Stalag II-B
Encyclopedia
Stalag II-B was a German
World War II
prisoner-of-war camp
situated 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) west of the village of Hammerstein, Pomerania (now the town of Czarne
, Pomeranian Voivodeship
, Poland
) on the north side of the railway line.
The camp was situated on a former army training ground (Übungsplatz), and had been used during World War I as a camp for Russian prisoners. In 1933 it was established as one of the first Nazi concentration camps, to house German communists
. In late September 1939 the camp was changed to a prisoner-of-war camp to house Polish soldiers from the September Campaign, particularly those from the Pomorze Army
. In December 1940, 1,691 Polish prisoners were recorded as being there. At first they lived in tents, throughout the severe winter of 1939-1940, and construction of all the huts was not completed until 1941. In June 1940 French and Belgian prisoners from the Battle of France began to arrive. To make room for them many of the Poles were forced to give up their status as POWs and become civilian slave laborers.
The construction of the second camp, Lager-Ost ("East Compound") began in June 1941 to accommodate the large numbers of Soviet prisoners taken in Operation Barbarossa
. It was located south of the railway tracks. In November 1941 a typhoid fever
epidemic broke out in Lager-Ost. It lasted until March 1942 and an estimated 45,000 prisoners died
and were buried in mass graves. The camp administration did not start any preventive measures until some German soldiers became infected.
In August 1943 the first American prisoners arrived having been taken prisoner in Tunisia
. In April 1945 the camp was liberated by the Soviet Red Army
.
("Work Companies").
fences. Additional fences formed compounds and sub-compounds. Ten thousand Russia
ns lived in the East Compound, while the other nationalities — 16,000 French
, 1,600 Serbs, 900 Belgians — and the Americans were segregated by nationalities in the North Compound. Within the American enclosure were the playing field, workshops and dispensary, showers, and delouser
. At times more than 600 men were quartered in each of the three single-story barracks 45 feet (13.7 m) wide and 180 feet (54.9 m) long, made available to the Americans. Although this resulted in extremely crowded conditions, it contrasted well with the Russian barracks which held as many as 1,000 POW apiece. Barracks were divided in two by a center washroom which had 20 taps. Water fit for drinking was available at all hours except during the last two months when it was turned off for part of the day. Bunks were the regulation POW triple-decker types with excelsior mattresses and one German blanket (plus two from the Red Cross) for each man. In the front and rear of each barracks was a urinal to be used only at night. Three stoves furnished what heat there was for the front half of each barrack, and two for the rear half. The fuel ration was always insufficient, and in December 1944 was cut to its all-time low of 12 kilograms (26.5 lb) of coal per stove per day. On warm days the Germans withheld part of the fuel ration.
. Harshness at the base Stalag degenerated into brutality and outright murder
on some of the Kommandos. Beatings of Americans on Kommandos by their German overseers were too numerous to list, but records that 10 Americans in work detachments were shot to death by their captors.
In the fall of 1943, when Hauptmann Springer was seeking men for work details, American NCOs and medical corpsmen stated that according to the Geneva Convention they did not have to work unless they volunteered to do so, and they chose not to volunteer. At this, the German stated that he did not care about the terms of the Geneva Convention, and that he would change the rules to suit himself. Thereupon, he demanded that the POW in question fall into line and give their names and numbers for Kommando duty. When the Americans continued to refuse, Springer ordered a bayonet charge against them. At the German guards' obvious disinclination to carry out the command, Captain Springer pushed one of the guards toward an American, with the result that soon all POW were to line up as ordered.
