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Stalag III-C was a German Army
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 ...
for Allied soldiers. It was located on a plain near the village of Alt Drewitz bei Küstrin then located in the
Neumark The Neumark (), also known as the New March ( pl, Nowa Marchia) or as East Brandenburg (), was a region of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and its successors located east of the Oder River in territory which became part of Poland in 1945. Cal ...
of the province of
Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 square ...
(now
Drzewice Drzewice is the north-western borough (''osiedle'') of the town of Kostrzyn nad Odrą in western Poland. During World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted fro ...
,
Kostrzyn nad Odrą Kostrzyn nad Odrą (literally Kostrzyn upon Oder) (; german: Küstrin ) is a town in Gorzów County, Lubusz Voivodeship in western Poland, close to the border with Germany. Geography The town is situated within the historic Lubusz Land (''Ziemia ...
, Poland), about east of Berlin. Initially the camp served as a place of internment for several thousand soldiers and NCOs from
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...
,
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
,
Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
,
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...
and
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
. From 1943, a number of Italian POWs were also held there. From 1944, soldiers from the
United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...
were kept there too. The majority of the
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 (up to 12,000) were killed or starved to death. Most of the lower rank prisoners were sent to Arbeitskommandos to work in industry and on farms in
Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 square ...
. However the administration stayed with the Stammlager.


Timeline

* June 1940: the camp was established from Küstrin (Kostrzyn nad Odrą) for Belgian and French prisoners 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 ...
. * May to June 1941: Yugoslavian prisoners and British prisoners arrived from the Balkans Campaign. * July 1941: Soviet prisoners taken during
Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named afte ...
arrived. They were held in separate facilities and suffered severe conditions and starvation. They were not accorded the treatment required by the
Third Geneva Convention The Third Geneva Convention, relative to the treatment of prisoners of war, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. The Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War was first adopted in 1929, but significantl ...
. Thousands of them died of starvation and disease. * September 1943: Italians who had been interned because of the
Italian Armistice The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brig ...
arrived. * September 1944: the first Americans arrived, taken prisoner as a result of the failure of
Operation Market Garden Operation Market Garden was an Allied military operation during the Second World War fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 27 September 1944. Its objective was to create a salient into German territory with a bridgehead over the River Rhine, ...
or during the advance of the U.S. Army towards Germany. * 1 December 1944: the roster showed 2,036 Americans, 631 Belgians, 1,416 British, 17,568 French, 1,046 Italian, 2 Polish, 1,591 Serbian, and 13,727 Soviet prisoners. * December 1944: more American prisoners arrived, taken prisoner in the
Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...
. * January 31, 1945: the camp was freed by the
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...
. Many Americans escaped during the January 31, 1945 assault. The remaining American and British prisoners were eventually moved by train to
Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrat ...
on the Black Sea for repatriation.


Escapes

Joseph Beyrle was a paratrooper in the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the
101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operat ...
. Captured in
Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
in June 1944 he was taken to a POW camp. He escaped twice, and when recaptured he was sent to Stalag III-C. Early in January 1945 he escaped again and made his way to a Soviet tank battalion. He convinced the legendary tank brigade commander Alexandra Samusenko (allegedly the only female tank officer of that rank in World War II) to allow him to fight with them. He is believed to be the only American serviceman to have actually fought in a Soviet unit. Wounded during a German air attack, he was evacuated to a Soviet military hospital, from where he was sent to Moscow to the U.S. Embassy. (His son,
John Beyrle John Ross Beyrle (born February 11, 1954) is an American diplomat. A career Foreign Service Officer and specialist in Russian and Eastern European affairs, he served as Ambassador of the United States to the Russian Federation from July 3, 2008, u ...
, returned there to serve as
United States Ambassador to Russia The ambassador of the United States of America to the Russian Federation is the ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary from the United States of America to the Russian Federation. Since September 4, 2022, Elizabeth Rood is serving as the ...
2008–2012.) Walter Mehlhaff was captured 19 September 1944 while fighting with the 16th Infantry Regiment,
1st Infantry Division 1st Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) *1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) *1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoured Division (Australi ...
, on the German border. Imprisoned at Stalag III-C, he escaped from a work group early in January 1945. He made his way towards Poland and finally was taken to Odessa for repatriation.Testimonies from the Midwest
(Registration required) Cpl. Gustav Christian Brucker of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was captured near Mortain France in August 1944 and was sent to Stalag III-C until the camp was liberated in early 1945. He did speak some German and helped with translating for fellow POWs. He recalled living on mostly stale bread and turnip soup during his days in III-C. He was discharged from the US Army in November 1945. He died in 2004 on hospice at his daughter Kathy Brucker Haywood's home just outside Philadelphia.


See also

* List of German World War II POW camps


References


External links

* * *
Earl Chrudimsky receives medals 61 years after being wounded
{{Authority control Kostrzyn nad Odrą World War II prisoner of war camps in Germany World War II sites in Poland