German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II
Nazi Germany operated around 1,000 prisoner-of-war camps (German: Kriegsgefangenenlager) during World War II (1939-1945).[1][dead link]
Germany had signed the Third Geneva Convention of 1929, which established provisions relating to the treatment of prisoners of war.
- Article 10 required that PoWs should be lodged in adequately heated and lighted buildings where conditions were the same as for German troops.
- Articles 27-32 detailed the conditions of labour. Enlisted ranks were required to perform whatever labour they were asked if able to do, so long as it was not dangerous and did not support the German war-effort. Senior Non-commissioned officers (sergeants and above) were required to work only in a supervisory role. Commissioned officers were not required to work, although they could volunteer. The work performed was largely agricultural or industrial, ranging from coal- or potash-mining, stone quarrying, or work in saw mills, breweries, factories, railroad yards, and forests. PoWs hired out to military and civilian contractors were supposed to receive pay. The workers were also supposed to get at least one day a week of rest.
- Article 76 ensured that PoWs who died in captivity were honourably buried in marked graves.
Types of Camps[]
- or Durchgangslager (transit camp) – These camps served as a collection point for POWs prior to reassignment. These camps were intelligence collection centers.
- Dulag Luft or Durchgangslager der Luftwaffe (transit camp of the Luftwaffe) – These were transit camps for Air Force POWs. The main Dulag Luft camp at Frankfurt was the principal collecting point for intelligence derived from Allied POW interrogation
- Heilag or Heimkehrerlager (repatriation camps) - Camps for the return of prisoners. Quite often these men had suffered disabling injuries.
- Ilag/Jlag or Internierungslager ("Internment camp") – These were civilian internment camps.
- Marlag or Marine-Lager ("Marine camp") – These were Navy personnel POW camps.
- Milag or Marine-Internierten-Lager ("Marine internment camp") – These were merchant seamen internment camps.
- Oflag or Offizier-Lager ("Officer camp") – These were POW camps for officers.
- Stalag or Stammlager ("Base camp") – These were enlisted personnel POW camps.
- Stalag Luft or Luftwaffe-Stammlager ("Luftwaffe base camp") – These were POW camps administered by the German Air Force for Allied aircrews.
Nomenclature[]
At the start of World War II, the German Army was divided into 17 military districts (Wehrkreis), which were each assigned Roman numerals. The camps were numbered according to the military district. A letter behind the Roman number marked individual Stalags in a military district.
e.g.
- Stalag II-D was the fourth Stalag in Military District II (Wehrkreis II).
Sub-camps had a suffix "/Z" (for Zweiglager - sub-camp). The main camp had a suffix of "/H" (for Hauptlager - main camp).
e.g.
- Oflag VII-C/H meant this is the main camp.
- Oflag VII-C/Z meant this is a sub-camp of a main camp.
Some of these sub-camps were not the traditional POW camps with barbed wire fences and guard towers, but merely accommodation centers.
