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48-413: The camp was created in 1941 as the base camp for a number of work-camps ( Arbeitskommando ) for prisoners of war working in the mines and industries of Upper Silesia . By early 1942 they housed 7,000 prisoners from Belgium , France , Poland and Yugoslavia . In June 1943 it was placed under the administrative control of Stalag VIII-B Lamsdorf and was renamed Stalag IV-B/Z . In November 1943 there

96-694: A team / section , or squad . In Commonwealth armies, it is a more senior rank, corresponding roughly to a platoon second-in-command. In the United States Army , sergeant is a more junior rank corresponding to a fireteam leader or assistant squad leader; while in the United States Marine Corps the rank is typically held by squad leaders. More senior non-commissioned ranks are often variations on sergeant, for example staff sergeant , gunnery sergeant , master sergeant , first sergeant , and sergeant major . In many nations and services,

144-462: A "soldier sergeant" was a man of what would now be thought of as the "middle class", fulfilling a slightly junior role to the knight in the medieval hierarchy. Sergeants could fight either as heavy cavalry, light cavalry, or as trained professional infantry; either spearmen or crossbowmen. Most notable medieval mercenaries fell into the "sergeant" class, such as Flemish crossbowmen and spearmen, who were seen as reliable quality troops. The sergeant class

192-413: A constable or senior constable, but lower than an inspector . The sergeant structure varies among state police forces, generally two sergeant ranks are commonly classed as non-commissioned officers: South Australia Police has the additional rank of brevet sergeant (two chevrons below an inverted arrow head) which is an authorization for a temporarily higher rank. A brevet sergeant is less senior than

240-399: A rank for conscripts considered to have leadership potential. In general the term sergeant was used for both contract sergeant and career sergeant. Contract sergeant was classified as the lowest sub-officer rank, the rank below being chief corporal. The Sergeant was introduced 1843 and was used until 1921, when the rank was changed to Unterfeldwebel . The current rank used in

288-434: A sergeant is a three-bar chevron, worn point down, surmounted by a maple leaf. Embroidered rank badges are worn in "CF gold" thread on rifle green Melton, stitched to the upper sleeves of the service dress jacket; as miniature gold metal and rifle-green enamel badges on the collars of the army dress shirt and army outerwear jackets; in "old-gold" thread on air force blue slip-ins on air force shirts, sweaters, and coats; and in

336-450: A sergeant is as second-in-command of a platoon or commander of a fire support section of a weapons platoon, such as an anti-tank or mortar platoon. Another role is that of company clerk and instructor. There are higher ranks of company sergeant and company quartermaster sergeant. Artillery sergeants are usually assigned as detachment and section commanders, as well as in administrative roles. The difference in roles of sergeant and corporal in

384-400: A sergeant. New South Wales Police Force has the additional rank of incremental sergeant (three chevrons and a crown). This is an incremental progression, following an appointment as a sergeant for seven years. An incremental sergeant rank is less senior than a senior sergeant but is more senior than a sergeant. Upon appointment as a sergeant or senior sergeant, the sergeant is given: Within

432-605: A tan thread on CADPAT slip-ins (army) or dark blue thread on olive-drab slip-ins (air force) on the operational dress uniform. Colour sergeant in the Canadian Armed Forces is not a rank of sergeant, but a warrant officer in one of the two Foot Guards regiments (the Governor General's Foot Guards and the Canadian Grenadier Guards ). Likewise, a sergeant-major (including regimental sergeant-major )

480-490: A unit or team within a station or division. The insignia for a staff sergeant is three chevrons, worn point down surmounted by a royal crown. In the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the insignia for a sergeant is three chevrons, worn point down surmounted by a royal crown (which is the insignia of a staff sergeant in other Canadian police forces). The insignia of a staff sergeant in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

528-474: A year. Within the Russian Armed Forces , there are three ranks which are explicitly sergeant ranks: junior sergeant ( младший сержант , mladshy serzhant ), sergeant ( сержант , serzhant ) and senior sergeant ( старший сержант , starshy serzhant ). There is also a rank called " starshina " ( старшина ), which is often translated as "master sergeant". These ranks are inherited from

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576-523: Is a German language word which means labor camp . Under Nazism , the German government (and its private-sector , Axis , and collaborator partners) used forced labor extensively , starting in the 1930s but most especially during World War II . Another term was Zwangsarbeitslager ("forced labor camp"). The Nazis operated several categories of Arbeitslager for different categories of inmates. The largest number of them held civilians forcibly abducted in

