Stalag II-A
Encyclopedia
Camp Fünfeichen was a World War II
German
prisoner-of-war camp
located in Fünfeichen, a former estate within the city limits of Neubrandenburg
, Mecklenburg
, northern Germany
. Built as Stalag II-A Neubrandenburg in 1939, it was extended by the officer camp Oflag II-E in 1940 (renamed Oflag-67, 1944). After the Soviet takeover in 1945 until 1949 it was used as special camp
, NKVD-camp Nr. 9 of the Soviet
secret service (NKVD
). Today, the site of the camp is a memorial.
prisoners from the German September 1939 offensive. The first POWs arrived on 12 September. Some were used for completing the camp construction while housed in tents during the winter. Others were sent to work on farms. From May/June 1940 Dutch
and Belgian
prisoners arrived from the Battle of France
, followed by French
. A number of the French were from African colonial regiments and were used for the worst work such as collecting trash.
A new camp for officers, Oflag II-E was created close by and Polish warrant officers and ensigns were transferred to it. In 1941 more prisoners arrived from the Balkans Campaign mostly British
and Yugoslavia
ns (mostly Serbs). In late summer 1941 Soviet prisoners from Operation Barbarossa
arrived and were placed in a separate enclosure built south of the main camp.
In September 1943 some Italian internees were transferred to Stalag II-A from Italy
after the capitulation
. From November 1944 to early January 1945 American soldiers captured in various operations during the Allied drive westward
arrived. Most were immediately sent to Arbeitskommandos
. From February to April 1945 Neubrandenburg was a waypoint in the forced march westward
of Allied prisoners from POW camps further east. The camp was finally liberated on 28 April 1945 when a Soviet armoured division reached Neubrandenburg.
. Within a few days they were liberated by British troops pushing eastward.
For a total of 25,720 including 21 officers. Only about 3,500 were in the camp itself, the rest were in outlying sub-camps.
. The largest was Teterow, several miles west of Neubrandenburg, which held about 175 prisoners living in a multi-storey brick building. They worked on the railway lines. Another was at Parchim.
prisoners from the German September 1939 offensive were placed in Stalag II-A
. After some time the officers were separated out and placed initially in the garages of the adjoining German Army armoured division. Then a separate camp, Oflag II-E, was built for them on the west side of the highway.
From May and June 1940 Dutch
and Belgian
prisoners arrived from the Battle of France
, followed by French
. In 1941 more officer prisoners arrived from the Balkans Campaign mostly British
, Yugoslavia
n, Serbs
and Greeks
. By February 1944 most of the officers had been transferred to other Oflags. Only Dutch officers and a few Russian officers remained. The camp was renumbered Oflag-67. It was liberated by a Soviet armoured division on 28 April 1945.
, took over the former Stalag and turned it into a special camp
of the Soviet secret service (NKVD
). About 15,000 men, women and children were interned in the camp, and 5,000 of them died, primarily of starvation and disease. Between July and September 1948, 5,181 detainees were released. 2,801 prisoners were transferred to other NKVD special camps, the former Nazi concentration camps in Buchenwald (NKVD special camp Nr.2) and Sachsenhausen
(NKVD special camp Nr.7).
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...
German
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...
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 Fünfeichen, a former estate within the city limits of Neubrandenburg
Neubrandenburg
Neubrandenburg is a city in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is located in the southeastern part of the state, on the shore of a lake called the Tollensesee ....
, Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...
, northern Germany
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...
. Built as Stalag II-A Neubrandenburg in 1939, it was extended by the officer camp Oflag II-E in 1940 (renamed Oflag-67, 1944). After the Soviet takeover in 1945 until 1949 it was used as special camp
NKVD special camps
NKVD special camps were NKVD-run late and post-World War II internment camps in the Soviet-occupied parts of Germany and areas east of the Oder-Neisse line. The short-lived camps east of the line were subsequently transferred to the Soviet occupation zone, where they were set up by the Soviet...
, NKVD-camp Nr. 9 of the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
secret service (NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
). Today, the site of the camp is a memorial.
Stalag II-A
The camp was built in September 1939 to house PolishPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
prisoners from the German September 1939 offensive. The first POWs arrived on 12 September. Some were used for completing the camp construction while housed in tents during the winter. Others were sent to work on farms. From May/June 1940 Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
prisoners arrived from the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
, followed by French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. A number of the French were from African colonial regiments and were used for the worst work such as collecting trash.
A new camp for officers, Oflag II-E was created close by and Polish warrant officers and ensigns were transferred to it. In 1941 more prisoners arrived from the Balkans Campaign mostly British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
ns (mostly Serbs). In late summer 1941 Soviet prisoners from Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
arrived and were placed in a separate enclosure built south of the main camp.
In September 1943 some Italian internees were transferred to Stalag II-A from Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
after the capitulation
Armistice with Italy
The Armistice with Italy was an armistice signed on September 3 and publicly declared on September 8, 1943, during World War II, between Italy and the Allied armed forces, who were then occupying the southern end of the country, entailing the capitulation of Italy...
