Stalag Luft 7 was a
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
Luftwaffe
The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
prisoner-of-war camp
A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war.
There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...
located in
Morzyczyn, Pomerania, and Bankau,
Silesia
Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...
(now
Bąków,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
). It held British, Canadian, Australian, New Zealander,
French, Polish, South African, American and other
Allied airmen.
History
The camp was established at an airfield in
Morzyczyn in 1943, and then relocated to a remote wooded area near
Bąków,
where it was opened on 6 June 1944, for RAF
NCO flying crews and by July held 230 prisoners. They were joined by members of the
Glider Pilot Regiment captured at the
Battle of Arnhem
The Battle of Arnhem was fought during the Second World War, as part of the Allies of World War II, Allied Operation Market Garden. It took place around the Netherlands, Dutch city of Arnhem and vicinity from 17 to 26 September 1944. The Alli ...
in September 1944. By 1 January 1945, the camp held 1,578 prisoners. This was made up of 1,075 British, 252 Canadian, 134 Australian, 26 New Zealand, 24
French, 15 Polish, 14 South African, 11 Irish and 10 US. Others were Rhodesian, Maltese, Dutch, Belgian and Czech. The
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a three-time Nobel Prize laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of rules of war and ...
described the conditions of the camp as "deplorable".
[
On 19 January 1945, 68 sick POWs were evacuated to the Ilag VIII/Z camp in Kluczbork, whereas remaining 1,565 POWs were sent on a ]death march
A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war, other captives, or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinct from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Convention requires tha ...
in bitter cold with temperatures dropping to .Oder
The Oder ( ; Czech and ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and its largest tributary the Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows through wes ...
at Mikolin on 21 January, reached Goldberg (Złotoryja
Złotoryja (; , ; Latin: ''Aureus Mons'', ''Aurum'') is a historic town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship in southwestern Poland, the administrative seat of Złotoryja County, and of the smaller Gmina Złotoryja. Złotoryja is the first town in Pola ...
) on 5 February, and were loaded onto a train.[ On 8 February they reached ]Stalag III-A
Stalag III-A was a German World War II German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II, prisoner-of-war (POW) camp at Luckenwalde, Brandenburg, south of Berlin. It housed Polish, Dutch, Belgian, French prisoners of war in World War II, French, Yugosl ...
[ located about south of ]Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
near Luckenwalde
Luckenwalde (; Upper Sorbian language, Upper and , , ) is the capital of the Teltow-Fläming district in the state of Brandenburg in eastern Germany. It is situated on the Nuthe river north of the Fläming Heath, at the eastern rim of the Nuthe-Ni ...
, which already held 20,000 prisoners, consisting mainly of soldiers from Britain, Canada, the U.S. and Russia.
See also
* List of prisoner-of-war camps in Germany
References
*
External links
B24.net
{{Authority control
World War II prisoner-of-war camps in Germany
World War II sites in Poland