list of british prisoners in colditz
In 1942, Lager Norderney, containing Soviet and Polish POWs, and Lager Sylt, holding Jews, were placed under the control of SS Hauptsturmfhrer Max List. It was relatively easy to escape from a farm, but much more difficult to evade recapture. The camp was built in September 1939 to house Polish prisoners from the German September 1939 offensive. 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. John Beaumont, After the war Fort Rauch was completely demolished and a college now stands on the site. In March 1945 two bombs dropped by a Soviet aircraft hit Block B killing eight POWs, and injuring several others. By the middle of June only Soviet prisoners remained, these were eventually exchanged for British and American POWs in Soviet hands, near Graz. The British forces (XXX corps) advancing through this area had been aware of the POW camp but, until two escaped British Secret Service men reached them they were unaware of several thousand political prisoners in a separate compound. 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. The main centre used during the war was at Oberursel near Frankfurt. 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. Frederick Leister, Tom Hardy, They were moved to a different location closer to Cuxhaven, Westertimke, in 1942. (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). 00:00. It was located in a former Benedictine Abbey dedicated to Saint Hedwig of Silesia, that had been a military school between 1840 and 1920, and used by the Nazis as a "National Political Educational Institution" from 1934. On 17 April 1945, the camp was evacuated in the face of the approaching Red Army. In the summer of 1941 Australians and New Zealanders captured in Greece and Crete during the Balkans Campaign arrived in the camp. The purpose of this is as follows: These can contain names and addresses of helpers, nature of help given, and relevant dates. E3 Blechammer (Next to the Donau-Oder canal & close to the Hydrierwerke oil refinery). Stalag Luft III (Sagan) was the camp made famous for its multiple tunnels and mass escape in 1944 The Great Escape, 50 recaptured POWS were murdered by the Gestapo. The main Dulag Luft camp at Frankfurt was the principal collecting point for intelligence derived from Allied POW interrogation. District VIII Nearest city Koblenz, In the middle west area of Germany. | Originally a Hitler Jugend camp, then in October 1939 it housed Polish POWs, and after the fall of Belgium/France it came to cram in around 30,000, originally designed for half that number. A few hours later the German army arrived at the camp and the inmates were marched to trains that were to take them to Germany. Ian Dalrymple | 50,000-55,000 of them were buried in 500 mass graves at the Sudwa cemetery located nearby. On 9 April 1945 the guards at Milag-Marlag moved out and were replaced by older men, presumably local Volkssturm. Tins of coffee, which was hard to come by in Germany late in the war, served this same purpose in many camps. In August 1940 most enlisted men were shipped to other camps; Stalag XIII-A, Stalag XIII-B and Stalag XIII-C. Only those remained who were already employed in local industry and were housed in individual Arbeitskommandos. In 1944, at a POW camp in Germany the Allied prisoners use a dummy prop named Albert to fool the German guards and escape. Director: The Senior British Officer was Major-General V. M. Fortune. These were in desperate conditions and it was decided to liberate the camp immediately. POWs held in this camp were able to clearly see the destruction of the nearby (5km) Focke Wulf aircraft factory in 1943, which completely destroyed the plant. Sessue Hayakawa, Tous Public 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). These records do not cover the entire war, the dates being: The lists of 169,000+ POWs were probably originally sent to the Casualty (PW) Branch of the Directorate of Prisoners of War in London, and also form the basis of the public record office documents. Approximately 6,000 officers and orderlies were in the camp. It is understood that he wished for a slightly earlier start to catch a train for his intended escape route. This information was intended to help IS9 (D) - Intelligence School 9 (D), a division of Military Intelligence 9 (MI9) - and, eventually, the sections responsible for tracing and rewarding of helpers, IS9 (AB). It was this version that Germany and Italy, amongst 53 other countries, signed. The files WO 208/5451-5460 contain the detailed recommendations for honours and awards made to foreign civilians and military personnel who assisted Allied escapers and evaders. | The huts were about 75yds by 10yds and contained two tier beds for up to 200 prisoners. Initially it was Stalag XXI-B for Polish soldiers until December 1940. POWs were moved out of this camp on March 10th 1944 towards Germany. Used for punishment and for keeping peristent escapers. 