Oflag V-B was a
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
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
A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war.
There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. P ...
for
officers
An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...
(''Offizierlager''), in operation from 1940 until 1942. It was located in
Biberach in south-eastern
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
.
Camp history
The camp was originally built as barracks for
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 ...
infantry early in 1939 and consisted of concrete single storey buildings on a plateau north-west of the town. It was named "''Lindele''". In good weather there was a fine view of the Alps to the south.
In May 1940 the first British and
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
officers captured in 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 ...
arrived. The Senior British Officer was Major-General V. M. Fortune. The camp was clean and living conditions were satisfactory. The first officers from the
battle of Greece
The German invasion of Greece, also known as the Battle of Greece or Operation Marita ( de , Unternehmen Marita, links = no), was the attack of Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usu ...
arrived on 16 June 1941. They were surprised at the good conditions after several weeks of travel and grim conditions in transit camps.
In October 1941 the British officers were transferred to
Oflag VI-B
Oflag VI-B was a World War II German prisoner-of-war camp for officers (''Offizerlager''), southwest of the village of Dössel (now part of Warburg) in Germany.
Camp history
In 1939, before it was a POW camp, the area was originally planned to b ...
in
Warburg
Warburg (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Warberich'' or ''Warborg'') is a town in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, central Germany on the river Diemel near the three-state point shared by Hessen, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. It ...
. For three months after their removal the camp was used as a transit camp for
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
prisoners. It was then used as a temporary camp for
French and
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
n officers.
In September 1942 the camp became ''Lager Lindele'' ("Lindele Camp"), and was used as an ''
Ilag
Ilag is an abbreviation of the German word ''Internierungslager''. They were internment camps established by the German Army in World War II to hold Allied civilians, caught in areas that were occupied by the German Army. They included United Stat ...
'' ("Internment Camp") adopting the code Ilag V-B for about 1,200 family civilian internees
deported from the Channel Islands. The camp containing men, women and children. Around 2,000 civilian Channel Islanders were interned in different camps in Germany as a reprisal for the deportation of German nationals from the
Kingdom of Iran
The Pahlavi dynasty ( fa, دودمان پهلوی) was the last Iranian royal dynasty, ruling for almost 54 years between 1925 and 1979. The dynasty was founded by Reza Shah Pahlavi, a non-aristocratic Mazanderani soldier in modern times, who ...
to
Camp 10 in
Loveday, South Australia
Loveday is a town and locality in the Riverland region of South Australia, located south of Barmera and near the Murray River. Administratively it is part of the Berri Barmera Council LGA. At the 2006 census, Loveday had a population of 1,071.
...
.
Escapes
There were several escape attempts during the summer of 1941. The largest such attempt was on 13 September, when 26 prisoners got out through a tunnel. Four managed to reach
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, the rest were recaptured. It is possible that the large number or escape attempts and the close proximity to the Swiss border (only away) prompted the authorities to move the prisoners.
The successful escapes by Lt. Duncan and Cpt O'Sullivan were documented extensively at the time by British Intelligence. Lt. Duncan's report is in the file M.I.9/S/P.G.(G) 639 (subsequently released by the British National Archives under WO/208/3307/26) with a more extensive autobiographical account written up and published in the 1950s under the title of "Underground from Posen". Cpt O'Sullivan's report is in the file M.I.9/S/P.G.(G) 637 (subsequently released by the British National Archives under WO/208/3307/28).
Australian Army Private Francis McGregor Brown successfully escaped Oflag V- A on 3 November 1941 then after recapture escaped V-B on 24 March 1943 and remained at Liberty until being recaptured on 9 November 1943 and interred at Oflag IVC until liberation.
See also
*
List of prisoner-of-war camps in Germany For lists of German prisoner-of-war camps, see:
* German prisoner-of-war camps in World War I
* German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II
Nazi Germany operated around 1,000 prisoner-of-war camps (german: Kriegsgefangenenlager) during World War ...
*
Oflag
An Oflag (from german: Offizierslager) was a type of prisoner of war camp for officers which the German Army established in World War I in accordance with the requirements of the 1899 Hague Convention, and in World War II in accordance with the r ...
*
Ilag
Ilag is an abbreviation of the German word ''Internierungslager''. They were internment camps established by the German Army in World War II to hold Allied civilians, caught in areas that were occupied by the German Army. They included United Stat ...
*
John Lingshaw
References
List of Oflags
History of Biberach camp
POW memoirs
* Duncan, Michael (1954). “Underground from Posen”. London, William Kimber. ASIN B0000CKW35
* Belson, Dorrien (2003). "Caught! Prisoner of War No. 487" Henley, Bentwyck Henry Publishers Ltd. {{ISBN, 1-904538-01-0
Oflags