German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II

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1944 map of POW camps in Germany. Prisoners of war camps in Germany in World War II (map of 1944).png
1944 map of POW camps in Germany.
American Red Cross German POW Camp Map from December 31, 1944 Powcampsingermanymap.jpg
American Red Cross German POW Camp Map from December 31, 1944

Nazi Germany operated around 1,000 prisoner-of-war camps (German : Kriegsgefangenenlager) during World War II (1939-1945). [1]

Contents

Germany signed the Third Geneva Convention of 1929, which established norms relating to the treatment of prisoners of war.

Unsurprisingly, Nazi Germany disobeyed these rules, resulting in the deaths of millions of prisoners. [2]

Types of camp

Administration Barrack III in Oflag XD, drawn by Belgian officer POW Leon Gossens, 1944 Leon Gossens Oflag XD 1944.jpg
Administration Barrack III in Oflag XD, drawn by Belgian officer POW Léon Gossens, 1944

Nomenclature

At the start of World War II, the German Army was divided into 17 military districts (Wehrkreis), which were each assigned Roman numerals. The camps were numbered according to the military district. A letter behind the Roman number marked individual Stalags in a military district.

e.g.

Stalag II-D was the fourth Stalag in Military District II (Wehrkreis II).

Sub-camps had a suffix "/Z" (for Zweiglager - sub-camp). The main camp had a suffix of "/H" (for Hauptlager - main camp).

e.g.

Oflag VII-C/H meant this is the main camp.
Oflag VII-C/Z meant this is a sub-camp of a main camp.

Some of these sub-camps were not the traditional POW camps with barbed wire fences and guard towers, but merely accommodation centers.

List of Camps by Military District

Diorama of the German World War II PoW camp Stalag Luft III. Model Stalag Luft III.jpg
Diorama of the German World War II PoW camp Stalag Luft III.
Collection of everyday items of Polish prisoners from the Oflag VII-A Murnau. MWP Murnau.JPG
Collection of everyday items of Polish prisoners from the Oflag VII-A Murnau.

Military District I (Königsberg)

Military District II (Stettin)

Military District III (Berlin)

Military District IV (Dresden)

Military District V (Stuttgart)

Military District VI (Münster)

Military District VII (Munich)

Military District VIII (Breslau)

Military District IX (Kassel)

Military District X (Hamburg)

Military District XI (Hanover)

Military District XII (Wiesbaden)

Military District XIII (Nuremberg)

Military District XVII (Vienna)

Stalag XVII-B Monument at Andersonville Prison 21-19-055-stalag.jpg
Stalag XVII-B Monument at Andersonville Prison

Military District XVIII (Salzburg)

Military District XX (Danzig)

Military District XXI (Posen)

Other Camps

Luftwaffe Camps

The camps for Allied airmen were run by the Luftwaffe independently of the Army.

Kriegsmarine Camps

The camp for Allied seamen was run by the Kriegsmarine independently of the Army.

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References

  1. Eric Lichtblau (3 March 2013). "The Holocaust Just Got More Shocking". New York Times. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2013.[ dead link ]
  2. {{cite Goldhagen, Daniel. Hitler's Willing Executioners. p. 290. 2.8 million young, healthy Soviet POWs killed by the Germans, "mainly by starvation ... in less than eight months" of 1941–42, before "the decimation of Soviet POWs ... was stopped" and the Germans "began to use them as laborers".}}

Post VE Day sending of German PoWs to Alaska, to dismantle war equipment http://www.sitnews.us/Kiffer/POWCamp/021715_prisoners_of_war.html

Further reading