Oksbøl Refugee Camp
Encyclopedia
The Oksbøl Refugee Camp was the largest camp for German
Refugees in Denmark
after World War II
.
started the East Prussian
and East Pomeranian Offensive
s, soon interrupting the overland route to the western areas of Germany. Up to 900,000 civilians, primarily from East Prussia
, Farther Pomerania
, and the Baltic states
and 350,000 German soldiers were evacuated throughout the Operation Hannibal
across the Baltic Sea
. About 250,000 Civilians were shipped to German-occupied Denmark between 11 February and 5 May 1945. The German refugee population in Denmark, most of them women, elderly and children, a third under the age of fifteen, amounted to 5% of the total Danish population. In 1945 alone more than 13,000 refugees, among them 7,000 children under the age of five, died in Denmark. According to the Danish historian Kirsten Lylloff, the Danish Association of Doctors and the Danish Red Cross decided to grant medical care only to those refugees whose diseases would threaten the Danish population and most children died of "perfectly curable" diseases.
The refugees were provisionally housed in schools, village halls and the like in 1,100 sites all over the country and later gathered in larger camps (465 in October 1945), of which Oksbøl was the largest.
at the Danish North Sea
coast. The site of the camp was initially used as a military training area by the Danish Army and, after the German occupation of Denmark, by the German Wehrmacht
. It was situated west of Oksbøl in the forest "Aal Plantage".
The refugee camp was established in February 1945 and housed 10,500 people in May 1945. Later on up to 37,000 refugees were placed here. The existing barracks and horse stables were used and a town of hutments was built, fenced with barbed wire and guarded by Danish troops. The contact to the Danish population outside of the camp was seldom and the refugees were forbidden to learn Danish.
At that time Oksbøl was the sixth largest town of Denmark.
Next to a Danish commander, the camp had its own elected mayor and town council. The administration was organized by the inmates and a court, a cinema, a number of churches, hospitals and schools existed. The theater was conducted by Walter Warndorf, the former director of the Danziger Staatstheater, and his wife Eva Just. A spinning mill employed 150 refugees every day and there were all kind of craft enterprises. The inmates were however not allowed to work outside of the camp. About 300 refugees formed a police force to maintain order in the camp.
Almost 900 children were born in the camp and more than 12,000 of the inhabitants were children below the age of fourteen. About 1,400 people, many of them young children, died in custody, whereof 1,247 were buried at the camp's cemetery. Further burials of refugees who died at other camps were made later and today 1,675 refugees and 121 German soldiers are buried at the Oksbøl war cemetery.
The camp was subsequently dissolved and the last refugee transport left to Germany on 15 December 1948. The area was again used as a military camp of the Danish army until 1983. The former hospital is today used as a Youth hostel, only a few remains of the camp still exist.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Refugees in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
after World War II
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...
.
Background
In early 1945 the Red ArmyRed 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...
started the East Prussian
East Prussian Offensive
The East Prussian Offensive was a strategic offensive by the Red Army against the German Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front . It lasted from 13 January to 25 April 1945, though some German units did not surrender until 9 May...
and East Pomeranian Offensive
East Pomeranian Offensive
The East Pomeranian Strategic Offensive operation was an offensive by the Red Army in its fight against the German Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front...
s, soon interrupting the overland route to the western areas of Germany. Up to 900,000 civilians, primarily from East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
, Farther Pomerania
Farther Pomerania
Farther Pomerania, Further Pomerania, Transpomerania or Eastern Pomerania , which before the German-Polish border shift of 1945 comprised the eastern part of the Duchy, later Province of Pomerania, roughly stretching from the Oder River in the West to Pomerelia in the East...
, and the Baltic states
Baltic states
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
and 350,000 German soldiers were evacuated throughout the Operation Hannibal
Operation Hannibal
Operation Hannibal was a German military operation involving the evacuation by sea of German troops and civilians from Courland, East Prussia, and the Polish Corridor from mid-January to May, 1945 as the Red Army advanced during the East Prussian and East Pomeranian Offensives and subsidiary...
across the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
. About 250,000 Civilians were shipped to German-occupied Denmark between 11 February and 5 May 1945. The German refugee population in Denmark, most of them women, elderly and children, a third under the age of fifteen, amounted to 5% of the total Danish population. In 1945 alone more than 13,000 refugees, among them 7,000 children under the age of five, died in Denmark. According to the Danish historian Kirsten Lylloff, the Danish Association of Doctors and the Danish Red Cross decided to grant medical care only to those refugees whose diseases would threaten the Danish population and most children died of "perfectly curable" diseases.
The refugees were provisionally housed in schools, village halls and the like in 1,100 sites all over the country and later gathered in larger camps (465 in October 1945), of which Oksbøl was the largest.
The Camp
Oksbøl is a town 20 km northwest of EsbjergEsbjerg
Esbjerg Municipality is a municipality in Region of Southern Denmark on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. Its mayor is Johnny Søtrup, from the Venstre political party...
at the Danish North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
coast. The site of the camp was initially used as a military training area by the Danish Army and, after the German occupation of Denmark, by the German Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
. It was situated west of Oksbøl in the forest "Aal Plantage".
The refugee camp was established in February 1945 and housed 10,500 people in May 1945. Later on up to 37,000 refugees were placed here. The existing barracks and horse stables were used and a town of hutments was built, fenced with barbed wire and guarded by Danish troops. The contact to the Danish population outside of the camp was seldom and the refugees were forbidden to learn Danish.
At that time Oksbøl was the sixth largest town of Denmark.
Next to a Danish commander, the camp had its own elected mayor and town council. The administration was organized by the inmates and a court, a cinema, a number of churches, hospitals and schools existed. The theater was conducted by Walter Warndorf, the former director of the Danziger Staatstheater, and his wife Eva Just. A spinning mill employed 150 refugees every day and there were all kind of craft enterprises. The inmates were however not allowed to work outside of the camp. About 300 refugees formed a police force to maintain order in the camp.
Almost 900 children were born in the camp and more than 12,000 of the inhabitants were children below the age of fourteen. About 1,400 people, many of them young children, died in custody, whereof 1,247 were buried at the camp's cemetery. Further burials of refugees who died at other camps were made later and today 1,675 refugees and 121 German soldiers are buried at the Oksbøl war cemetery.
The camp was subsequently dissolved and the last refugee transport left to Germany on 15 December 1948. The area was again used as a military camp of the Danish army until 1983. The former hospital is today used as a Youth hostel, only a few remains of the camp still exist.