Stalag XXI-A was a German Army World War II prisoner-of-war camp located in Ostrzeszów in German-occupied Poland . It held mostly Polish, French and British POWs, but also Dutch, Belgian and Yugoslav.
20-824: It was one of four main German POW camps in the Military District XXI, alongside the Stalag XXI-B in Szubin , Stalag XXI-C in Wolsztyn and Stalag XXI-D in Poznań . The camp was established in September 1939, shortly after the invasion of Poland which started World War II, as a Dulag transit camp for Poles. It was located in over 30 buildings and places throughout the town. Some 22,000 Polish POWs and 12,000 Polish civilians passed through
40-545: A blatant breach of the Geneva Conventions . Polish POWs of Jewish origin were deported to camps for Jews. In January 1940 the camp was converted into the Stalag XXI-A POW camp for Allied POWs of various nationalities. Initially only Poles were housed in the camp, but from May 1940, also French, Moroccan, Algerian and French Sudanese POWs were imprisoned there. In August 1940, British Expeditionary Force POWs from
60-523: A few miles southwest of Bydgoszcz , Poland , which at that time was occupied by Nazi Germany . Timeline [ edit ] [REDACTED] 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
80-496: A tunnel occurs - 35 men escape, albeit none are successful in reaching neutral territory. 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 [ edit ] William Ash – American serving in RCAF, escapee and future author Anthony Barber – RAF pilot and future Chancellor of
100-658: The Intelligenzaktion . 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. 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
120-516: The Battle of Dunkirk were brought to the camp. Also some Dutch, Belgian and Polish POWs were brought there. In December 1940, most Polish POWs were deported to other camps, and from 1941 to 1943 Britons formed the majority of the detained POWs. Some Yugoslavs were imprisoned in the camp in 1942. Local Poles continued their assistance to Polish and other Allied POWs, by smuggling medical and sanitary supplies, and even invisible ink so that POWs could report
140-863: 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 . 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
160-632: The Third Geneva Convention of 1929, which established norms relating to the treatment of prisoners of war. According to some scholars (like Christian Gerlach ) Germany largely adhered to the Geneva Convention when it came to other nationalities of prisoners of war. It however disregarded it for the Soviet prisoners of war . Around 3 million of almost 6 million captured died, largely of starvation and disease, but also executions. Conditions in
180-477: The Commemoration of POW Camps in Szubin . Retrieved 8 August 2021 . ^ WO208/3296 Official Camp History Chapter I ^ WO208/3296 Official Camp History Chapter II Para 24 ^ "Josef Bryks" . Free Czechoslovak Air Force. 20 February 2011 . Retrieved 27 October 2017 . Sources [ edit ] Chew, JD. "Letters Home" . Prisoner of War (1939–1945) . Archived from
200-562: The Exchequer Per Bergsland – Norwegian pilot serving in RAF and Great Escape Josef Bryks – Czechoslovak RAFVR fighter pilot and serial escaper (1942 – March 1943). 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
220-490: The French. Stalag XXI-B and Oflag XXI-B co-existed next to each other for three months. December 1940 – Stalag XXI-B was relocated to the nearby village of Tur . 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
SECTION 10
#1732858548739240-520: The Roman number marked individual Stalags in a military district. e.g. Sub-camps had a suffix "/Z" (for Zweiglager - sub-camp). The main camp had a suffix of "/H" (for Hauptlager - main camp). e.g. Some of these sub-camps were not the traditional POW camps with barbed wire fences and guard towers, but merely accommodation centers. The camps for Allied airmen were run by the Luftwaffe independently of
260-668: The Stalag XXI-B1 POW camp in Antoniewo near Skoki , both for Polish POWs. March-May 1940 - Polish POWs were transferred to other camps, located in Germany. 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. September 1940 - Oflag XXI-B for Allied officers established. Its first prisoners were
280-481: The camp have been described as bad, but (for POWs of Western Allies) improved as the war went on and Germans had to consider that they held significant amount of German POWs and could enact retribution. At the start of World War II, the German Army was divided into 17 military districts ( Wehrkreise ) , which were each assigned Roman numerals. The camps were numbered according to the military district. A letter behind
300-607: The camp. Also Franciscans from Niepokalanów were held there, including Maximilian Kolbe , who was later killed in the Auschwitz concentration camp and is now considered a saint of the Catholic Church . Conditions in the overcrowded camp were poor, food was scarce, sanitary conditions were bad and medical aid was practically nonexistent. There were cases of abuse of wounded or sick POWs by German doctors, and one even recommended "treating dysentery patients with starvation." To aid
320-852: The 💕 World War II Nazi prisoner-of-war camp Oflag XXI-B Szubin , German-occupied Poland [REDACTED] Memorial to the prisoners and victims of the German POW camps in Szubin [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Oflag XXI-B Coordinates 53°1′N 17°45′E / 53.017°N 17.750°E / 53.017; 17.750 Type Prisoner-of-war camp Site information Controlled by [REDACTED] Nazi Germany Site history In use 1940–1943 Garrison information Occupants Polish, 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
340-1394: The original on 2008-08-20. {{ cite web }} : CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown ( link ) "Letters of Colin N. Dilly from Oflag XXI-B and Stalag Luft 3" . BBC Online. Archived from the original on 2009-09-10. Gustavsson, Håkan (1 September 2008). "Squadron Leader George Dudley Craig OBE, RAF no. 90285" . Biplane fighter aces . Håkan Gustavsson. See also [ edit ] List of German WWII POW camps Oflag Oflag 64 Stalag Luft III Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oflag_XXI-B&oldid=1227575511 " Categories : Oflags World War II sites in Poland Hidden categories: Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas Articles with short description Short description matches Wikidata Coordinates on Wikidata CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown 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). The most common types of camps were Oflags ("Officer camp") and Stalags ("Base camp" – for enlisted personnel POW camps), although other less common types existed as well. Germany signed
360-623: The prisoners, the Poles of Ostrzeszów smuggled food, clothing, shoes, blankets and books for the camp's inmates, as well as assisted in escapes from the camp. In retaliation, the Germans carried out the first expulsions of Poles from Ostrzeszów already in September and December 1939, and murdered a number of Polish hostages from the town during the large massacres of Poles in Winiary . Many Polish POWs were deprived of their POW status and sent to forced labour in
380-847: The true conditions of the camp in letters to their families. A local unit of the Home Army resistance organization facilitated the escape of five Polish POWs from the camp in March 1940, and also smuggled Polish underground press to the camp, and smuggled a radio for the British POWs. In 1943, surviving POWs were moved to other locations, and the camp was dissolved to make space for the Oflag XXI-C camp moved from Skoki . Its prisoners were mostly Norwegian officers. Oflag XXI-B Coordinates : 53°1′N 17°45′E / 53.017°N 17.750°E / 53.017; 17.750 From Misplaced Pages,
400-758: 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 [ edit ] ^ "POW Camps in Szubin (Schubin/Altburgund)" . Polish-American Foundation for
#738261