List of Camps by Military District[]
Military District I (Königsberg)[]
- Stalag I-A Stablack, Preußisch Eylau
- Stalag I-B Hohenstein
- Stalag I-C, from June 1943: Stalag Luft VI, Heydekrug
- Montwy
- Prostken
- Stalag I-F Sudauen
Military District II (Stettin)[]
- Stalag II-A Neubrandenburg
- Stalag II-B Hammerstein–Schlochau
- Greifswald
- Stalag II-D Stargard
- Schwerin
- Raderitz
- Oflag II-A Prenzlau
- Arnswalde
- Oflag II-C Woldenberg
- Oflag II-D Gross Born
- Oflag II-E Neubrandenburg
Military District III (Berlin)[]
- Stalag III-A Luckenwalde
- Fürstenberg/Oder
- Stalag III-C Alt-Drewitz
- Stalag III-D Berlin
- Luckenwalde
- Wehrmachtlager Tibor/Zuellichau
- Oflag III-C Lübben/Spree
Military District IV (Dresden)[]
- Stalag IV-A
- Stalag IV-B Mühlberg (Elbe)
- Stalag IV-C Wistritz bei Teplitz
- Stalag IV-D Torgau
- Stalag IV-E Altenburg
- Stalag IV-F Hartmannsdorf
- Stalag IV-G Oschatz
- Oflag IV-A Hohnstein
- Oflag IV-B Koenigstein
- Oflag IV-C Colditz Castle
- Oflag IV-D
Military District V (Stuttgart)[]
- Stalag V-A Ludwigsburg
- Villingen
- Wildberg
- Strasbourg
- Weinsberg
- Oflag V-B Biberach
- Wurzach
Military District VI (Münster)[]
- Stalag VI-A Hemer/Iserlohn
- Stalag VI-B
- Stalag VI-C Oberlangen/Emsland
- Dortmund
- Bocholt
- Bonn–
- Arnoldsweiler/Dueren
- S.A. Lager /Krefeld and Dorsten
- Stalag VI-K Stukenbrock
- Soest
- Oflag VI-B Doessel–Warburg
- /Osnabrück
- Münster
- Dorsten
Military District VII (Munich)[]
- Stalag VII-A Moosburg
- Memmingen
- Laufen
- Oflag VII-A Murnau am Staffelsee
- Oflag VII-B Eichstaett
- Oflag VII-C Laufen
- Oflag VII-D Tittmoning
Military District VIII (Breslau)[]
- Stalag VIII-A Görlitz
- Stalag VIII-B Lamsdorf
- Stalag VIII-C Sagan
- Stalag VIII-D Teschen
- Stalag VIII-E/308 Neuhammer
- Stalag VIII-F Lamsdorf
- Kreuzburg/Oppeln
- Silberberg
- Juliusburg
- /Tittmoning Castle
- Oflag VIII-E
- Oflag VIII-F Mährisch-Trübau
- Weidenau/Freiwaldau
- /Sternberg
- Eulenberg/Roemerstadt
Military District IX (Kassel)[]
- Ziegenhain
- Stalag IX-B /Bad Orb
- Stalag IX-C Bad Sulza
- Oflag IX-A/H Burg Spangenberg
- Rotenburg/Fulda
- Weilburg/Lahn
- Oflag IX-C Molsdorf near Erfurt
Military District X (Hamburger)[]
- Schleswig
- Stalag X-B Sandbostel
- Stalag X-C Nienburg/Weser
- Hohensalza
- Itzehoe
- Oflag X-B Nienburg/Weser
- Oflag X-C Lübeck
- Oflag X-D Fischbek
Military District XI (Hanover)[]
- Stalag XI-A
- Stalag XI-B Fallingbostel
- Stalag XI-C Bergen-Belsen
- Stalag XI-D Oerbke
- Osterode am Harz
Military District XII (Wiesbaden)[]
- Limburg an der Lahn
- Frankenthal/Palatinate
- Wiebelsheim/Rhein
- Trier/Petrisberg (Trèves)
- Metz
- Forbach
- Oflag XII-A Hadamar/Limburg an der Lahn
- Oflag XII-B Mainz
Military District XIII (Nuremberg)[]
- Weiden/Oberpfalz
- Stalag XIII-C Hammelburg/Mainfranken
- Stalag XIII-D Nuremberg-Langwasser
- Oflag XIII-A Nuremberg-Langwasser
- Oflag XIII-B Hammelburg
- Oflag XIII-D Nuremberg-Langwasser
Military District XVII (Vienna)[]
- Krems–Gneixendorf. Formerly named Dulag Gneixendorf
- Döllersheim. Previously named Dulag Döllersheim
- Pupping. Previously named Zweiglager Pupping, renamed Stalag 237, Stalag 397, and finally Stalag 398 Pupping