. From November 1944 to early January 1945 American soldiers captured in various operations during the Allied drive westward
Battle of Hurtgen Forest
The Battle of Hürtgen Forest is the name given to the series of fierce battles fought between U.S. and German forces during World War II in the Hürtgen Forest, which became the longest battle on German ground during World War II, and the longest single battle the U.S. Army has ever fought...
arrived. Most were immediately sent to Arbeitskommandos
Arbeitslager
Arbeitslager is a German language word which means labor camp.The German government under Nazism used forced labor extensively, starting in the 1930s but most especially during World War II....
. From February to April 1945 Neubrandenburg was a waypoint in the forced march westward
The March (1945)
"The March" refers to a series of death marches during the final stages of the Second World War in Europe. From a total of 257,000 western Allied prisoners of war held in German military prison camps, over 80,000 POWs were forced to march westward across Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Germany in...
of Allied prisoners from POW camps further east. The camp was finally liberated on 28 April 1945 when a Soviet armoured division reached Neubrandenburg.
Evacuation and repatriation
In the middle of April most of the prisoners in the camp and in the outlying Arbeitskommandos were marched westward ahead of the advancing 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...
. Within a few days they were liberated by British troops pushing eastward.
Prisoner census
The official prisoner census of 1 December 1944 records:- 12,581 French
- 8,694 Russians
- 1,976 Serbs
- 950 Americans
- 738 Polish
- 527 Italians
- 200 British
For a total of 25,720 including 21 officers. Only about 3,500 were in the camp itself, the rest were in outlying sub-camps.
Sub-camps
Stalag II-A had about 50 subcamps, known as ArbeitskommandoLabor camp
A labor camp is a simplified detention facility where inmates are forced to engage in penal labor. Labor camps have many common aspects with slavery and with prisons...
. The largest was Teterow, several miles west of Neubrandenburg, which held about 175 prisoners living in a multi-storey brick building. They worked on the railway lines. Another was at Parchim.
Oflag II-E
PolishPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
prisoners from the German September 1939 offensive were placed in Stalag II-A
Stalag II-A
Camp Fünfeichen was a World War II German prisoner-of-war camp located in Fünfeichen, a former estate within the city limits of Neubrandenburg, Mecklenburg, northern Germany. Built as Stalag II-A Neubrandenburg in 1939, it was extended by the officer camp Oflag II-E in 1940...
. After some time the officers were separated out and placed initially in the garages of the adjoining German Army armoured division. Then a separate camp, Oflag II-E, was built for them on the west side of the highway.
From May and June 1940 Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
prisoners arrived from the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
, followed by French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. In 1941 more officer prisoners arrived from the Balkans Campaign mostly British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
n, Serbs
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
and Greeks
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. By February 1944 most of the officers had been transferred to other Oflags. Only Dutch officers and a few Russian officers remained. The camp was renumbered Oflag-67. It was liberated by a Soviet armoured division on 28 April 1945.
Prisoner census
The official prisoner census of 1 December 1944 records:- 1,322 Dutch officers and 372 non-commissioned officers
- 169 Russian officers
NKVD Special Camp Number 9
The Soviet administration of post-war Germany, SMADSoviet Military Administration in Germany
The Soviet Military Administration in Germany was the Soviet military government, headquartered in Berlin-Karlshorst, that directly ruled the Soviet occupation zone of Germany from the German surrender in May 1945 until after the establishment of the German Democratic Republic in October...
, took over the former Stalag and turned it into a special camp
NKVD special camps
NKVD special camps were NKVD-run late and post-World War II internment camps in the Soviet-occupied parts of Germany and areas east of the Oder-Neisse line. The short-lived camps east of the line were subsequently transferred to the Soviet occupation zone, where they were set up by the Soviet...
of the Soviet secret service (NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
). About 15,000 men, women and children were interned in the camp, and 5,000 of them died, primarily of starvation and disease. Between July and September 1948, 5,181 detainees were released. 2,801 prisoners were transferred to other NKVD special camps, the former Nazi concentration camps in Buchenwald (NKVD special camp Nr.2) and Sachsenhausen
Sachsenhausen
Sachsenhausen may refer to:* Sachsenhausen , a quarter of Oranienburg, Germany* Sachsenhausen concentration camp, a detention and extermination facility established there in 1936...
(NKVD special camp Nr.7).
Memorial
Since 1993, the site of the former camp has been a memorial, the Mahn- und Gedenkstätte Fünfeichen.Sources
- "Just One More River to Cross" by John M. Ryan. American Heritage, June/July 2005.
- story of American Henry H. Gould - includes description of Teterow.
- very detailed description of camp life - in Polish, a family history.
- photos of Stalg II-A
- Mahn- und Gedenkstätte Fünfeichen