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. After ten days they arrived at Frankenberg, but were challenged by soldiers suspicious of their uniforms. No beds or bedding in the buildings. There is no overcrowding and the rooms are not so large that they become noisy when filled with prisoners. Prisoners lived in many of the 50 basement rooms of the brick built redoubt, with 30-46 beds per room. Prisoners working on farms did not have the essential assistance that was provided in Oflags by teams of dedicated specialists who forged documents and prepared maps. Please enter your password, it must be 8 or more characters, I agree to Terms and Conditions and Privacy Statement, Listing of all known Italian camps with location N/E. Drama, History, War, The prisoners in Colditz Castle make many attempts to escape captivity from the arrival of the first British prisoners after Dunkirk in 1940 until the liberation of the castle by the See full summary, Stars: The prisoners came from the Polish Army Krakow, SGO Polesie and the defenders of the coast. As well as giving personal details, name, rank, number, unit and home address, these records can include: date and place of capture; main camps and hospitals in which imprisoned and work camps; serious illnesses suffered while a prisoner and medical treatment received; interrogation after capture; escape attempts; sabotage; suspicion of collaboration by other Allied prisoners; details of bad treatment by the enemy to themselves or others. E715 IG Farben chemical factory in Monowitz. An epic story of survival, class wars and daring escapes: inside the fortress walls of Colditz Castle. The camp covered an area of 35 hectares (86 acres). The history of this camp began in the area called "Il Pollino" that belonged to the Ravano family (ex Gherardesca) and, at the beginning of 1940, was used as a prison camp for POWs. By the time of the camp's evacuation in April 1945, Allied prisoners of every nation at war with Germany were present within the camp. World War II prisoner-of-war escapes are a staple of adventure fiction. Opened August 1940, closed September 1942. Anthony Steel, All PW camps in Italy had postal marks which indicated the central postal reception area for the camps mail, several camps could (and did) have the same code as it was area based. 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 May 1940 the first British and Commonwealth officers captured in the battle of France arrived. Take a note of the number on the top left of the card and this will determine which file to order. On 18 December 1944 the camp was bombed by U.S. aircraft. They awoke one morning to discover that their guards had deserted them. The report also confirms which permanent camps the POW was held in, making this record fairly definitive. Eventually the camp from 1942 to early 1944 accommodated two thousand Dutch officers who between 1940 and 1942 were taken prisoner in the Netherlands. Cigarettes in the parcels became the preferred medium of exchange within most camps, cigarettes were also used to bribe German guards to provide the prisoners with outside items that would otherwise have been unavailable to them. Twelve Frenchmen made it home, 11 Britons, seven Dutch and one Pole. West -opened July 1944 for USAAF officers only. Prisoner of War was a magazine published and distributed by the International Red Cross during World War II - it was a joint venture between the British Red Cross and the Order of St John. Stars: Many camps on the eastern edge of Germany were combined into one large camp there. US AAF POWs arrived in October, 1943, bringing the total of US prisoners to 4,000 until liberation in April, 1945. Luftwaffe Lazarett IV/XI Wismar Mecklenberg. Fort 11 (XI) named after Stefana Batorego. Other ranks lived 18 to a tent (made of Italian groundsheets), slept on duck-boards with straw mattresses and two Italian blankets each, and had regular though not always sufficient rations. Sylt- SS Concentration camp 1027 persons at peak, 300 died. Opened September 1940 and closed May 1942. Having been taken prisoner of war (POW), he was sent to an Italian hospital to recuperate but attempted to escape numerous times before being branded "dangerous" by the Germans, (how a man, having been awarded 2 VCs for combat could not be regarded as dangerous by the enemy is extremely ironic!). that had been held in Italian prisoner of war camps were transferred to Oflag IV-D. In September 1939 two Stalags, Stalag 302 and Stalag 323 were established to house Polish prisoners from the German September 1939 offensive. When the Wehrmacht invaded the Netherlands they were short on material for uniforms, so they confiscated anything available. 247,302 Macintyre is a writer-at-large for The Times (U.K.) and has written monographs whose narratives include the history of the British SAS; deceptions that encompass plans to misinform the Nazis in the lead up to the invasions of Sicily and D-Day; well-known spies such as Kim Philby, Oleg Gordievsky, the woman known as Agent Sonya, Eddie Chapman; and his latest the escapees from the Nazi fortress, Colditz. A SHAEF report mentioned this camp was moved to the former Stalag XVIII a/z Spittal by Train in February 1945. Stars: POWs hired out to military and civilian contractors were supposed to receive pay and to get a least one day a week of rest. The camp of huts near Fallingbostel became known as Stalag XI-B and was to become one of the Wehrmacht's largest prisoner of war (POW) camps, holding up to 95,000 prisoners from various countries. In early 1945 Polish Officers, inmates of Oflag II-D Gross-Born and Oflag II-C Woldenberg, were marched westwards and finally reached Oflag X-C. Opened in July 1941 in Suwalki/Sudauen in Poland (also known as Stalag IF see listing) mostly housing Soviets, a very large number of deaths were reported here from a peak population of over 100,000 men. Located at Cividale del Friuli, 75 miles north east of Venice. Stalag XIII-C Hammelburg Om Main Bavaria Location N/E 50-10. Originally opened in July 1942 to house up to 6,000, Opened originally in October 1942 it was recorded as having 101 other ranks on, (23.4.1944-24.11.1944) 10.10.1944 Armee-Gefangenen-Sammelstelle 59 -POW gathering area -Dulag, (1.10.1940-27.2.1941) 2. Of more than 5,000 Allied merchant seamen captured by the Germans during the war, most were held at Marlag-Milag. Labour camp for 250 prisoners, mostly New Zealanders, but also English, Scottish, Egyptians, South Africans, Americans, Indians. 