Typical of the circumstance surrounding the shootings are the events connected with the deaths of PFC Dean Halbert and Pvt. Franklin Reed. On August 28, 1943, these two soldiers had been assigned to a Kommando at Gambin
, in the district of Stolp. While working in the fields, they asked permission to leave their posts for the purpose of relieving themselves. They remained away from their work until the work detachment guard became suspicious and went looking for them. Sometime later he returned them to the place where they had been working and reported the incident to his superior. Both of the Kommando Guards were then instructed to escort the Americans to the Kommando barracks. Shortly after they had departed, several shots were heard by the rest of the Americans on the work detachment. Presently the two guards returned and reported that both Halbert and Reed had been shot to death for attempting escape. The guards then ordered the other American POWs to carry the bodies to the barracks.
On another Kommando, the Germans shot and killed two Americans, stripped them and placed the bodies in the latrine
where they lay for two days serving as a warning to other POW. Eight of the killings took place in the latter months of 1943, one in May 1944 and one in December 1944. In almost every case the reason given by the Germans for the shootings was "attempted escape". Witnesses, however, contradict the German reports and state that the shootings were not duty; but clear cases of murder.
Each day the men rose at 06:00 and breakfasted on Red Cross food and on potato
soup, bread and hot water (for coffee
) which they drew from the farm kitchen. At 06:30 they washed their spoons and enameled bowls and cleaned their "barracks". They shaved and washed themselves in three large wash pans filled from a single spigot which gave only cold water. The outdoor latrine was a 3-seater. At 07:00 they rode out to potato fields in horse-drawn wagons driven by coldly hostile German farmhands who would welcome the opportunity to shoot a "kriege." Under the watchful, armed guards they dug potatoes until 11:30 when they rode back to the farm for the noon meal. This consisted of Red Cross food supplemented by German vegetable soup. Boarding the wagons at 13:00, POW worked until 16:30. The evening meal at 17:00 consisted of Red Cross food and the farmers issue of soup, potatoes and gravy. After this meal they could sit outdoors in the fenced-in pen of 30 feet (9.1 m) by 8 feet (2.4 m) until 18:30. Then the guard locked them in their section for the night.
On Sundays, the guard permitted POW to lounge or to walk back and forth in the "yard" all day, but they spent a good deal of their time scrubbing their "barracks" and washing their clothing. Sunday dinner from the farm usually include a meat pudding and cheese. Once a month each POW received a large Red Cross food box containing four regulation Red Cross parcel
s. These were transmitted to distant Kommandos by rail and to nearby unit by German Army trucks. Parcels were stored in the guard's room until issued. The average tour of duty on a farm Kommando lasted indefinitely. On other work detachments it lasted until the specific project had been completed.
John M. McMahan, the "Man of Confidence" (MOC) (a prisoner selected to liaise with the camp authorities) set up a plan of organization based on 25-man groups and 200 man companies with NCOs in charge. On the day of the evacuation, however, POWs were moved out of camp in such a manner that the original plan was of little assistance. German guards ordered POWs to fall out of the barracks. When 1,200 men had assembled on the road, the remaining 500 were allowed to stay in the barracks. A disorganized column of 1,200 marched out into the cold and snow. The guards were considerate, and Red Cross food was available.
After the first day, the column was broken down into three groups of 400 men each, with NCOs in charge of each group. For the next three months, the column was on the move, marching an average of 22 kilometres (13.7 mi) a day 6 days a week. German rations were neither regular nor adequate. At almost every stop McMahan bartered coffee, cigarettes, or chocolate for potatoes which he issued to the men. Bread, the most important item, was not issued regularly. When it was needed most it was never available. The soup was, as a rule, typical, watery German soup, but several times POW got a good, thick dried-pea soup
. Through the activity of some of the key NCOs, Red Cross food was obtained from POW camps passed by the column on the march.
Without it, it is doubtful that the majority of men could have finished the march. The ability of the men to steal helped a lot. The weather was atrocious. It always seemed to be either bitter cold or raining or snowing. Quarters were usually unheated barns and stables. Sometimes they slept unsheltered on the ground; and sometimes they were fortunate enough to find a heated barn. Except for one period when Red Cross food was exhausted and guards became surly, morale of the men remained at a high level. Practically all the men shaved at every opportunity and kept their appearance as neat as possible under the circumstances. From time to time weak POW would drop out of the column and wait to be picked up by other columns which were on the move.
