Stalag IX-C was a World War II German POW camp located near Bad Sulza, between Erfurt and Leipzig, in Thuringia. It was the base camp servicing a number of sub-camps and Arbeitskommandos spread over a wide area, particularly those holding prisoners working in the salt mines. A fairly large hospital, called 'Reserve-Lazaret Obermassfeld', was operated by British, Canadian and New Zealand medical staff. It was located in the town of Obermassfeld, south-west of Erfurt, in a 3-story stone building that was previously a Hitlerjugend camp. Its staff was considerably augmented in October 1944 with the arrival of an entire ambulance team of the 101st Airborne Division, from Arnhem.
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Timeline
- The camp was created February 1940 for Polish soldiers from the German September 1939 offensive.
- June 1940 many Belgian and French taken prisoner during the Battle of France arrived.
- In 1943 British Commonwealth soldiers came from the battles in Italy and North Africa.
- September and October 1944 British and Canadian airborne troops, taken prisoner during the Operation Market Garden at Arnhem, arrived.
- Finally in late December 1944 Americans arrived that were captured in the Battle of the Bulge.
Evacuation and Repatriation
On March 29 1945 the camp was evacuated and forced to march westward in advance of the Soviet offensive. For some the march lasted four weeks before being freed by U.S. Army units. Those left in the camp were freed 11 April by the 6th Armored Division of the U.S. Army. Other sub-camps were liberated at different times in early April.
Escapes
- In March 1942, two British soldiers, Macfarlane and Goldie, escaped wearing their blue work detail overalls over their battledress. They wore rucksacks to cover the markings KG (Kriegsgefangener, prisoner of war) on their backs. They secreted themselves in a railcar carrying salt to Belgium. There they managed to contact an escape line and, by mid-summer, they were safely back in Scotland.
Notable inmates
- Major John Sherman - carried out skin grafts using a razor blade[1].
Sources
- stories of great escapes
- memoir of British airborne medic
- Reserve-Lazarett IX-C(a) - from 303rd Bomb Group, 8th AF, Association.
References
External links
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