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. Listen. camp, and is mistakenly awarded with the Iron Cross by the Germans. A larger scale attempt was unsuccessful. In late 1944 he escaped again and this time made it to Sweden. This march was one of the "Long Marches". The German's would frequently refuse to recognise ranks as being of NCO status even after the British Government had sent proof of individuals rights in this respect, this coupled with the fact that a few POW Privates would pretend to have a higher rank to escape compulsory work meant that anyone below a significant rank would struggle in choosing not to work. Like the Soviets they were not accorded the protection of the Third Geneva Convention and were housed next to them. Recaptured they were returned to Stargard and spent 24 days in solitary confinement. | Others worked in local brickyards, in private industrial enterprises, in agriculture, or in the camp's own workshops. An improvised camp for Soviet prisoners of war (August 1942) It is estimated that at least 3.3 million Soviet POWs died in Nazi custody, out of 5.7 million. Moved from Spittal to Wagna in 1942. 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. Located at 53 degrees 9 minutes North and 12 degrees 10 minues east this camp held 1727 Yugoslav, 583 Italians and 2414 French the Red cross visited it in early 1945. It contained POW camps for non-commissioned officers and other ranks. Red Cross inspection reports identified Oflag IV-C as a problem camp with inadequate sanitary and harsh confinement measures. Director: In 1943 a tunnel was being dug from a hut closest to the wires. Medical reports on conditions in POW camps, with some reports on escapes, are among the Medical Historian's Papers in WO 222/1352-1393. | The major subcamps were Thorn and Elbing. Stars: Upon capture, he was transferred to Colditz. Originally opened in March/April 1941 the camp reported having 920other ranks on 26th February 1943. 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. An incomplete nominal card index to these records is located in the Document Reading Room at The National Archives. Building the Colditz Glider. 7 & 8 & 26 & 27 - RA (coast & searchlight) MP corps, Savoy Hotel, Bournemouth. This installation was significantly expanded from June 1941, once Germany prepared to invade the Soviet Union, becoming an independent camp known as Stalag XI-C (311). In September 1942, British officers from Oflag VI-B Dssel, were transferred to VII-B after a mass escape (the "Warburg Wire Job"). The rescue was organised by the island's priest, Don Ottavio Posta. It housed 224 British POW patients in March 1945. 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. Housed up to 2,000 eastern European POWs, this was the biggest POW camp in Umbria. On 8 February they reached Stalag III-A located about 52 km (32 mi) south of Berlin near Luckenwalde, which already held 20,000 prisoners, consisting mainly of soldiers from Britain, Canada, the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. A SHAEF report dated 10 February confirms this move and reported the POWs already west of the Oder (river). Who knew that "other ranks" weren't permitted to escape? There may be more up to date location references via Wikipedia articles, however. From November 1944 to early January 1945 American soldiers captured in various operations during the Allied drive eastward arrived. The sick and the dead were left at Stettin while the majority of the rest were moved on to Stalag IIA (Neubrandenberg) where they arrived on 7th February, 1945. The camp was built in late 1939 by Polish prisoners of war. In a stone building in Bohringen 200 yards from an ammunition factory (!) Then a separate camp, Oflag II-E, was built for them on the west side of the main road. This instructed them to remain in camp and await imminent liberation by the advancing Allied forces. They carried two blankets, and an overcoat for bedding. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License . The escape committee were supplied with full detailed survey and building plans of the castle by SOE during the war, these were better and far more detailed than the Germans had themselves! In April 1945 many POWs were force marched away from the camp where they met advance units of the US army in May. Most of them were barracks, while the others contained kitchens, dining rooms, washrooms, guard barracks, storehouses, a post office, and other administrative buildings. This camp consisted of high ranking officers, mostly of the rank Major and above. Over roof of Kellerhaus. The Thorn Complex was a sub-camp of the concentration camp in Sztutowic (German: Stutthof). | Most of them headed south, towards Switzerland, sleeping by day and travelling by night. In 1943, an Italian-administered P.O.W. They were forced to march under guard about 1520 miles (2432 km) per day. The most comprehensive nominal listings of British and Commonwealth POWs are those in WO 392/1-26. Despite these precautions, Upham bolted from his little courtyard, straight through the German barracks and out through the front gate of the camp. 3,104 POWs here on 26/2/43 originally opened in August 1941. By July 1944 it housed 9,000 Allied airmen. (Hospital). | The majority of prisoners were British, but there were also small numbers of other Allied nationalities. This time the sentry demanded to see their Army paybooks, so the escape party fled, although two were arrested. Opened September 1942 and closed September 1944. Two visits by the Red Cross were made and the following comments were made: "Tented Camp in two sections with no Heating or lighting. 