- Oflag XVII-A Edelbach
Military District XVIII (Salzburg)[]
- Stalag XVIII-A Wolfsberg
- Spittal
- Oberdrauburg
- Markt Pongau
- Stalag XVIII-D Maribor
- Lienz/Drau
- Wolfsberg/Kaernten
- Spittal/Drau
Military District XX (Danzig)[]
- Stalag XX-A Thorn (Poland) [1]
- (also known as Stalag XX-C) Thorn (Poland) Same as above
- Stalag XX-B Marienburg (Poland) [2]
Military District XXI (Posen)[]
- Stalag XXI-A Schildberg (Poland)
- Schubin (Poland)
- Thure (Poland)
- Wollstein (Poland)
- Graetz
- Stalag XXI-D Posen (Poland)
- Schokken (Poland)
- Oflag XXI-B Schoken (Poland)
- Oflag XXI-C Schubin/Schokken/Schildberg (Poland)
- Grune bei Lissa (Poland)
Other Camps[]
- Tost (Poland)
- Pagėgiai (Lithuania)
- Širvintos (Lithuania)
- Oflag 64 Schubin
- Oflag 79 Waggum, Braunschweig
- Prostken (Poland)
- Stalag 133 Rennes (France)
- Stalag 302 Gross-Born
- Biała Podlaska (Poland)
- Dęblin (Poland)
- Czarne (Poland)
- Przemyśl (Poland)
- Chełm (Poland)
- Stalag 323 Gross-Born
- Grodno (Belarus)
- Zamość (Poland)
- Rawa Ruska (Poland)
- Jarosław (Poland)
- Lemberg (Poland)
- Ostrów-Komorowo (Poland)
- Kaunas (Lithuania)
- (Ukraine)
- (Belarus)
- Alytus (Lithuania)
- Stalag 344 Vilnius (Lithuania)
- Berkenbrugge
- Khmelnytskyi Ukraine
- Stalag 357 Kopernikus (Poland)
- Stalag 359 Poniatowa (Poland)
- Šiauliai (Lithuania)
- Siedlce (Poland)
- Częstochowa (Poland)
- Krakau (Poland)
- Kobierzyn (Poland)
- Stanislau (Poland)
- Stalag XX-A (301) Friesack, Wutzetz/Brandenburg, (Germany)
Luftwaffe Camps[]
The camps for Allied airmen were run by the Luftwaffe independently of the Army.
- Dulag Luft Oberursel, Frankfurt
- Stalag Luft I Barth [3]
- Stalag Luft II Litzmannstadt (Poland)
- Stalag Luft III Sagan [4]
- Stalag Luft IV Groß Tychow (Poland) [5]
- Halle/Saale
- Stalag Luft VI Heydekrug
- Stalag Luft VII Bankau
- Stalag Luft VIII-B Lamsdorf
Kriegsmarine Camps[]
The camp for Allied seamen was run by the Kriegsmarine independently of the Army.
References[]
- ^ Eric Lichtblau (3 March 2013). "The Holocaust Just Got More Shocking". New York Times. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
External links[]
- Map of German World War II Prisoner of War Camps
- Lamsdorf Remembered
- POW Camp Listings
- Stoker Harold Siddall Royal Navy, captured on Crete and his life in Stalag VIIA
- The Memorial of Esterwegen - The Emsland Camps
- Oflag VC Wurzach / Ilag (Civil internees from Jersey)
- Stalag VIIIC and Stalag Luft 3 POW Camps Museum in Zagan, Poland
- Official list of World War II Stalags (in German)
- Official list of World War II Oflags (in German)
- List of Nazi camps for Allied POWs in Germany and occupied territories (in German)
Further reading[]
- Nichol, John. The Last Escape. ISBN 0-670-03212-3 (The suffering of Allied POWs in the last months of the war.)
- , Andrea Kaltofen (Hg.): 'Hölle im Moor'. Die Emslandlager 1933–1945. Wallstein, Göttingen 2017, ISBN 978-3-8353-3137-2.
- Lists of military units and formations of Germany
- Military of Nazi Germany
- Lists of World War II prisoner of war camps
- Germany in World War II-related lists