624-762: Is a rank in both the Australian Army and the Royal Australian Air Force . The ranks are equivalent to each other and the Royal Australian Navy rank of petty officer . Although the rank insignia of the RAAF rank of flight sergeant (Flt Sgt) and the Australian Army rank of staff sergeant (SSgt) are identical, flight sergeant in fact outranks the rank of staff sergeant in the classification of rank equivalencies. The Australian Army rank of staff sergeant

672-477: Is an Army or Air Force non-commissioned officer rank of the Canadian Armed Forces . Its naval equivalent is petty officer 2nd class ( French : maître de 2e classe ). It is senior to the appointment of master corporal and its equivalent naval appointment, master seaman , and junior to warrant officer and its naval equivalent, petty officer 1st class . Sergeants and petty officers 2nd class are

720-540: Is four chevrons worn point up. In the Danish Defence , sergeants are typically squad (6-12 soldiers) or section commanders. The sergeants in the Danish forces also act as drill sergeants and platoon instructors, training both new soldiers in basic training, as well as professional soldiers. Sergeants with 1–2 years in the rank, who are in basic training units, are often second-in-command of the platoon. In professional units,

768-464: Is in Finnish Defence Forces the second lowest non-commissioned officer rank. The rank is carried by conscripts, reservists and professional soldiers. Conscripts and salaried soldiers with the rank of sergeant are distinguished from each other by their insignia. Conscripts and reservists have three chevrons, whereas salaried personel have three chevrons and a sword in the insignia. Sergeant is

816-418: Is not a sergeant rank, but an appointment held by a master warrant officer or chief warrant officer . Sergeants generally mess and billet with warrant officers, master warrant officers, and chief warrant officers, and their naval counterparts, chief petty officers and petty officers . Their mess on military bases or installations is generally named the warrant officers' and sergeants' mess. Historically,

864-416: Is now redundant and is no longer awarded, due to being outside the rank equivalencies and the next promotional rank is warrant officer class two. Chief petty officers and flight sergeants are not required to call a warrant officer class two "sir" in accordance with Australian Defence Force Regulations 1952 (Regulation 8). The rank of sergeant exists in all Australian police forces and is of higher ranking than

912-617: The Bundeswehr which is equal to an American/British sergeant is the rank of Unteroffizier . Sergeant (Sgt) ( sáirsint in Irish ) is the second rank of non-commissioned officer within the Irish Army . The naval equivalent is petty officer . The army rank insignia consists of three winged chevrons (or "stripes"). The service dress insignia consists of three wavy red chevrons 9 cm wide bordered in yellow. The main infantry role of

960-654: The Commonwealth and Italy . In general, the conditions in the main Teschen camp and in all the sub-camps were deplorable. Among the sub-camps of Stalag VIII-D Teschen were: From 21 January 1945, many of the prisoners, particularly British and Commonwealth, were marched through Nazi-occupied Czech lands to Stalag XIII-C in Bavaria or Stalag XIII-D Nürnberg . The march , in temperatures of -15 °C to -20 °C, caused great distress and many prisoners died. The Czech people in

1008-587: The Israel Defense Forces , soldiers are promoted from corporal to sergeant after approximately 18 months of service (16 for combatants), if they performed their duties appropriately during this time, and did not have disciplinary problems. Soldiers who take a commander's course may become sergeants earlier. Sergeants get a symbolic pay raise of 1.80 NIS . The Hebrew name for the rank is samál originated as an acronym for סגן מחוץ למנין segen mi-khutz la-minyan ("supernumerary lieutenant") (inspired by

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1056-645: The New South Wales Police Force , a sergeant is a team leader or supervisory rank, whilst the rank of senior sergeant is a middle management rank with coordination responsibilities over human and physical resources. All three sergeant ranks are informally referred to as "sergeant", or "sarge". However, at the New South Wales Police Academy, recruits must address all ranks of sergeants as "sergeant", and senior sergeants as "senior sergeant". Sergeant (Sgt) ( French : sergent or sgt )

1104-577: The Soviet Union . In the Soviet Army , most sergeants (with the exception of the aforementioned starshina ) were not career non-commissioned officers but specially trained conscripts; the rank of starshina was reserved for career non-commissioned officers. In the modern Russian army, there are attempts to change this system and make most or all sergeants career non-commissioned officers; they are met with limited success. Unlike most police forces of

1152-442: The 4-month squad leader training and service time of alikersantti and kersantti ; all start their squad leader tour with the lower rank and the optional promotion is based on the superior's assessment of individual performance and intended duties in the wartime organization; special roles such as that of platoon sergeant or company first sergeant are typically reserved for kersantti and upwards. A corporal can also obtain

