Oflag X-C was a German World War II prisoner-of-war camp for officers (Offizierlager) in Lübeck in northern Germany. The camp was located on the corner of Friedhofsallee and Vorwerkstrasse, close to Lübeck's border with the town of Schwartau (now Bad Schwartau), and is often cited as being located in Schwartau rather than Lübeck. It housed French, British, Polish and other Allied officers.
| Oflag X-C | |
|---|---|
| Lübeck, Schleswig-Holstein | |
 Aerial image of Oflag X-C, taken by a US airplane on April 26, 1945 | |
  Oflag X-C | |
| Coordinates | 53°53′59″N 10°40′36″E / 53.89962°N 10.67665°E |
| Type | Prisoner-of-war camp |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by |  Nazi Germany |
| Site history | |
| In use | 1940–1945 |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Garrison information | |
| Occupants | French, British, Polish and other Allied officers |
Camp history
editThe camp was opened in June 1940 for French officers captured during the Battle of France. In June 1941 British and Commonwealth officers from the Battle of Crete[1] and the North African Campaign arrived. During 1941 and 1942 many Allied air crews that had been shot down were taken to Lübeck, then later transferred to Oflag VI-B, Warburg[2] In mid-1942 many Polish officers were relocated to the Oflag II-D camp.[3] In early 1945 Polish Officers, inmates of Oflag II-D and Oflag II-C, were marched westwards and finally reached Oflag X-C.[4] The camp was liberated on 2 May 1945 by troops of the British 2nd Army.[5] Prisoners of war were repatriated during May 1945 (Operation Exodus).
Prominent prisoners
edit- Robert Blum (businessman), the son of Léon Blum[6]
- Fernand Braudel, French historian, relocated in June 1942 from Oflag XII-B under the suspicion of Gaullist involvement[7]
- Yves Congar, French theologian, placed as a POW at the Lübeck fortress because of his numerous escape attempts from other camps after being captured while serving as an officer in the French army.[8]
- Władysław Dobrowolski, Polish Olympic medalist in fencing[9]
- Yakov Dzhugashvili, the son of Joseph Stalin,[6] captured in July 1941 at the Battle of Smolensk, died in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in April 1943
- Stanisław Sośnicki, Polish Olympic athlete[10]
See also
editReferences
edit- Notes
- ^ Mason, W. Wynne (1954). "The Crete Campaign—Prisoners in Greece and Germany". Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–45. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
- ^ Flensted, Søren C. (2012). "Whitley V Z6498 ditched in Grønsund off Stubbekøbing on 12/9-1941". Airwar over Denmark. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
- ^ Urban 2021, p. 30.
- ^ Urban 2021, p. 32.
- ^ "British occupy Hamburg & link with Russians". The Age. 3 May 1945. Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
- ^ a b Schöttler 2016, p. 106.
- ^ Schöttler 2016, p. 105–106.
- ^ Bernardi, Peter J. (4 April 2005). "A Passion for Unity". America Magazine. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
- ^ Urban 2021, p. 45.
- ^ Urban 2021, p. 38.
- Bibliography
- Urban, Renata (2021). "Polscy olimpijczycy w niemieckich obozach jenieckich". Łambinowicki rocznik muzealny (in Polish). 44. Opole. ISSN 0137-5199.
- "Offizierslager". lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de. 2007. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
- Waters, Ben (2012). "Six years in the RNVR". BBC WW2 People's War. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
- Rollings, Charles (August 2004), Wire and Worse: RAF Prisoners of War in Laufen, Bibarach, Lubeck and Warburg 1940-42. ISBN 0-7110-3050-2
- Schöttler, Peter (2016), "Fernand Braudel as Prisoner in Germany: Confronting the Long Term and the Present Time", in Pathé, Anne-Marie; Théofilakis, Fabien (eds.), Wartime Captivity in the Twentieth Century: Archives, Stories, Memories, translated by McPhail, Helen, New York: Berghahn, pp. 103–114, ISBN 978-1-78533-258-6