Oflag XXI-B

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Oflag XXI-B
Szubin, German-occupied Poland
Szubin.Oflag 64.JPG
Memorial to the prisoners and victims of the German POW camps in Szubin
Oflag XXI-B is located in Poland
Oflag XXI-B
Oflag XXI-B
Coordinates53°1′N 17°45′E / 53.017°N 17.750°E / 53.017; 17.750Coordinates: 53°1′N 17°45′E / 53.017°N 17.750°E / 53.017; 17.750
TypePrisoner-of-war camp
Site information
Controlled by Nazi Germany
Site history
In use1940–1943
Garrison information
OccupantsPolish, French, British, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, American, and other Allied officers

Oflag XXI-B and Stalag XXI-B were World War II German prisoner-of-war camps for officers and enlisted men, located at Szubin a few miles southwest of Bydgoszcz, Poland, which at that time was occupied by Nazi Germany.

Timeline[]

Former Polish boys' school, occupied by the Stalag XXI-B, Oflag XXI-B and Oflag 64 POW camps during the German occupation of Poland
  • September 1939 – The Germans established a camp for arrested Polish civilians, mostly the intelligentsia, arrested as part of the Intelligenzaktion.[1]
  • October 1939 – First Polish soldiers captured during the German Invasion of Poland (1939) brought to Szubin, Kriegsgefangenenlager Schubin prisoner-of-war camp for Poles established.[1] The camp was built around a Polish boys' school by adding barracks. Polish POWs were used for the expansion of the camp.
  • December 1939 - The Germans formally established the Stalag XXI-B2 POW camp in Szubin, and the Stalag XXI-B1 POW camp in Antoniewo near Skoki, both for Polish POWs.[1]
  • March-May 1940 - Polish POWs were transferred to other camps, located in Germany.[1]
  • June 1940 - French officers were brought here from the Battle of France.
  • August 1940 - Stalag XXI-B2 was renamed to Stalag XXI-B; Stalag XXI-B1 in Antoniewo was renamed to Stalag XXI-B/Z, and made a branch camp of the Stalag XXI-B in Szubin.[1]
  • September 1940 - Oflag XXI-B for Allied officers established.[1] Its first prisoners were the French.[1] Stalag XXI-B and Oflag XXI-B co-existed next to each other for three months.[1]
  • December 1940 – Stalag XXI-B was relocated to the nearby village of Tur.[1] Polish officers, previously held together with enlisted men in other camps, were moved to Oflag XXI-B.
  • 1941/1942 – All French officers had been transferred elsewhere prior to the arrival of British officer POWs.
  • September 1942 – British and Commonwealth officers of the Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm were transferred from Oflag VI-B at Warburg following its temporary closure. These included airmen from Poland, Czechoslovakia and other occupied countries serving in the RAF, as well as airmen from the Allied Air Forces - RAAF, RNZAF, RCAF, SAAF, USAAF.[2]
  • October 1942 – More British RAF Officers and NCOs arrive from Stalag Luft III to help relieve overcrowding there.
  • November 1942 – A second batch of British RAF officers arrive from Stalag Luft III
  • October to March 1943 - Newly captured British, American and Allied Air Force officers arrive in batches transferred from Dulag luft.
  • March 1943 – A mass escape through a tunnel occurs - 35 men escape, albeit none are successful in reaching neutral territory.[3]
  • April 1943 – The camp is cleared of all POWs - all being sent to the enlarged Stalag Luft III.
  • The camp was later re-opened and re-numbered Oflag 64 for American officers only.

Notable prisoners[]

  • William Ash – American serving in RCAF, escapee and future author
  • Anthony Barber – RAF pilot and future Chancellor of the Exchequer
  • Per Bergsland – Norwegian pilot serving in RAF and Great Escape
  • Josef Bryks – Czechoslovak RAFVR fighter pilot and serial escaper (1942 – March 1943).[4]
  • Jimmy Buckley RN – Fleet Air Arm Pilot and escapee
  • Flight Lieutenant CC Cheshire – RAF Pilot and brother of Leonard Cheshire VC
  • Aidan Crawley – RAF Officer and future author, journalist and MP
  • Wing Commander Harry Day, Great Escape survivor, who was Senior British Officer November 1942 – March 1943
  • Johnnie Dodge – British Army officer and Great Escape survivor
  • Flight Lieutenant Bertram James – RAF Pilot and Great Escape survivor
  • Robert Kee – RAF Pilot and future author and journalist
  • Oliver Philpot – RAF Pilot and escapee
  • Peter Stevens – RAF pilot of German-Jewish birth and serial escapee
  • Jorgen Thalbitzer – Danish pilot serving in RAF
  • Eric Williams – RAF Officer and escapee
  • Albert W Harris - Private. The Buffs Royal East Kent Regiment.

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "POW Camps in Szubin (Schubin/Altburgund)". Polish-American Foundation for the Commemoration of POW Camps in Szubin. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  2. ^ WO208/3296 Official Camp History Chapter I
  3. ^ WO208/3296 Official Camp History Chapter II Para 24
  4. ^ "Josef Bryks". Free Czechoslovak Air Force. 20 February 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2017.

Sources[]

See also[]

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