Was there ever a battle for control of a concentration camp at war's end? I have never heard of such an incident, but it is possble, as far as I know however, camp personnel simply marched their prisoners to death or just left... thanks...
Dont know about a fight rather than an agressive escape during not right at end of war, but have a look into Sobidor I think it was..Russian prisoners involved I beieve.
I am currently reading a book about American POWs in Germany towards the end of the war. They were forces to march hundreds of miles through the winter and spring - living off the land they traveled through - many people dieing from disease or exhaustion. There were not many deaths due to shootings. British/American POWs had been told not to attempt to escape or seize control of POW camps (via hidden radios etc) and they didnt. The guards either left, or the commandeers of the camp surrendered to the head of the POWs. At one point, this one specific camp found itself in the middle of a tank battle between Russians and Germans but no one was injured. The aftermath saw that the prisoners (mostly american) were still in the camp. The Russians had freed them, but were not sending them to the nearby americans (due to the beginnings of the Cold War). So it took the POWs about a month to get to the US Lines 2 miles away. As far as i know, there was no battle for a Pow Camp. However, there were plans to free the camps - such as landing paratroopers in/around the camp, dropping weapons into the camp via the air - all of which were never put into action.
Cant vouch for the accuracy of the book, only to say a escape did happen. http://www.press.uillinois.edu/s95/rashke.html Mussolini, thats correct, many British pows found themselves on similar marches across Germany at wars end...One famous incident whereby US aircraft straffed a column of British pows killing and injuring many. Some Brirish prisoners in Silelsia coal mines in Poland were brutally beaten and left for dead before Russian forces relieved them near wars end.
Sort of reminds me about the end of WW1, when German troops simply dropped their weapons and walked home. Actually my grandfather told me about a time when he was on his way to the French coast to go home on leave after the war. collumns of troops just dropped their stuff by the side of the road as they walked. Apparently outside Antwerp there were mounds of kit for a few years after the war. Sorry, this is rather OT but interesting I think.
I believe Sobibor took place at the end of 43. After the escape, it was razed to the ground by the Germans.
http://auschwitz.dk/Sorbibor.htm The smallest of the extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany during World War II, Sobibor also was the scene of the war's biggest prisoner escape. On October 14, 1943, about three hundred Jewish inmates rose in revolt killing several SS supervisors and Ukrainian guards. Several inmates were killed during the rebellion or during the escape attempt. All who stayed behind were executed the next day. After the escape the Sobibor deathcamp was torn down. Only 47 who could escape managed to survive the end of the war and give evidence of the existence of Sobibor and the revolt. The killing installations were destroyed and the area planted over with trees ...
My memory may be failing me,but I am sure I remember watching a documentary rather than a Hollywood 'story' concerning not a battle but a skirmish between camp guards and American soldiers entering a concentration camp,which I believe was Dachau but i will certainly stand corrected,in which shots were exchanged.I believe the documentary concerned men who were Greek jews who were forced to work in the camp and is just about the only programme I have seen on TV which made me cry,I am not ashamed to admit. I am sure the officer commanding spat in the face of a US army doctor and was promptly executed on the spot. Can anyone else confirm this,I am sure this actually happened and I am not embellishing on matters. Regards
I never heard of a revolt in a concentration camp. I think the people over there knew that wouldn't have a single change if they tried to escape. But I remember seeing a documentary about Allied (American, English) pilots being held in Luft.... 3. Around 50 people escaped and only 3 arrived in neutral countries. Does anyone have some more information about this one.
Hi Just wanted to clarify what might not be clear in my post was that the shots were exchanged between the camp guards and US army,I don't think any inmates were involved (not that they would have been in any fit state to.......) regards
Erwin, You are referring the what is called The Great Escape. Dozens of Allied POW's escaped from Stalag Luft 3. 50 were captured and killed by the Gestapo. 3 made it to England. One of them was Dutchman Bob van der Stok, who was a spitfire pilot in the RAF and was shot down over France. The two others who made it to England were two Norwegians. Van der Stok continued flying Spits and moved to the States after the war. he wrote a book about his experiences Oorlogsvlieger van Oranje. There are quite a few books written on this, most famously Paul Bricknall (sp?) The Great Escape. I also have A Gallant Company by Jonathan Vance.
When i get home today, i will check the book (give you a name of the book, author, etc) that i have read about POWs in German-occupied Europe. For those who dont know, the Germans kept each camp for seperate groups of people - aka camps for captured pilots/airforce, camps for captured sailors, and camps for captured infantry. each camp was guarded by the corresponding german equivalent (aka the Luftwaffe guarded the pilots/airforce POWs) etc. Well, i thought that was interesting at least.