Thus at Dahlen
on March 6–7, the column dwindled to some 900 American POW. On March 19 at Tramm
, 800 men were sent to work on Kommandos, leaving only 133 POW who were joined a week later by the Large Kommando Company from Lauenberg
. On April 13, the column was strafed by four Spitfire
s near Dannenberg
. Ten POW were killed. The rest of the column proceeded to Marlag X-C, Westertimke
, where they met the men they had left behind at Stalag II-B who had left on 18 February, reached Stalag X-B
after an easy three day trip, and then moved on to adjacent Marlag X-C on April 16. Westertimke was liberated by the British on April 28, 1945.
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...
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...
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...
situated 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) west of the village of Hammerstein, Pomerania (now the town of Czarne
Czarne
Czarne is a town in Człuchów County of Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland. Population: 6,053 .-History:The town was founded on the territories that were formerly part of the Kingdom of Poland. They were acquired by the Monastic State of the Teutonic Order in 1308. Konrad von Jungingen...
, Pomeranian Voivodeship
Pomeranian Voivodeship
Pomeranian Voivodeship, or Pomerania Province , is a voivodeship, or province, in north-central Poland. It comprises most of Pomerelia , as well as an area east of the Vistula River...
, Poland
Poland
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...
) on the north side of the railway line.
Camp history
Communist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
. In late September 1939 the camp was changed to a prisoner-of-war camp to house Polish soldiers from the September Campaign, particularly those from the Pomorze Army
Pomorze Army
The Pomeranian Army was one of the Polish armies to take part in the Polish Defensive War of 1939. It was officially created on March 23, 1939. Led by Gen.dyw...
. In December 1940, 1,691 Polish prisoners were recorded as being there. At first they lived in tents, throughout the severe winter of 1939-1940, and construction of all the huts was not completed until 1941. In June 1940 French and Belgian prisoners from the Battle of France began to arrive. To make room for them many of the Poles were forced to give up their status as POWs and become civilian slave laborers.
The construction of the second camp, Lager-Ost ("East Compound") began in June 1941 to accommodate the large numbers of Soviet prisoners taken in 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...
. It was located south of the railway tracks. In November 1941 a typhoid fever
Typhoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as Typhoid, is a common worldwide bacterial disease, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella enterica, serovar Typhi...
epidemic broke out in Lager-Ost. It lasted until March 1942 and an estimated 45,000 prisoners died
Nazi crimes against Soviet POWs
The Nazi crimes against Soviet Prisoners of War relate to the deliberately genocidal policies taken towards the captured soldiers of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany...
and were buried in mass graves. The camp administration did not start any preventive measures until some German soldiers became infected.
In August 1943 the first American prisoners arrived having been taken prisoner in Tunisia
Tunisia Campaign
The Tunisia Campaign was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African Campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces. The Allies consisted of British Imperial Forces, including Polish and Greek contingents, with American and French corps...
. In April 1945 the camp was liberated by the Soviet 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...
.
The prison
In August 1943 the Stalag was reported as newly opened to privates of the US ground forces with a strength of 451. The Hammerstein installation acted as a headquarters for work detachments in the region and seldom housed more than one fifth of the POWs credited to it. Thus at the end of May 1944, although the strength was listed as 4,807, only 1,000 of these were in the enclosure. At its peak in January 1945, the camp strength was put at 7,200 Americans, with some 5,315 of these out on 9 major ArbeitskommandoArbeitslager
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....
("Work Companies").
Description
The camp sprawled over 25 acres (10.1 ha) surrounded by the usual two barbed-wireBarbed wire
Barbed wire, also known as barb wire , is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand. It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property...
fences. Additional fences formed compounds and sub-compounds. Ten thousand Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
ns lived in the East Compound, while the other nationalities — 16,000 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...
