Stalag VI-K Senne (also known as Stalag 326) was a former

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 ...

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

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 priso ...

. Though named after the nearby village of Senne, it was actually closer to the town of

Schloß Holte-Stukenbrock Schloß Holte-Stukenbrock is a city in the district of Gütersloh in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located near the Eggegebirge The Egge Hills (german: Eggegebirge, ), or just the Egge (''die Egge'') is a range of foreste ...

, in

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhab ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. During the war the camp held mostly

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

prisoners of war, but also some French,

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

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

s. The camp was overrun by the rapidly-advancing 2nd Armored Division on 2 April 1945, with troops of the U.S. 117th Infantry Regiment, 30th Division, subsequently taking control. Close to the camp there are 36 mass graves of Soviet POW, and in addition around 400 graves of other men who died in the camp. In the mid-1960s a monument was erected to commemorate the approximately 65,000 men interred there. From October 1946 to December 1947 the camp was operated by the British occupation authorities as , holding party and government officials. Early the following year the camp became - a camp through which 150,000 refugees and

displaced person Forced displacement (also forced migration) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of persecution, conflict, g ...

s passed before it was closed in 1969. A police training institute has occupied the camp administration blocks since 1970, and there is a permanent exhibition of articles, photographs and documents pertaining to the camp in the "Documentation Centre" there.

References

World War II prisoner of war camps in Germany Buildings and structures in North Rhine-Westphalia {{NorthRhineWestphalia-struct-stub

See also

References