1200-639: The British light infantry . Its origin is the Latin serviens , 'one who serves', through the Old French term serjant . The term sergeant refers to a non-commissioned officer placed above the rank of a corporal , and a police officer immediately below a lieutenant in the US, and below an inspector in the UK. In most armies, the rank of sergeant corresponds to command of

1248-505: The abbreviation "NCO" ). Nowadays is no longer treated as an acronym or an abbreviation (in Hebrew) . In the Israeli Police, sergeant is the third rank, coming after constable and corporal . Officers are promoted to this rank after a year as a corporal, or after 20 months of service in total. Excelling officers may be promoted to this rank (or any other rank) in up to 6 months instead of

1296-514: The army and gendarmerie use the equivalent ranks of maréchal des logis ("marshal of lodgings" in English) instead of sergeant ranks. There were three sergeant ranks in France, although the most junior, contract sergeant, has been superseded by student sub-officer now that conscription has been suspended. When the army contained a large proportion of conscripts, contract sergeant was very common as

1344-534: The artillery corps is not as clearly defined as in the infantry corps. Sergeant is also the second rank of non-commissioned officer in the Irish Air Corps . Before 1994, the Air Corps was considered part of the army and wore army uniforms with distinct corps badges , but the same rank insignia. With the introduction of a unique Air Corps blue uniform in 1994, the same rank markings in a white colour were worn, before

1392-473: The daily lives of the soldiers of larger units. In police forces, sergeants are usually team leaders in charge of an entire team of constables to senior constables at large stations, to being in charge of sectors involving several police stations. In country areas, sergeants are often in charge of an entire station and its constabulary . Senior sergeants are usually in specialist areas and are in charge of sergeants and thus act as middle management. Sergeant (Sgt)

1440-498: The event of the prisoner's sickness or injury. The number of prisoners in an Arbeitskommando was usually between 100 and 300. One should differentiate these from sub-camps of Nazi concentration camps operated by the SS , which were also called Arbeitskommando . Because of the two different types there is some confusion in the literature, with the result of occasional reports of prisoners-of-war being held in concentration camps. In some cases

1488-526: The former "platoon/troop sergeants" were replaced by "platoon/troop warrant officers". Police forces across Canada also use the rank of sergeant and staff sergeant for senior non-commissioned officers above the rank of constable or corporal. Except in the province of Quebec and in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police , the insignia for a police sergeant is three chevrons, worn point down. Staff sergeants rank above sergeants and are responsible for

Stalag VIII-D - Misplaced Pages Continue

1536-495: The highest non-commissioned officer rank that a conscript who has completed the junior NCO course ( aliupseerikoulu in Finnish) can reach before entering the reserve. The lowest and most common non-commissioned officer rank is alikersantti (lit. "lower sergeant"); see corporal . Only a few non-commissioned officers in each conscript company reach the higher rank of full three-chevron kersantti . There's no difference between

1584-494: The individual armed service. The term "sergeant" is also used in many appointment titles. In most non-naval military or paramilitary organizations, the various grades of sergeant are non-commissioned officers (NCOs) ranking above privates and corporals , and below warrant officers and commissioned officers . The responsibilities of a sergeant differ from army to army. There are usually several ranks of sergeant, each corresponding to greater experience and responsibility for

1632-507: The introduction of a new three-chevron with wing rank marking. There are higher ranks of flight sergeant and flight quartermaster sergeant. Sergeant is the second rank in the Garda Síochána , above garda and below inspector. Sergeants appointed as detectives use the rank title detective sergeant (DS). They do not outrank regular sergeants, the 'detective' prefix indicates that they are permanently allocated to detective duties. In

1680-413: The military sergeant, though sharing the etymological origin – for example the serjeant-at-law , historically an important and prestigious order of English lawyers. "Sergeant" is generally the lowest rank of sergeant, with individual military entities choosing some additional words to signify higher-ranking individuals. What terms are used, and what seniority they signify, is to a great extent dependent on

1728-444: The occupied countries (see Łapanka for Polish context) to provide labour in the German war industry, repair bombed railroads and bridges, or work on farms and in stone quarries. The Nazis also operated concentration camps , some of which provided free forced labor for industrial and other jobs while others existed purely for the extermination of their inmates . A notable example is Mittelbau-Dora labor camp complex that serviced

1776-546: The only senior non-commissioned officers in the Canadian Armed Forces, as WOs, MWOs and CWOs are warrant officers, not senior NCOs in accordance with the Queens Regulations and Orders. Volume 1, Article 102 "Definitions". In army units, sergeants usually serve as section commanders; they may often be called to fill positions normally held by warrant officers , such as platoon or troop warrant, company quartermaster sergeant , chief clerk , etc. The rank insignia of