, 1,600 Serbs, 900 Belgians — and the Americans were segregated by nationalities in the North Compound. Within the American enclosure were the playing field, workshops and dispensary, showers, and delouser
Louse
Lice is the common name for over 3,000 species of wingless insects of the order Phthiraptera; three of which are classified as human disease agents...
. At times more than 600 men were quartered in each of the three single-story barracks 45 feet (13.7 m) wide and 180 feet (54.9 m) long, made available to the Americans. Although this resulted in extremely crowded conditions, it contrasted well with the Russian barracks which held as many as 1,000 POW apiece. Barracks were divided in two by a center washroom which had 20 taps. Water fit for drinking was available at all hours except during the last two months when it was turned off for part of the day. Bunks were the regulation POW triple-decker types with excelsior mattresses and one German blanket (plus two from the Red Cross) for each man. In the front and rear of each barracks was a urinal to be used only at night. Three stoves furnished what heat there was for the front half of each barrack, and two for the rear half. The fuel ration was always insufficient, and in December 1944 was cut to its all-time low of 12 kilograms (26.5 lb) of coal per stove per day. On warm days the Germans withheld part of the fuel ration.
German personnel
- CommandantCommandantCommandant is a senior title often given to the officer in charge of a large training establishment or academy. This usage is common in anglophone nations...
- OberstleutnantOberstleutnantOberstleutnant is a German Army and Air Force rank equal to Lieutenant Colonel, above Major, and below Oberst.There are two paygrade associated to the rank of Oberstleutnant...
Von Bernuth - CommandantCommandantCommandant is a senior title often given to the officer in charge of a large training establishment or academy. This usage is common in anglophone nations...
- OberstOberstOberst is a military rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Norway. The Swedish rank överste is a direct translation, as are the Finnish rank eversti...
Von Keppler - Executive Officer - Oberstleutnant Segars
- Kommando Officer - HauptmannHauptmannHauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian and Swiss armies. While "haupt" in contemporary German means "main", it also has the dated meaning of "head", i.e...
Springer - Security Officer- Hauptmann Giesel
- Medical Officer- Hauptmann Wagner
- Chief Censor - UnteroffizierUnteroffizierUnteroffizier is both a specific military rank as well as a collective term for non-commissioned officers of the German military that has existed since the 19th century. The rank existed as a title as early as the 17th century with the first widespread usage occurring in the Bavarian Army of the...
Krause - Lager NCO - FeldwebelFeldwebelFeldwebel is a German military rank which has existed since at least the 18th century with usage as a title dating to the Middle Ages. The word Feldwebel is usually translated as sergeant being rated OR-6 in the NATO rank comparison scale, equivalent to the British Army Sergeant and the US Army...
Kohler - Kommando NCO - Unteroffizer Wendorf
Treatment of prisoners
Treatment was worse at Stalag II-B than at any other camp in Germany established for American POW before the Battle of the BulgeBattle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
. Harshness at the base Stalag degenerated into brutality and outright murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
on some of the Kommandos. Beatings of Americans on Kommandos by their German overseers were too numerous to list, but records that 10 Americans in work detachments were shot to death by their captors.
In the fall of 1943, when Hauptmann Springer was seeking men for work details, American NCOs and medical corpsmen stated that according to the Geneva Convention they did not have to work unless they volunteered to do so, and they chose not to volunteer. At this, the German stated that he did not care about the terms of the Geneva Convention, and that he would change the rules to suit himself. Thereupon, he demanded that the POW in question fall into line and give their names and numbers for Kommando duty. When the Americans continued to refuse, Springer ordered a bayonet charge against them. At the German guards' obvious disinclination to carry out the command, Captain Springer pushed one of the guards toward an American, with the result that soon all POW were to line up as ordered.
