Macikai POW and GULAG Camps
| Stalag Luft VI | |
|---|---|
| Heydekrug, East Prussia | |
  Stalag Luft VI | |
| Coordinates | 55°21′23″N 21°31′22″E / 55.356389°N 21.522778°E |
| Type | Prisoner-of-war camp |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by |  Nazi Germany |
| Site history | |
| In use | 1939–1944 |
Stalag Luft VI was a German prisoner-of-war camp during World War II located near the town of Heydekrug, Memelland (now Šilutė in Lithuania). It was the northernmost POW camp within the confines of the German Reich.[1]
Camp history
The camp was built in 1939 and designated Stalag I-C. At first it held Polish POWs, then from 1940 also French and Belgians, and from 1941 Russians. In June 1943 it was renamed Stalag Luft VI and used to hold British and Canadian Air Force NCOs, and from February 1944, also Americans.[2]
By July 1944 it housed 9,000 Allied airmen.[1] When the Russian front approached, orders were given to move the prisoners to other camps further west. Most of the men were moved by train to Stalag XX-A in West Prussia, but some 900 were taken to the port of Memel, where they were put aboard the merchant ship Insterburg for a 60-hour journey to Swinemünde. After another train journey the men were force marched from Kiefheide, with many men being bayoneted or shot before they reached Stalag Luft IV in Gross Tychow. This march was one of the "Long Marches".[3]
After the camp came under Russian control it was renamed Gulag 3, and used to house German POWs and Lithuanian partisans and dissidents, remaining in use until 1948. Until 1952 it served as a civilian prison, before being demolished. In 1995 a museum was opened on the former camp grounds.[2]
Notable prisoners
- William Ash (writer), MBE, American-born British writer, Marxist, and serial escaper.
- Peter Thomas, Baron Thomas of Gwydir, a Welsh Conservative politician.
- James 'Dixie' Deans, RAF sergeant and World War II bomber pilot, guided 2,000 allied POWs across Germany in what was known as the "Long March".
- George Grimson, RAF sergeant, serial escaper and escape line organiser.
- Ernest Booth, Flight Engineer, AR-R of 460 Squadron, Binbrook
References
- ^ a b Cotton, Basil (2011). "POW Life". WW2 People's War. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
- ^ a b "Stalag Luft 6 Heydekrug". gps-practice-and-fun.com. 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
- ^ Nichol, John; Rennell, Tony (September 2003). The Last Escape : The Untold Story of Allied Prisoners of War in Germany 1944-1945. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-100388-7. Archived from the original on 2014-02-20.
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External links
- Report on American prisoners of war in Germany : Stalag Luft 6 by Military Intelligence Service, 15 July 1944