1824-735: The production of the V-2 rocket . See List of German concentration camps for more. The large chemical works at Monowitz and owned by IG Farben was near Auschwitz and was designed to produce synthetic rubber and fuel oil . The labour needed for its construction was supplied by several labour camps around the works. Some of the prisoners were Auschwitz inmates, who were selected for their technical skills, such as Primo Levi for example. Arbeitskommandos , officially called Kriegsgefangenenarbeitskommando were sub-camps under prisoner-of-war camps for holding prisoners of war of lower ranks (below sergeant ), who were working in industries and on farms. This

1872-485: The rank insignia for a sergeant often features three chevrons. In medieval European usage, a sergeant was simply any attendant or officer with a protective duty. Any medieval knight or military order of knighthood might have "sergeants-at-arms", meaning servants able to fight if needed. The etymology of the term is from Anglo-French sergent , serjeant "servant, valet, court official, soldier", from Middle Latin servientem "servant, vassal, soldier". Later,

1920-468: The rank of sergeant (and possibly above, the next rank being four-chevron ylikersantti , which is comparable to staff sergeant) by taking some military refresher courses while in reserve, or by enlisting to (short-term) professional service in the military. French sergeant ranks are used by the air force, engineers, infantry, Foreign Legion , Troupes de marine , communications, administrative service, and Gendarmerie mobile . Other branches of

1968-429: The rank of sergeant was severely downgraded after unification of the three services in 1968 . An army sergeant before unification was generally employed in supervisory positions, such as the second in command of a platoon-sized unit (i.e. an infantry platoon sergeant, or troop sergeant in an armoured unit). After unification, sergeants were downgraded in status to section commander, a job previously held by corporals , and

Stalag VIII-D - Misplaced Pages Continue

2016-426: The role of second-in-command in the platoon is sometimes given to a very experienced sergeant, but in most cases will be a Senior sergeant ( Danish : Oversergent ), the rank above sergeant. Sergeants in the Danish military are instructors in military drill, weapons, field-craft, small unit tactics, and physical training. Kersantti ( Finnish language abrv. kers.) or Sergeant ( swedish language abrv. Serg)

2064-497: The two types were physically adjacent, when both POWs and KL-inmates were working at a large facility such as a coal mine or chemical plant. They were always kept apart from each other. Sergeant Sergeant ( Sgt ) is a rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, serjeant , is used in The Rifles and other units that draw their heritage from

2112-582: The villages and towns, through which they passed, passed food and clothing to them. Many prisoners managed to escape and were sheltered in private homes. The men were marched along country roads towards the Oder, first north towards Dresden, then when the Germans changed their mind, south towards Bavaria, eventually reaching Stalag XIII-D near Nuremberg. www.stalag.weebly.com Arbeitslager Arbeitslager ( German pronunciation: [ˈʔaʁbaɪtsˌlaːɡɐ] )

2160-745: The world, in the Russian police sergeant is a starting, entry-level rank. Ranks of "policeman" or "senior policeman" are not used in Russia (the rank of " private of police" technically exists but is rare, and most recruits become sergeants right away). It is divided into three grades the same way as the army sergeant rank. In the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), there are five different grades of sergeant: third sergeant (3SG), second sergeant (2SG), first sergeant (1SG), staff sergeant (SSG), and master sergeant (MSG). Sergeants are considered specialists in

2208-519: Was another reorganization, Lamsdorf was renamed "Stalag 344", and a large number of prisoners were transferred to Teschen, which became Stalag VIII-B . Because of these organizational and number changes there is considerable confusion in accounts of prisoners, even in official German records. At the end of 1943 within Stalag VIII-B Teschen there were about 50,000 Soviet prisoners, and another 10,000 from other countries, including Great Britain ,

2256-443: Was deemed to be 'worth half of a knight' in military value. A specific kind of military sergeant was the serjeant-at-arms , one of a body of armed men retained by English lords and monarchs. The title is now given to an officer in modern legislative bodies who is charged with keeping order during meetings and, if necessary, forcibly removing disruptive members. The term had also civilian applications quite distinct and different from

2304-492: Was permitted under the Third Geneva Convention provided they were accorded proper treatment. They were not allowed to work in industries manufacturing war materials, but this restriction was frequently ignored by the Germans. They were always under the administration of the parent prisoner-of-war camp , which maintained records, distributed International Red Cross packages and provided at least minimal medical care in

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