Typical of the circumstance surrounding the shootings are the events connected with the deaths of PFC Dean Halbert and Pvt. Franklin Reed. On August 28, 1943, these two soldiers had been assigned to a Kommando at Gambin
Gabino
Gąbino is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Ustka, within Słupsk County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately east of Ustka, north of Słupsk, and west of the regional capital Gdańsk....
, in the district of Stolp. While working in the fields, they asked permission to leave their posts for the purpose of relieving themselves. They remained away from their work until the work detachment guard became suspicious and went looking for them. Sometime later he returned them to the place where they had been working and reported the incident to his superior. Both of the Kommando Guards were then instructed to escort the Americans to the Kommando barracks. Shortly after they had departed, several shots were heard by the rest of the Americans on the work detachment. Presently the two guards returned and reported that both Halbert and Reed had been shot to death for attempting escape. The guards then ordered the other American POWs to carry the bodies to the barracks.
On another Kommando, the Germans shot and killed two Americans, stripped them and placed the bodies in the latrine
Latrine
A latrine is a communal facility containing one or more commonly many toilets which may be simple pit toilets or in the case of the United States Armed Forces any toilet including modern flush toilets...
where they lay for two days serving as a warning to other POW. Eight of the killings took place in the latter months of 1943, one in May 1944 and one in December 1944. In almost every case the reason given by the Germans for the shootings was "attempted escape". Witnesses, however, contradict the German reports and state that the shootings were not duty; but clear cases of murder.
Forced labor
Except for housekeeping chores benefiting POW, no work was performed in the Stalag. All men fit to work were set out to Kommandos where conditions approximated the following: A group of 29 Americans were taken under guard to a huge farm 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from Stolp, where 12 French POW were already working without guards. Americans were billeted in a section of a large brick-floored barn. Adjoining sections were occupied by pigs, cows, and grain. POW slept on double-decker bunks under two blankets. The French had a small building of their own. Guards lived in a small room opening onto the Americans' quarters.Each day the men rose at 06:00 and breakfasted on Red Cross food and on potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
soup, bread and hot water (for coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
) which they drew from the farm kitchen. At 06:30 they washed their spoons and enameled bowls and cleaned their "barracks". They shaved and washed themselves in three large wash pans filled from a single spigot which gave only cold water. The outdoor latrine was a 3-seater. At 07:00 they rode out to potato fields in horse-drawn wagons driven by coldly hostile German farmhands who would welcome the opportunity to shoot a "kriege." Under the watchful, armed guards they dug potatoes until 11:30 when they rode back to the farm for the noon meal. This consisted of Red Cross food supplemented by German vegetable soup. Boarding the wagons at 13:00, POW worked until 16:30. The evening meal at 17:00 consisted of Red Cross food and the farmers issue of soup, potatoes and gravy. After this meal they could sit outdoors in the fenced-in pen of 30 feet (9.1 m) by 8 feet (2.4 m) until 18:30. Then the guard locked them in their section for the night.
On Sundays, the guard permitted POW to lounge or to walk back and forth in the "yard" all day, but they spent a good deal of their time scrubbing their "barracks" and washing their clothing. Sunday dinner from the farm usually include a meat pudding and cheese. Once a month each POW received a large Red Cross food box containing four regulation Red Cross parcel
Red Cross parcel
Red Cross parcel usually refers to packages containing mostly food, tobacco and personal hygiene items sent by the International Association of the Red Cross to prisoners of war during the First and Second World Wars, as well as at other times. It can also refer to medical parcels and so-called...
s. These were transmitted to distant Kommandos by rail and to nearby unit by German Army trucks. Parcels were stored in the guard's room until issued. The average tour of duty on a farm Kommando lasted indefinitely. On other work detachments it lasted until the specific project had been completed.
Evacuation and liberation
On January 28, 1945, POWs received instructions to be ready to evacuate the camp at 08:00 hours the following morning. Upon receipt of these instructions, M/Sgt.Master Sergeant
A master sergeant is the military rank for a senior non-commissioned officer in some armed forces.-Israel Defense Forces:Rav samal rishoninsignia IDF...
