Stalag Luft I

An Official Account of the PoW Camp for Air Force Personnel, 1940–1945

Air Ministry Personnel

• Publisher: Frontline Books
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781526708816
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: World War II
• Index: History

Located by the Baltic near the town of Barth in Western Pomerania, Germany, Stalag Luft I was one of a number of Stammlager Luftwaffe, these being permanent camps established and administered by the Luftwaffe, which were used to house Allied air force prisoners of war.Originally built for RAF personnel, by the time the camp was liberated by the Russians in May 1945, the camp contained approximately 7, 500 American and 1, 300 British and Commonwealth prisoners. The camp had expanded from the original single RAF compound, to a total of three. On 30 April 1945, the prisoners were ordered to evacuate the camp in the face of the advancing Soviet Red Army but refused. After discussions between the senior American and British officers and the Kommandant, it was agreed that to avoid unnecessary bloodshed the guards would depart, leaving the prisoners behind. The next day, the first Soviet troops arrived.This Official History of Stalag Luft I was prepared for the War Office just after the war, but was never released to the general public. It explores all aspects of the camp, from its administration, to the supply of the food and conditions the prisoners endured. Inevitably the author also investigates the subject of escapes, as well as the reprisals that followed.This account provides the reader with an accurate and unprecedented insight into the story of one of the longest-running German PoW camps of the Second World War.

Part I

OFFICERS’ COMPOUND

July 1940 to April 1942

Chapter 1

Description of Camp

1. LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION OF CAMP

Stalag Luft I (Barth) was situated one-and-a-quarter miles north-west of the town of Barth and sixteen miles west-north-west of Stralsund, on the western side of a small flat peninsula projecting northward into the large inlet between the Der Darss peninsula and the mainland.

The Camp, which was constructed specially for the accommodation of Air Force personnel, was built on sand. The water level was about 5 feet below the surface.

An aerial photograph of the whole camp, taken in April 1944, is at [Plate 1]. The Compound which is dealt with in the succeeding Chapters of this Part is marked ‘26’, but during the period under review it contained only two barracks at first. In September, 1940, a third barrack was built. The fourth building which appears on the photograph on the west side of the Compound, was built after April, 1942.

2. CAMP CONDITIONS

(a) Number of P’s/W and accommodation.

The Camp was opened in July, 1940, when a party of twenty-one officers arrived from Dulag Luft (Oberursel). During the next few weeks other parties of officers, including about 40 French Air Force personnel, were transferred from other Camps, i.e. Oflag 1X A/H (Spangenburg) etc. in September, the French Officers were moved to another Camp. From this time until December, 1941, additional parties arrived from Dulag Luft, the total strength then being about two hundred and thirty officers of the R.A.F., R.A.A.F., R.C.A.F., R.N.Z.A.F., S.A.A.F. and Naval Air Arm.

These officers were accommodated in three wooden barracks, each divided into twenty-eight small rooms. Three of these were used as kitchens, lavatory and wash-room. One of the barracks had an extension built on to it which was used as a dining-hall.

In early February, 1941, a party of 50 Officers was transferred to Stalag XX A (Thorn). About July, 1941, a further party of 50 officers was transferred to Oflag X C (Lubeck).

In April, 1942, the Camp was evacuated to Stalag Luft III (Sagan) where the officers were accommodated in the East Compound.

(b) German Administration.

The Camp was administered by German Air Force personnel, numbering about 200 officers and men. Very few of these had any previous experience of dealing with British P’s/W.

The majority of the German Administration Staff remained throughout the period under review, but the Kommandant was changed several times. The guard personnel were changed at irregular intervals.

(c) P/W Administration.

The first Senior Officer in the Camp was Lt. (A) Wood R.N. He was responsible for liaison with the Germans. He appointed a small number of officers to assist him in the administration of the Compound. These were in charge of rations, canteen etc.

About three weeks later the position of Senior British Officer was taken over by 28097 S/Ldr. B. Paddon R.A.F., who remained in office with a staff of three officers until his transfer from the Camp on 1st February, 1941. Prior to his departure he handed over his duties to 26165 S/Ldr. G.D. Stephenson R.A.F., who held the position until June, 1941.

At that time a party arrived from Dulag Luft which included 5175 W/Cdr. H.M.A. Day R.A.F., who took over the position of Senior British Officer. He appointed 33120 S/Ldr. A.R.D. Macdonnell R.A.F. as Camp Adjutant. This administration continued until the evacuation of the Camp. Orders were transmitted to the P’s/W through the senior officer of each room.

The Senior British Officer was able to make contact with the Camp Kommandant at all times to register protests, make requests, etc.

