Oflag II-D Gross Born (Grossborn-Westfalenhof) was a
World War II German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
prisoner-of-war camp located at Gross Born,
Pomerania (now
Borne Sulinowo,
West Pomeranian Voivodeship,
Poland), near Westfalenhof (
Kłomino). It housed
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
and
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
officers.
Camp history
In the late 1930s the
German Army
The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...
built a large base and training ground at which the
XIX Army Corps of General
Heinz Guderian was based.
In September 1939 two
Stalag
In Germany, stalag (; ) was a term used for prisoner-of-war camps. Stalag is a contraction of "Stammlager", itself short for ''Kriegsgefangenen-Mannschaftsstammlager'', a literal translation of which is "War-prisoner" (i.e. POW) "enlisted" "ma ...
s, Stalag 302 and Stalag 323 were established to house
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
prisoners from the German
September 1939 offensive.
The Polish POWs were transferred to other camps on 1 June 1940 and Oflag II-D was established to house French
officers from the
Battle of France
The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...
. By February 1941 there were 3,166 officers and 565
orderlies
In healthcare, an orderly (also known as a ward assistant, nurse assistant or healthcare assistant) is a hospital attendant whose job consists of assisting medical and nursing staff with various nursing and medical interventions. The highest ro ...
in the camp.
In 1942 some of the French officers may have been transferred to other camps and replaced with
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
officers.
In 1942 a large camp (Stalag 323) was built for
Soviet prisoners. It was located at the other end of the training ground. Conditions in this camp were deplorable, as the rules of the
Third Geneva Convention were not observed for Soviet prisoners.
In October 1944 most of the officers from the
Warsaw Uprising were brought to this camp. The roster of 1 January 1945 showed that there were 5,014 officers and 377 orderlies in the camp.
In November 1944 the officers created a bank which printed banknotes.
Evacuation and repatriation
When the offensive of the Soviet
Red Army resumed in 1945, all inmates were marched westward on 28 January 1945. Only those too sick to walk were left behind. After an eight-week march in bitterly cold weather they reached
Stalag X-B
Stalag X-B was a World War II German prisoner-of-war camp located near Sandbostel in Lower Saxony in north-western Germany. Between 1939 and 1945 several hundred thousand POW's of 55 nations passed through the camp. Due to the bad conditions in wh ...
and
Marlag und Milag Nord
Marlag und Milag Nord was a Second World War German prisoner-of-war camp complex for men of the British and Canadian Merchant Navy and Royal Navy. It was located around the village of Westertimke, about north-east of Bremen, though in some source ...
in
Sandbostel
Sandbostel is a municipality in Lower Saxony (''Niedersachsen'') in northwestern Germany, 43 km north-east of Bremen, 60 km west of Hamburg. It is part of the Samtgemeinde Selsingen. In 2013, it had 830 inhabitants.
History
Sandbostel ...
. The prisoners were liberated there by units of the
British Army on 5 May 1945.
Aftermath
A memorial to the French and Polish officers who died in Oflag II-D was erected at the site of the camp in the late 1990s (town of Opole); there is a French association of former prisoners and their descendants http://s225821866.onlinehome.fr
See also
*
List of prisoner-of-war camps in Germany
*
Oflag
References
{{Authority control
Oflags
World War II sites in Poland