Oflag VII-B

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Oflag VII-B
Eichstätt, Bavaria
Oflag VII-B is located in Germany
Oflag VII-B
Oflag VII-B
Coordinates48°52′59″N 11°12′26″E / 48.88306°N 11.20720°E / 48.88306; 11.20720
TypePrisoner-of-war camp
Site information
Controlled by Nazi Germany
Site history
In use1939–1945
Garrison information
OccupantsPolish, then British and Commonwealth officers

Oflag VII-B was a World War II German prisoner-of-war camp for officers (Offizierlager), located in Eichstätt, Bavaria, about 100 km (62 mi) north of Munich.

Camp history

The camp was built in September 1939 to house Polish prisoners from the German invasion of Poland. The first prisoners arrived there on 18 October 1939.

On 22 May 1940 all 1,336 Polish prisoners were transferred to Oflag VII-A Murnau, and were replaced with British, French and Belgian officers taken prisoner during the battle of France and Belgium.

In the summer of 1941

Balkans Campaign
arrived in the camp.

In Rommel's

South African 2nd Division
was captured. Many of these soldiers were interned at Oflag VII-B.

On 31 August 1942 Canadian officers captured during the Dieppe Raid arrived. Soon after their arrival the senior Canadian officer, Brigadier W.W. Southam, convened a conference which compiled an after action report on the Raid. This was recorded in shorthand in a notebook labelled "Shorthand Reading Exercises. O. Henry's Short Stories", which after the war was donated to the archives of the Historical Section of the Canadian Army HQ.[1]

In September 1942, British officers from

Willibaldsburg Castle, the escapees were sent to Oflag IV-C at Colditz Castle.[2]

In spring of 1943

Tunisia Campaign
arrived.

On 14 April 1945, as the

U.S. Army approached, the officers were marched out of the camp. A short distance from the camp the column was attacked by American aircraft, who mistook it for a formation of German troops. Fourteen British officers were killed and 46 were wounded. In 2003 a memorial plaque was erected by local German authorities at the site.[3]

The camp was liberated by the U.S. Army on 16 April 1945. The POWs were repatriated to their home countries. For the British this meant a march begging for food from farmers until transport reached them.

As of 2012 the site of the camp is occupied by the barracks and training school of II. Bereitschaftspolizeiabteilung ("2nd Riot Police Division") of the Bavarian State Police.[4]

English composer Benjamin Britten wrote a short piece for male voices The Ballad of Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard and dedicated it to "Richard Wood and the musicians of Oflag VIIb". The work was completed on 13 December 1943 and smuggled into the camp on microfilm for the prisoners to sing.

See also

References

Notes
  1. ^ "Canadian Military Headquarters Historical Officers Report No. 142" (PDF). rangersatdieppe.com. 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2012.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ Rutherford, Dianne (October 2010). "An officer's first duty". Wartime (52). Canberra: Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  3. ^ Askew, Peter (2012). "Oflag VIIb, P.O.W. Camp, Eichstätt, Germany". sites.google.com. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  4. ^ "Bayerische Polizei - Bereitschaftspolizei II. Abteilung Eichstätt". polizei.bayern.de (in German). 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
Bibliography

POW memoirs

External links


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