Oflag II-A
Encyclopedia
Oflag II-A was a German World War II
prisoner-of-war camp
located in the town of Prenzlau
, Brandenburg
, 93 kilometres (57.8 mi) north of Berlin
.
The camp, located just south of Prenzlau on the main road to Berlin, and was originally built in 1936 as a barracks for Artillery Regiment 38.
It was opened as a POW camp in September 1939 and housed mainly Belgian officers. With an area of about 7 hectares (17.3 acre) the camp was divided into two compounds : Lager A which contained four three-storey prisoner blocks, and an administration and canteen block, and Lager B which contained various garages and workshops, some of which were used as additional prisoner accommodation. The camp was surrounded by a double barbed-wire fence with seven watchtowers.
In March 1945 two bombs dropped by a Russian aircraft hit Block B killing eight POWs, and injuring several others. The camp was liberated by the Red Army
on the morning of 12 April 1945.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
prisoner-of-war camp
Prisoner-of-war camp
A prisoner-of-war camp is a site for the containment of combatants captured by their enemy in time of war, and is similar to an internment camp which is used for civilian populations. A prisoner of war is generally a soldier, sailor, or airman who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or...
located in the town of Prenzlau
Prenzlau
Prenzlau , a city in the Uckermark District of Brandenburg in Germany, had a population of about 21,000 in 2005.-International relations:Prenzlau is twinned with: Uster, Switzerland Barlinek, Poland Świdwin, Poland...
, Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
, 93 kilometres (57.8 mi) north of Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
The camp, located just south of Prenzlau on the main road to Berlin, and was originally built in 1936 as a barracks for Artillery Regiment 38.
It was opened as a POW camp in September 1939 and housed mainly Belgian officers. With an area of about 7 hectares (17.3 acre) the camp was divided into two compounds : Lager A which contained four three-storey prisoner blocks, and an administration and canteen block, and Lager B which contained various garages and workshops, some of which were used as additional prisoner accommodation. The camp was surrounded by a double barbed-wire fence with seven watchtowers.
In March 1945 two bombs dropped by a Russian aircraft hit Block B killing eight POWs, and injuring several others. The camp was liberated by the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
on the morning of 12 April 1945.