John M. McMahan, the "Man of Confidence" (MOC) (a prisoner selected to liaise with the camp authorities) set up a plan of organization based on 25-man groups and 200 man companies with NCOs in charge. On the day of the evacuation, however, POWs were moved out of camp in such a manner that the original plan was of little assistance. German guards ordered POWs to fall out of the barracks. When 1,200 men had assembled on the road, the remaining 500 were allowed to stay in the barracks. A disorganized column of 1,200 marched out into the cold and snow. The guards were considerate, and Red Cross food was available.
After the first day, the column was broken down into three groups of 400 men each, with NCOs in charge of each group. For the next three months, the column was on the move, marching an average of 22 kilometres (13.7 mi) a day 6 days a week. German rations were neither regular nor adequate. At almost every stop McMahan bartered coffee, cigarettes, or chocolate for potatoes which he issued to the men. Bread, the most important item, was not issued regularly. When it was needed most it was never available. The soup was, as a rule, typical, watery German soup, but several times POW got a good, thick dried-pea soup
Pea soup
Pea soup or split pea soup is soup made, typically, from dried peas. It is, with variations, a part of the cuisine of many cultures. It is greyish-green or yellow in color depending on the regional variety of peas used; all are cultivars of Pisum sativum.Pea soup has been eaten since antiquity; it...
. Through the activity of some of the key NCOs, Red Cross food was obtained from POW camps passed by the column on the march.
Without it, it is doubtful that the majority of men could have finished the march. The ability of the men to steal helped a lot. The weather was atrocious. It always seemed to be either bitter cold or raining or snowing. Quarters were usually unheated barns and stables. Sometimes they slept unsheltered on the ground; and sometimes they were fortunate enough to find a heated barn. Except for one period when Red Cross food was exhausted and guards became surly, morale of the men remained at a high level. Practically all the men shaved at every opportunity and kept their appearance as neat as possible under the circumstances. From time to time weak POW would drop out of the column and wait to be picked up by other columns which were on the move.
Thus at Dahlen
Dahlen, Saxony-Anhalt
Dahlen is a village and a former municipality in the district of Stendal, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 September 2010, it is part of the town Stendal....
on March 6–7, the column dwindled to some 900 American POW. On March 19 at Tramm
Tramm
Tramm may refer to:*Tramm, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, a municipality in the district of Parchim, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany*Tramm, Schleswig-Holstein, a municipality in the district of Lauenburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany...
, 800 men were sent to work on Kommandos, leaving only 133 POW who were joined a week later by the Large Kommando Company from Lauenberg
Lauenburg/Elbe
Lauenburg/Elbe is a town in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated at the northern bank of the river Elbe, east of Hamburg. It is the southernmost town of Schleswig-Holstein. Lauenburg belongs to the Kreis of Herzogtum Lauenburg and had a population of 11,900 as of 2002...
. On April 13, the column was strafed by four Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
s near Dannenberg
Dannenberg (Elbe)
Dannenberg is a town in the district Lüchow-Dannenberg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated near the river Elbe, approx. 30 km north of Salzwedel, and 50 km south-east of Lüneburg...
. Ten POW were killed. The rest of the column proceeded to Marlag X-C, Westertimke
Westertimke
Westertimke is a municipality in the district of Rotenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany.Westertimke belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, established in 1180...
, where they met the men they had left behind at Stalag II-B who had left on 18 February, reached Stalag X-B
Stalag X-B
Stalag X-B was a World War II German Prisoner-of-war camp located near Sandbostel in north-western Germany. Sandbostel lies 9 km south of Bremervörde, 43 km northeast of Bremen. Placed on swampy ground,with a damp, cold climate, it is one of the most notorious prisoner-of-war camps. Between...
after an easy three day trip, and then moved on to adjacent Marlag X-C on April 16. Westertimke was liberated by the British on April 28, 1945.