Stalag XVIII-D (also known as Stalag 306) was a German

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 ...

located in

Maribor Maribor ( , , , ; also known by other historical names) is the second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Lower Styria. It is also the seat of the City Municipality of Maribor, the seat of the Drava stati ...

in German-occupied

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

(today in

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

). It opened in the spring or early summer of 1941, operating until the end of the war.Sources put the opening date as March 1941; this cannot be correct, as Yugoslavia was not invaded by Germany until 6 April. By July 1941 Stalag XVIII-D contained nearly 4,500

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

and Commonwealth prisoners captured in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

and

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cypru ...

. Conditions initially were very poor, with more than 1,000 men accommodated in tents while huts were being constructed. There was an outbreak of typhus in early 1942. However the situation improved as the war went on. Escapes assisted by

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, Slovene language, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НО� ...

became increasingly common, with most escapers being led south to the Partisan base and airfield at

Semič Semič (; german: Semitsch,''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna. formerly also Semenič) is a settlement in southeastern Slovenia. It is the ad ...

White Carniola White Carniola ( sl, Bela krajina; german: Weißkrain or ''Weiße Mark'') is a traditional region in southeastern Slovenia on the border with Croatia. Due to its smallness, it is often considered a subunit of the broader Lower Carniola region, alth ...

. In August 1944, the largest mass rescue of POWs of the war in Europe took place when 105 Allied prisoners from a work camp administered by Stalag XVIII-D were freed by Partisans in the

raid at Ožbalt The Raid at Ožbalt was the most successful known prison break of the Second World War. It was an operation on 31 August 1944 in which 105 Allied prisoners of war (POWs) were rescued by Slovene Partisans, Special Operations Executive (SOE), and M ...

. Between August and November 1942 there was a second camp at Maribor, Stalag XVIII- B/Z.Moosburg Online: Kriegsgefangenenlager (Liste)
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Notes

References

External links

{{Commons category-inline, Stalag XVIII-D World War II prisoner of war camps in Germany World War II sites in Slovenia Slovenia in World War II Yugoslavia in World War II History of Maribor