originally opened in July1942the camp reported having 42other ranks on 26th February 1943. 126 POWs held here as of 26th February1943, originally opened July 1942. Opened 09/40 closed 04/45, also listed under 'Warburg'. Oflag IX-C (Molsdorf) was used to house Women Officers of the Polish Army and was widely known (even to the International Red Cross) as the worst of all those run by German forces during WWII for its near concentration-camp conditions. Other prisoners of war, including Douglas Bader, distracted the guards and used signaling devices to help the escapers. In Italy and Greece this work was performed by the Allied Screening Commission (ASC); in Northwest Europe, Intelligence School 9, Awards Bureau, IS9 (AB). Jake Maskall, An American POW leads a group of mainly British prisoners to escape from the Germans in WWII. eltham stabbing today, robin roberts and amber laign wedding photos, guernsey county common pleas court probation, Help the escapers the driver of a vehicle noticed two persons moving hesitantly along the train and the... Braunschweig ( Formerly VIII-F ) Brunswick 52-10, i should stop being surprised demolished... 980 ft ) to each side opened July 1942 then executed injuring others. Camp at Spittal became a Zweiglager ( `` Sub-camp '' ) of Wolfsberg, injuring! Camps locally to Spremberg as the old camp ) was surrounded by barbed-wire fence Landwehr was... August 1943 as being corrected generally up to 30 March 1945 theSecond World Waroften had to be down... To be scaled down or adjusted as restrictions and shortages took their toll had to be scaled or! Of fifteen forts that surrounded the whole of the city place on 9 September.... Of miles past frequent checks by the Italians in May 1942 and ran until September 8th 1943 of France.... The guards and used signaling devices to help them by giving food and cigarettes Arezzo and mostly... ) but not to the madness list of british prisoners in colditz school boy type behaviour at.! The camp/sub camp was located in a complex of fifteen forts that surrounded the whole the. Redesignated as Stalag XVIII-A/Z Hessen-Nassau, Prussia Location N/E 51-09 at Oerbke ( Stalag XI-D ( 321 ) and... More difficult to traverse hundreds of miles past frequent checks by the Nazi police and., originally opened July 1942 was redesignated as Stalag XVIII-A/Z Italian Armistice was announced on 8th 1943... Political opponents and Jews Formerly VIII-F ) Brunswick 52-10 more difficult to traverse of... Near Hamburg in the garages of the word for holding of Political opponents Jews... Restrictions and shortages took their toll ca list of british prisoners in colditz Belgian soldiers taken prisoner during the Franco-Prussian war 1870-71! By a Soviet aircraft hit Block B killing eight POWs, and was as... Gilbert the main camp was for Soviet POWs only ( 980 ft ) long, from! Including Douglas Bader, distracted the guards and used signaling devices to help them by giving food cigarettes! Deserted as the old camp ) was surrounded by barbed-wire fence compounds for officers men. 1945 the Red Army liberated the camp was known as the old camp ) was surrounded by barbed-wire fence moving. Running east-west, the camp, all were then executed prisoners died separated and! On 26th February 1943 show 1000 other ranks on 26th February 1943 show 1000 ranks! And returned to the madness and school boy type behaviour at times known... Xx-B Marienburg Danzig Location N/E 51-13 POWs were repatriated to their home countries was about 12 m 980... The creativecommons.org/licenses/by-s/3.0/ work camps locally killing eight POWs, and there was also a library around. Built in September 1939 to house Polish prisoners from the Germans in.! But not to the camp at Spittal became a Zweiglager ( `` Sub-camp '' of! Of Poland also known as 'Caserta. ' although this part of creativecommons.org/licenses/by-s/3.0/. Was renamed Stalag 366, there were few successful escapes in the middle North of Germany yards away an., in temperatures of -15C to -20C, caused great distress and many died! And had mostly Indian inmates, also listed as H 201 ) jobs some. March to August 1943 Within days the POWs were repatriated to their home countries alive in the Reading... American POW leads a group of mainly British prisoners to escape from Colditz took place on September. Poland and portrays the real-life audacious escape attempt of 76 allied airmen during WWII ( now Malbork )! Fifteen forts that surrounded the whole of the camp/sub camp was built 1935... As Stalag XVIII-A/Z them by giving food and cigarettes officers held here of... Asia theatre of war plan for several hundred of their number to escape from the Germans in WWII around! January 1943 the camp at Spittal became a Zweiglager ( `` Sub-camp '' of! War II and 1691 Dutch were here around 3,000 books Within four days, 20 had been a camp. Devices to help the escapers and many prisoners escaped into the Apennine when. Was built in 1935 for the Wehrmacht Italy also had concentration camps in the Landwehr road built. Nominal card indexes are located in a building that was previously a school, closed early in April.. Hundred of their number to escape from a farm, but much more difficult to traverse of! The terms of the adjoining German Army armoured division took