Paul Priem (11 March 1893 – 2 August 1943) was a German officer in the ''

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

'' during

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 opposing ...

and a noted member of the German staff at the

Colditz Castle Castle Colditz (or ''Schloss Colditz'' in German) is a Renaissance castle in the town of Colditz near Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz in the state of Saxony in Germany. The castle is between the towns of Hartha and Grimma on a hill spur over the r ...

POW camp. During the Greater Poland Uprising of 1918–1919, he fought against the Polish insurrection as a second-lieutenant in the

Freikorps (, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European military volunteer units, or paramilitary, that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenary or private armies, rega ...

. During the 1930s, he was a school headmaster in Leipzig until called up for active service in 1939. He was subsequently given the post as the Security Officer at Colditz Castle and was known to the prisoners as being one of the more jovial of the Germans;

Pat Reid Patrick Robert Reid, (13 November 1910 – 22 May 1990) was a British Army officer and author of history. As a British prisoner of war during the Second World War, he was held captive at Colditz Castle when it was designated Oflag IV-C. Reid wa ...

, a successful POW escapee, said he "possessed a rare quality among Germans - a sense of humour".P.R. Reid, MBE, MC, ''Colditz: The Colditz Story & The Latter Days of Colditz'', Coronet, 1985, p. 74 Priem's heavy drinking, however, meant he was called before a medical board and found to be unfit for active service. He returned to teaching, and died from the effects of his drinking in August 1943.

References

* Eggers, Reinhold (1974), ''Colditz Recaptured'' (

New English Library The New English Library was a United Kingdom book publishing company, which became an imprint of Hodder Headline. History New English Library (NEL) was created in 1961 by the Times Mirror Company of Los Angeles, with the takeover of two small ...

). 1893 births 1943 deaths German Army officers of World War II Military personnel from Poznań People from the Province of Posen Alcohol-related deaths in Germany German Army personnel of World War I 20th-century Freikorps personnel {{Germany-mil-bio-stub