The following section on work camps provides a list of those arbeitskommandos which it has been possible to identify from Protecting Power reports and the information provided by individual POWs. It focusses on camps holding British and American prisoners, though some will also have held prisoners from other Allied nations.
It needs to be treated with care. The information from POWs is not always accurate, since the number of their kommando was not very significant to them and they could be moved around quite frequently, causing more confusion. Also, it is not a complete list; there were several hundred work camps controlled by Stalag IVA. Nor is it a list of camps open at a particular time. Camps opened and closed as the needs of employers changed and a camp might deploy its prisoners on one task, only for that to be overtaken by another priority. In February 1945 many camps in Dresden were redeployed to deal with the destruction caused by the fire bombing of the city that month. And the number could be assigned to a kommando, which then moved to a different task/location, or to a camp, where the kommando's activity was undertaken. Hence, some kommandos in the list have more than one activity.
It would be particularly helpful to have suggestions as to camps not listed here, whether British or American or not, and to have corrections to any errors.
Updated: February 2016
My father (Dutch POW) sayed in STALAG IVa. I have found serveral photographs with his name and military number on it. Also having a red stamp on it from the German Censor. "geprüft 13 STALAG IVa"
ReplyDeleteThanks for this information. Do you know where he was exactly? Was he in the main camp or a work camp? Was he an officer or one of the other ranks? If you can send me any photographs, please use my private email address, which is petergregory999@gmail.com
DeleteAny help you can give me would be very useful. Incidentally, do you know if there were any work camps housing only Dutch PoWs?
Thanks again.
Peter Gregory
Hi
ReplyDeleteMy uncle worked in the brick works in Radeburg town. Is the brick works still there?
My father in law’sinformation says he was in Stalag 4a Hohnstein Airfield, at Dresden-Klotsche No Base Camps 13 work camps Saxony 51-14. What does this mean? Am visiting Hohnstein Castle today and wondered he was housed inside of castle or not?
ReplyDeleteOn the information you provide I think that he was not in the main Stalag, housed at the castle at Hohnstein. He is most likely to have been in a work camp. There was no airfield at the castle, to my knowledge. Sorry not to get back to you sooner, but your email was delayed. Please reply to this one at my personal address: petergregory999@gmail.com I would be very interested in your father in law's experience. Which army/air force was he? Do you have any papers/photographs from his time in the military?
DeleteThanks for getting in touch.
Peter Gregory