Oflag VIII-F
| Oflag VIII-F | |
|---|---|
| Wahlstatt,Silesia(nowLegnickie Pole,Poland) | |
 Benedictine Abbey in Legnickie Pole | |
  Oflag VIII-F  Oflag VIII-F | |
| Coordinates | 51°08′43″N16°14′36″E/ 51.145413°N 16.243226°E |
| Type | Prisoner-of-war camp |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by |  Nazi Germany |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1719-1731 |
| In use | 1940–1944 |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Garrison information | |
| Occupants | Allied POWs |
Oflag VIII-Fwas aWorld War IIGermanprisoner-of-war campforofficers(Offizierlager) located first in Wahlstatt,Silesia(nowLegnickie Pole,Poland) and then at Mährisch-Trübau,Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia(nowMoravská Třebová,Czech Republic). It housed mostlyFrench POWs.
Camp history
[edit]Oflag VIII-F was first established at Wahlstatt in July 1940[1][2]and housedFrenchandBelgianofficers taken prisoner during theBattle of France.It was located in a former Benedictine Abbey dedicated to SaintHedwig of Silesia,that had been a military school between 1840 and 1920, and used by the Nazis as a "National Political Educational Institution"from 1934.[1][3]
In July 1942 a new camp at Moravská Třebová in German-occupied Czechoslovakia, about 200 km (120 mi) to the south, was designated Oflag VIII-F, while the original camp was redesignated Oflag VIII F/Z, a sub-camp of Moravská Třebová.[1][2]The prisoners were transferred to other camps, though a small number stayed behind to carry out construction work as the site was adapted for the use of GEMA (Gesellschaft für und mechanische elektroakustische apparate) in developing radar systems.[4][5]The sub-camp was closed in June 1943.[2]
The camp at Moravská Třebová contained around 2,000 officers, mostly British captured inNorth Africaand theGreek Islands,but there were also numbers of Greek, French and American POW.[6]In April 1944, most of the prisoners were transferred toOflag 79nearBraunschweigand the camp was closed.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abcMegargee, Geoffrey P.; Overmans, Rüdiger; Vogt, Wolfgang (2022).The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume IV.Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. pp. 257–258.ISBN978-0-253-06089-1.
- ^abc"Kriegsgefangenenlager (Liste)".Moosburg Online(in German). 2012.Retrieved21 April2012.
- ^Funck, Ronald (2012)."Legnickie Pole / Wahlstatt".timediver.de(in German).Retrieved21 April2012.
- ^"Legnickie Pole - Forum Eksploracyjne".sztolnie.fora.pl(in Polish). 2012.Retrieved21 April2012.
- ^Постановление Государственного комитета обороны «О вывозе лабораторного оборудования и аппаратуры немецкого радиолокационного института фирмы "Гема" деревня Вальштадт (10 км юго-восточнее г. Лигниц)» № 8603 от 16.05.1945.— soldat.ru
- ^Johnson, E.B.W. "Ted" (2012)."Leros 1943 and the aftermath".BBC WW2 People's War.Retrieved21 April2012.