Stalag Luft I
Encyclopedia
Stalag Luft I was a German 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...

 near Barth, Western Pomerania, 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...

, for captured Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...

 airmen. The presence of the prison camp is said to have shielded the town of Barth from Allied bombing. Approximately 9,000 airmen (7,588 American and 1,351 British) were imprisoned there when it was liberated on the night of 30 April 1945 by Russian troops.

Camp history

The camp was opened in late 1941 to hold British officers, but was closed in April 1942 when they were transferred to other camps. It was reopened in October 1942 when 200 RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 NCOs from Stalag Luft III
Stalag Luft III
Stalag Luft III was a Luftwaffe-run prisoner-of-war camp during World War II that housed captured air force servicemen. It was in the German Province of Lower Silesia near the town of Sagan , southeast of Berlin...

 were moved there. From 1943 American POWs were sent to the camp.

Evacuation

On 30 April 1945 the prisoners were ordered to evacuate the camp in the face of the advancing 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...

, but refused. After negotiations between the Senior American Officer and the Kommandant, it was agreed that to avoid useless bloodshed the guards would go leaving the POWs behind. The next day, the first Russian troops arrived. Between 13-15 May the camp was evacuated by air in "Operation Revival". The British POWs were returned directly to England, while the Americans were sent to "Camp Lucky Strike" north-east of Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...

, France, before being shipped back to the United States.

Notable prisoners

  • Bernard Barker
    Bernard Barker
    Bernard Leon Barker , known as "Macho" or by his mother's maiden name, "Terry", was a Watergate burglar, and burglar of Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office....

    , United States Air Force
    United States Air Force
    The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

     (USAAF) bombardier
    Bombardier (air force)
    A bombardier , in the United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force, or a bomb aimer, in the Royal Air Force and other Commonwealth air forces, was the crewman of a bomber responsible for assisting the navigator in guiding the plane to a bombing target and releasing the aircraft's bomb...

     later famous as a Watergate burglar.
  • Jimmy Buckley
    Jimmy Buckley
    Lieutenant Commander James 'Jimmy' Brian Buckley DSC was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm pilot who became a notable prisoner of war during the Second World War, and died during an escape attempt on 21 May 1943.-Fleet Air Arm:...

    , British Fleet Air Arm
    Fleet Air Arm
    The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...

     pilot and escape organiser (known as "Big X" — note that a character in the film The Great Escape
    The Great Escape (film)
    The Great Escape is a 1963 American film about an escape by Allied prisoners of war from a German POW camp during World War II, starring Steve McQueen, James Garner, and Richard Attenborough...

    is also so named, but has a different fate).
  • Harry Day, British Royal Air Force
    Royal Air Force
    The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

     Wing Commander and Senior British Officer at this and numerous other camps, survivor of the "Great Escape".
  • James 'Dixie' Deans
    James 'Dixie' Deans
    James 'Dixie' Deans was a RAF Sergeant and World War II bomber pilot shot down in 1940 who became a renowned prisoner of war Camp Leader....

    , RAF sergeant and World War II bomber pilot, guided 2,000 Allied POWs across Germany in what was known as the "Long March".
  • John Fancy
    John Fancy
    John Fancy was a British former airman whose tunnelling escapes from various German prisoner of war camps during World War II earned him the nickname The Mole, and inspired the book and film The Great Escape....

    , British Royal Air Force
    Royal Air Force
    The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

     air observer/navigator whose tunnelling escapes from various German prisoner of war camps during the war earned him the nickname "The Mole", and inspired the book and film The Great Escape.
  • Bill Fowler
    Hedley Fowler
    Hedley Nevile 'Bill' Fowler MC was a Royal Air Force pilot who became a prisoner of war and successfully escaped from Oflag IV-C at Colditz during the Second World War.-Early life:Fowler was born in London on 8 June 1916...

    , RAF pilot who later escaped from Oflag IV-C
    Oflag IV-C
    Oflag IV-C, often referred to as Colditz Castle because of its location, was one of the most famous German Army prisoner-of-war camps for officers in World War II; Oflag is a shortening of Offizierslager, meaning "officers camp"...

     (Colditz Castle
    Colditz Castle
    Colditz Castle is a Renaissance castle in the town of Colditz near Leipzig, Dresden, and Chemnitz in the state of Saxony in Germany. Used as a workhouse for the indigent and a mental institution for over 100 years, it gained international fame as a prisoner-of-war camp during World War II for...

    ).
  • Gabby Gabreski
    Gabby Gabreski
    Francis Stanley "Gabby" Gabreski was the top American fighter ace in Europe during World War II, a jet fighter ace in Korea, and a career officer in the United States Air Force with more than 26 years service.Although best known for his credited destruction of 34½ aircraft in aerial combat and...

    , top American fighter ace
    Flying ace
    A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...

     in Europe during World War II, a jet fighter
    Fighter aircraft
    A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...

     ace in Korea
    Korean War
    The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

    , and a career officer in the USAAF with more than 26 years service.
  • Jimmy James
    Bertram James
    Squadron Leader Bertram Arthur "Jimmy" James, MC, RAF was a British survivor of The Great Escape.-Early life:James was born in India, the son of a tea-planter, and was educated at The King's School, Canterbury...

    , RAF pilot and survivor of the "Great Escape".
  • Brian Paddon
    Brian Paddon
    Group Captain Brian Paddon DSO , was a Royal Air Force pilot who became a Prisoner of War and successfully escaped from Colditz Castle during the Second World War-Early life:...

    , RAF pilot who later escaped from Oflag IV-C (Colditz Castle).
  • Joseph E. Smith, RAF pilot, survivor of several escape attempts and later a director of NHS Scotland
    NHS Scotland
    NHS Scotland is the publicly funded healthcare system of Scotland. Although they are separate bodies the organisational separation between NHS Scotland and the other three healthcare organisations each commonly called the National Health Service in the United Kingdom tends to be hidden from its...

    .
  • John C. Morgan
    John C. Morgan
    John Cary "Red" Morgan was a United States Army Air Forces pilot in World War II who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during a 1943 bombing run over Germany, which also inspired a character of the novel and film Twelve O'Clock High.-Background:Born August 24, 1914, at Vernon, Texas, and...

    , ex-RAF bomber pilot and USAAF B-17 pilot, the only Medal of Honor
    Medal of Honor
    The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...

     winner to become a POW in World War II.
  • Hubert Zemke
    Hubert Zemke
    Colonel Hubert A. "Hub" Zemke was a career officer in the United States Air Force, a fighter pilot in World War II, and a leading USAAF ace...

    , career officer in the USAAF, fighter pilot in World War II, and a leading USAAF ace.

External links

  • American prisoners of war in Germany : Stalag Luft I, Military Intelligence Service
    Military Intelligence Service (United States)
    The Military Intelligence Service was a World War II U.S. military unit consisting of two branches, the Japanese American Unit described here and the German-Austrian Unit based at Camp Ritchie, described partly in Ritchie Boys. The unit described here was primarily composed of Japanese-American...

    , 1 November 1945


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