Stalag XIIIC
Hammelburg
Hammelburg
Below: Liberation.
An American tank that had just broken through the fence surrounding Oflag XIIIB.
The other ranks were in Stalag XIIIC which was in the same camp.
An American tank that had just broken through the fence surrounding Oflag XIIIB.
The other ranks were in Stalag XIIIC which was in the same camp.
Information
Stalag XIII-C was a German Army World War II prisoner-of-war camp built on what had been the training camp at Hammelburg, Lower Franconia, Bavaria,
Hammelburg was a large German Army training camp, set up in 1893. Part of this camp had been used as a POW camp for Allied army personnel in the First World War. After 1935 it was a training camp and military training area for the newly reconstituted German Army.
In May 1940 the camp was established in wooden huts at the south end of the training ground. The first prisoners included Belgian, Dutch and French soldiers taken during the Battle of France. In May–June 1941 Yugoslavian, predominantly Serbian prisoners arrived from the Balkans Campaign, and soon after in June–July 1941 Australian and other Commonwealth soldiers arrived, captured during the Battle of Crete.
In April 1943 Oflag XIII-B was opened nearby, with officers transferred from Oflag XIII-A at Nuremberg.
As was usual for Stalags, many of the prisoners were located in Arbeitslager ("Work camps") on farms or adjacent to factories or other industrial operations. The Stalag served as the base for distribution of International Red Cross packages and mail. A Lazarett (hospital) cared for prisoners that were sick or had been injured in industrial accidents or air-raids. A number of enlisted men and NCOs were housed in the adjacent Oflag to provide necessary services.
American soldiers who had been captured during the Battle of Normandy arrived in June–July 1944, and more from the Battle of the Bulge in January 1945. In March 1945 a large group of prisoners arrived in deplorable condition after marching the 500 miles from Stalag VIIID in severe winter conditions. The camp was liberated by Combat Command B of the U.S. 14th Armored Division on 6 April 1945.
Links
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalag_XIII-C
http://www.prisonniersdeguerre.com/contact/
https://www.filae.com/v4/forums/recherches-genealogiques-mains-tendues-stalag-xiii-c-t1139165.html
https://www.bibliotheca-andana.be/?page_id=255300
https://www.geneanet.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=390430
https://www.routeyou.com/fr-de/location/toppoi/47893032/les-lieux-d-interet-pres-de-stalag-xiii-c
Names
Please email names and details of POWs to stalag@lamsdorf.com
Photos and documents are welcome.
David Ferguson