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. 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 sick were mistreated when dysentery and diarrhoea set in. 172 officers held here as of February 26th 1943, opened originally in June 1941. Macintyre has always been a fantastic storyteller who makes history come alive, but you can almost feel the walls of Colditz closing in on you while reading this, and I think hes outdone himself in conveying how history feels to its participants. The north and south parts of the camp consisted of tall storage buildings housing up to 2000 POWs each on just the one floor. Solitary confinement: Barry cut through bars, Reid dug tunnel, Escaped from Colditz train station (returning from Lamsdorf), Attempted escape while on exercise in the park. The French stay was relatively short. For completeness however, theyare listed below, where no address is listed it is probable that the local barracks also housed the records office. 2928797 Private Walter Murray Queens Own Cameron Highlanders died 13/8/1942 By the end of March 1942, some 41,000 Soviet POWs had died in these three camps of starvation, exhaustion and disease. 62,322 POWs (3,606 British) with 2695 officers held here. Using cigarettes, watches, rings or whatever they had to trade with the farmers along the way, for food. The next day, 28 April, the column finally arrived at Lubeck on the Baltic coast. The Colditz Association is now the Colditz Society. The National Archives holds over 100 files concerning the murder of 50 Allied airmen who escaped from Stalag Luft III in March 1944: an incident known as 'The Great Escape', during this escape it was planned to get up to 250 airmen out, in the event 76 escaped and 3 made home runs. 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. 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. 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. 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. The Great Escape is a fairly well-known movie with a star-studded cast. (These are the sources for the German/Italian camps information contained on this site -they are hand transcribed and are fully searchable). Near to the Main Leipzig Railway station with 25 patients. The database will include British and Commonwealth forces only and is cross-referenced for the most part with records for German camps which were made later in the war for those unfortunate enough to be recaptured after the Italian armistice. Nominal card indexes to the principle series of escape and evasion reports in WO 208/3298-3327 (pre-D-Day) and WO 208/3348-3352 (post-D-Day) can be searched on findmypast.co.uk. Larive did not forget and many prisoners later escaped using this route. An American POW leads a group of mainly British prisoners to escape from the Germans in WWII. Originally opened in May1941 the camp reported having 144officers and 1,785 other ranks on 26th February 1943. Other hospitals where POWs were treated included: Alberoni (Piacenza), Al Celio (Rome), Ascoli, Capua, Caserta, Modena, Morigi di Piacenza, Parma, Perugia, Teramo & Vescoville (Udine). H 203 Castel S.Pietro (Bologna) Military Hospital. Soon after all the other prisoners were also transferred, and the camp was closed on 1 July 1942. Another attempt occurred when he was being moved between prison camps on a civilian train while guarded by two Germans. Basil Dearden 14,425 | Other rooms were used as a common room and theatre. Other nominal card indexes are located in the Document Reading Room at The National Archives. Returned to Spangenberg, the three were each sentenced to fifty-three days in solitary. By July 1944 it housed 9,000 Allied airmen. After 1935 it was a training camp and military training area for the newly reconstituted German Army. It served also as a transit camp through which prisoners, including officers, were processed on their way to other camps. Another British Jewish inmate was Lt J M Barnet, Royal Engineers, [14] who was captured in November 1940, arrived in Colditz (re Chancellor's list) on Aug. 4 th 1941 and was repatriated to Britain on 6/9/44 with feigned illness and so counts as an "escaper". An alphabetical list of British and Dominion Air Force PoWs in German hands in 1944-1945 is in AIR 20/2336. A SHAEF report dated 10/2/45 confirmed this move and the dispersal of the POWs amongst various camps. This march was one of the "Long Marches". Adventure, Drama, History. It was designed with a holding capacity of 10,000 only despite (as many) holding many more than this for most of its existence. In June 1940 additional forts were added to the camp to accommodate British soldiers. 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. It was organised by the Schutzstaffel - SS-Baubrigade Iwhich was at first under direct supervision of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp; and after mid-February 1943 then run under the Neuengamme camp in northern Germanylocated near the old telegraph tower at La Foulre. Please look us up. This also divided into two separate compounds for officers and men. Stalag I-E Prostken (Protski, Poland). Records of the ICRC are in FO 916, continued in WO 224. 31,665 The New Zealand parcels were amongst the rarest and under their novelty perhaps, one of the most sought after in some camps. Awoke one morning to discover that their guards had deserted them confirmed this and! Each on just the one floor prisoners later escaped using this route 1940 the first British and Commonwealth officers in... After the war Fort Rauch was completely demolished and a college now stands on the eastern edge of.... 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