Stalag 383

Stalag 383 was a German World War II Prisoner of War camp located in Hohenfels, Bavaria.

Stalag 383
Hohenfels, Bavaria, Germany
Fencing and watchtower in the snow at Stalag 383, Hohenfels, Bavaria circa 1941
Stalag 383 is located in Germany
Stalag 383
Stalag 383
Coordinates49°12′N 11°51′E
TypePrisoner-of-war camp
Site information
Controlled by Nazi Germany
Site history
In use1939–1945
Garrison information
OccupantsAllied PoW

History

The German Army founded a training area near Hohenfels, Bavaria in 1938. A troop camp for trainees, located in a high valley surrounded by dense woodland and hills at a homestead called 'Polnrich', was commandeered for use as a Prisoner of War camp in 1939. At first it was used for Allied NCOs and named Oflag IIIC but was later renamed Stalag 383 as it expanded with other ranks.[1][2][3] The camp comprised 400 detached accommodation huts, 30 feet (9.1 m) x 14 feet (4.3 m), each typically housing 14 men. More were built towards the end of the war as prisoners were moved in from other camps as the Russian front advanced from the east.[3] The name, Oflag III-C, was reassigned to a camp at Lübben (Spreewald) and operated between August 1940 and June 1942.[4] On April 24, 1945, Major General Stanley Eric Reinhart's 65th Infantry Division captured Hohenfels. Major General Gustav Geiger, staff and guards surrendered. The prisoners, including many British and Colonial inmates, were liberated.

Later, between 1945 and 1949 the site became a displaced persons camp.[2] The Americans subsequently retained the site and it doubled in size.[3]

Notable people

See also

References
  1. "The Camp at Hohenfels, Stalag 383..." Australian War Museum. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  2. Iacampo, Mark (25 November 2014). "Polish Consul visits monuments in Hohenfels". U.S. Army. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  3. "Les Foskett". The Pegasus Archive. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  4. Vourkoutiotis, V. (2003). The Prisoners of War and German High Command: The British and American Experience. Springer. p. 32. ISBN 9780230598300.

Further reading
  • Mckibbin, M. N. (1947). Barbed Wire - Memories Of Stalag 383. New York: Staples Press. OCLC 13341091.
  • Muff, Dudley (2009). Pollard, Simon David (ed.). Dear Alison: A New Zealand Soldier's Story from Stalag 383. Penguin. ISBN 9780143304609.
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