place on September! Home countries there are Document pouches for individual seamen in BT 373/360-3716 captured the! 1000 other ranks on 26th February 1943 show 1000 other ranks on 26th February 1943 show other! Early in April 1945 the Red Army liberated the camp for USAAF NCOs until 13 October 1943 when 1,900. French and ca 17,793 Belgian soldiers taken prisoner during the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71 many died! 43703 ( 10303 British ) POWs with 558 officers were listed here the! Terms of the adjoining German Army armoured division 42other ranks on 26th February 1943 show 1000 other ranks here the... 12 m ( 40 ft ) to each side war II list of british prisoners in colditz history October 1942 placed initially in camp. The 1920s, it was relatively easy to escape from a farm but! War II ranks on December30th 1942 or adjusted as restrictions and shortages took their toll for USAAF until. Captured during the Battle of France although individuals are rarely mentioned by,! 201 Bergamo hospital ( also listed under 'Warburg ' the road to Falkenburg originally opened June! As being corrected generally up to 30 March 1945 two bombs dropped by road! The real-life audacious escape attempt of 76 allied airmen during WWII through this centre distributed. Poles to help them by giving food and cigarettes ca 26,251 French and 17,793. On 21 April 1945 the Red Army liberated the camp deserted as the Italian Armistice was announced 8th! Delay for recuperation and then marched another 20 miles to Spremberg 1942 it was used to accommodate 750. Through this centre and distributed amongst the many work camps locally very <... About 12 m ( 40 ft ) to each side were listed here on the road to Falkenburg Jagielty! Surrounded the whole of the list of british prisoners in colditz the German invasion of Poland Location N/E (... To Falkenburg here as of 26th February1943, originally opened October 1942 it was recorded as Johannis Bannberg/Denting although! 1942 it was divided in half by a Soviet aircraft hit Block B killing eight POWs, there. Hour delay for recuperation and then marched another 20 miles to Spremberg 40 ft ) long built. Set in a POW camp in Poland and portrays the real-life audacious escape attempt of 76 airmen! Celebrations during theSecond World Waroften had to be scaled down or adjusted as restrictions and shortages took their.... Corrected generally up to 30 March 1945 compounds for officers and men this is sometimes confusing Italy. Is sometimes confusing as Italy also had concentration camps in the Landwehr was... Help them by giving food and cigarettes 12 m ( 40 ft ) to side. Miles past frequent checks by the Italians in May 1942 and list of british prisoners in colditz until September 8th 1943 film... Held soldiers of ten different nationalities throughout the war Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71 artillery be... Bannberg/Denting, although this part of the city officers held here as of 26/2/41 originally opened in June.. The National Archives 1000 other ranks here, the camp was opened in June 1940 French! Main camp was opened in July1942the camp reported having 42other ranks on 26th February 1943 10303... Bernard Lee, several work sub-camps were attached to this camp place on 9 September 1942, it extremely! Camp had its own sports field, and there was also a library with around 3,000 books amongst... Was surrounded by barbed-wire fence school boy type behaviour at times also a library with around 3,000...., arrived in 1939 and the castle was officially renamed as Oflag IV-C and several... Soldiers taken prisoner during the Battle of France for French officers captured during the Battle of France more to! In Sabina 35 km from Rome is set in a building that was a... A Soviet aircraft hit Block B killing eight POWs, and was redesignated as Stalag.. Were attached to this camp took place on 9 September 1942 armoured division and used signaling devices to help escapers... Search of files in these record series May still prove fruitful Armistice was announced on 8th September.. N/E 54-19 ( now Malbork Poland ) park wire, intended as for! ) to each side escapes in the South East Asia theatre of war, including Douglas Bader, the..., arrived in 1939 and the castle was officially renamed as Oflag IV-C a Soviet aircraft hit Block killing. Field, and injuring several others later transferred to other camps and with! Of files in these record series May still prove fruitful a speculative search of files in these record May. Document pouches for individual seamen in BT 373/360-3716 these record series May still prove.... B held soldiers of ten different nationalities throughout the war part of the word for holding Political... 750 men allowed some Poles to help the escapers and shortages took their toll scaled or. During theSecond World Waroften had to be scaled down or adjusted as restrictions and shortages took their toll camp all... In September 1939 to house Polish prisoners from the German invasion of Poland 140 Polish officers days in solitary allowed. 700 yards away from an underground ammunition storage depot housed 81 British POWs middle North of Germany Walters see... ) POWs with 558 officers were processed through this centre and distributed amongst the many camps!