During the period under review the Germans permitted the P’s/W to conduct their own affairs and merely conducted searches, counted the number of P’s/W etc.

(d) Roll Calls.

There were two roll-calls daily. These were held indoors or outdoors according to the weather. At first, the P’s/W were counted and the Germans were satisfied if the total was correct. About November, 1940, following several escapes, the Germans called the name of each officer during roll-calls. This continued until April, 1942.

(e) Food.

During the first few months a small number of individually addressed Red Cross parcels arrived in the Camp. About October, 1940, consignments of Red Cross parcels began to arrive, addressed to the Senior British Officer. These were issued to officers in rotation, starting with those who had been P’s/W for the longest period. This system was adopted because not enough parcels were received at a time to issue one to each officer. There was a gradual increase in the number of parcels arriving in the Camp and from June 1941, onwards there was a weekly issue of one parcel to each P/W.

During the period when insufficient Red Cross parcels were arriving the German rations were inadequate and most of the P’s/W were hungry. It is estimated that the ration was about 1,500 calories daily. After the arrival of the parcels the German rations were reduced.

Limited quantities of fresh vegetables could be purchased through the Canteen during the whole of the period under review. The permissible amount diminished towards the end.

The issue of Red Cross food parcels was controlled by an Air Force officer working under the supervision of several Germans.

No food was reserved for escape purposes until about the middle of 1941. From that time onwards a quantity of German bread, sausage and margarine was available. This was controlled by the Escape Committee.

(f) Clothing.

The Germans issued a limited amount of captured uniform, underwear, etc. in necessitous cases. All officers were dependent upon the arrival of their next-of-kin clothing parcels, which began to arrive about six months after capture, though in some cases the period was much longer. Small quantities of blankets, quilts, etc. began to arrive from the International Red Cross Society during the Summer of 1941.

Clothing in connection with escape activities is dealt with [elsewhere in this book].

(g) Searches.

All P’s/W arriving at the Camp were subjected to a thorough search in a building in the Vorlager before they were permitted to enter the Compound.

During the first six months, searches of the barracks were carried out at irregular and unpredictable intervals by interpreters working under the direction of the German Abwehr (Security) Officer. The searchers appeared to be inexperienced, and comparatively little escape material was discovered by them.

After the discovery of the first tunnel in early January, 1941, a very intensive search was made of the barrack under which the tunnel had started. This lasted for about a week and during that time the occupants were accommodated elsewhere in the Camp. Wallpaper was removed from walls, mattresses were emptied, all P’s/W possessions were examined closely and thrown in a heap on the floor.

From then on sporadic surprise searches were carried out in all barracks by a squad of trained Abwehr personnel.

During the months of April and May, 1941 all the P’s/W were transferred to the N.C.O’s Compound and accommodated in a spare room in the Cookhouse. They were kept there under guard from morning until evening and during that time intensive searches of their barracks were carried out. This occurred about once weekly. In May, 1941, twenty-eight searches of this kind were conducted on successive days. Very little escape material was found by the Germans, mainly because the P’s/W had virtually nothing of this kind. As the P’s/W were transferred from their own Compound to the N.C.O’s Compound they were subjected to a personal search, but after a time these diminished in thoroughness, then ceased.

From June, 1941 until April, 1942, spasmodic searches of individual rooms in barracks took place. On a few occasions the officers were transferred to the N.C.O’s Compound and a whole day search carried out.

(h) German anti-escape measures.

During the first few months, the German anti-escape measures were very simple. They were as follows: A double barbed-wire fence about eight feet in height with a space of six feet between the fences. This space was filled with a concertina wire to a height of about three feet. There were three sentry towers fitted with searchlights and machine-guns. These were situated at the North-east, South-east and South-west corners of the Compound. Sentries patrolled outside the fence throughout the 24 hours. Arc lights were situated about twenty yards apart along the Compound fence.

A warning wire was situated about three feet inside the main fence and it was a German order that any P/S touching it would be fired upon. This threat was not put into effect. There was no system of passes authorising German personnel to enter or leave the compound, but they were supposed to book-in and book-out at the main guardroom situated in the Vorlager. There was a dog patrol in the compound at night. All vehicles leaving the camp were searched at the gate.

Following an escape over the fence in February, 1941, the Germans concluded that it had been effected during an air-raid warning when all the camp lights had been switched off. Soon afterwards each sentry tower was fitted with a car head-lamp operated by a battery.

About this time the Abwehr Officer was given an establishment of two Luftwaffe personnel. They spent part of their time walking around the compound by day and by night o...