Introduction
Introduction |
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The purpose of this web-site is to collect together information about Stalag XVIIIA, a POW camp located at Wolfsberg, Austria from 1941 until 1945. By information, I mean anything which relates to the camp itself, the Work Camps (Arbeitskommandos) attached to it, and especially the men who were held there. If you browse through a few pages, you can see the sort of information that people have added so far. If you are an 'ex-Kriegie', or you know one and you have a story to tell, then please E-mail me.
A major part of this site is the Roll Call to which I am attempting to add the name of every POW who passed through Stalag 18A.
In addition to Stalag 18A, I'm interested in learning more about Stalags 18B, 18C and 18D.
My own interest in Stalag 18A stems from my late father, Sgt George Brown of
the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, who was a POW there.
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Latest News |
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7 May 2007 This website has now been running for over 6 years. My thanks to everybody who has contributed to it during that time. 28 May 2007 There's a new entry for Doug Nix, one-time Gunner, 2/1 Fld. Rg., A.I.F. You can find in from the I was there page. Doug's name appears on the Crown & Anchor mat.
There is new information on the following Work Camps: 29 June 2007
There is new material for the following Work Camps: 7 August 2007 Janet Durbin, the niece of Dvr Donald Munns, RASC, has sent me an album from which I have copied over 200 photos. They include a lot of photos taken at Work Camp 10029/GW at Weidmannsdorf. There are further pictures of the damage done by the bombing raid, a set showing a May Day celebration and a fascinating set showing the arrival of Allied troops in Klagenfurt in April or May of 1945. There is also a set depicting just about everybody in Work Camp 10620/GW at Brodnig. 29 October 2007 I've not added much to the site in the last couple of months because I've been occupied with two long-term projects. The first is to finally add all the POW names that I have collected to the Roll Call. This project, which I started back in 2003, is almost finished, but there is still a bit to do. The second project is to catalogue all of the photographs which I have collected. I've got about 2000 images now and still receive more every week. Without some sort of index system it has become impossible to identify each photo. Anyway, this is my excuse for not having done much work during the summer. 24 November 2007 There is new information on the following Work Camps:
59/GW, Trofaiach 29 December 2007 Merry Christmas to everybody! No new information for the last month, I'm afraid, as I'm still working on the final stages of the Roll Call. |
The Crown and Anchor MatFor the last few months, I've been working with Chris Goddard, Assistant Curator, Military Heraldry & Technology at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. The work has involved the names of over 300 Stalag 18A POWs written on a hand-drawn mat used to play the game of Crown and Anchor. Click here for details. |
POWs requiring Medical treatmentTamara Haygood of the University of Texas is conducting some historical research into the medical care of Allied POWs during captivity. Dr Haygood would like to hear from any ex-POW who can recall any details of such care. Her email address is tamarahaygood@yahoo.com. One particular story that Dr Haygood would like to follow up is contained in Eric Fearnside's book, 'The Joy of Freedom'. It concerns a POW named Johnson who pretended to be deaf in the hope that he would be repatriated, only to be caught out at the last moment. If anyone has any more details on this story, Dr Haygood would like to hear from you. |
If you are searching for a particular person or place then type a keyword in the box below.
- a brief description of the Allied campaign in Greece in April, 1941,
including some personal accounts.
- the POW camp in Wolfsberg, Austria, where the majority of servicemen captured
in Greece and Crete were kept. This section includes maps of the camp, its
history, many photographs and accounts of life in the camp.
The following sections can be accessed from here:
1. Camp Layout - a detailed plan of the camp
as it looked in 1945, some photographs showing some of the layout and
photographs of the present day site.
2. Camp History - an account of the
chronological events in the camp, based on an account provided by Dr Barbara
Stelzl-Marx of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Research on War Consequences
in Graz (Address: Schoergelgasse 43, 8010 Graz, Austria)
3. Camp Life - some photographs showing
life within Stalag 18A itself plus some anecdotes from Ken O'Kennedy, an ex-POW.
4. The Guards - some pictures of a few of the
German guards.
5. The Russians - photographs and some details
of the Russian POWs.
6. The French - a fast expanding section
devoted to the French POWs. EN FRANCAIS
7. Letters Home - some extracts from letters
written by POWs.
8. The Theatre - devoted mainly to the Theatre
in Stalag 18A itself.
9. The Air Raid - details and pictures of the
bombing of the camp on 18 December 1944 by the USAF.
10. Death in 18A - names and graves of those POWs who
died whilst in captivity.
11. Escapes - some accounts of escape attempts.
- An ever-growing list of those men who I know passed through Stalag 18A.
- The start-point for the Picture Galleries.
- A list of many of the Work Camps (Arbeitskommandos) associated with
Stalag 18A and their locations. This section includes Red Cross Reports on some
of the camps, lists of those POWs known to be held in a particular Work Camp,
and photographs which were taken in these camps..
- in the final days of the war, getting safely home was not an easy task. This
section includes details of the march from Wolfsberg to Markt Pongau in May
1945, also some details of Stalag 18C at Markt Pongau, and the flights back to
the UK.
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personal accounts of life in Stalag 18A and the Work Camps.
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a collection of photographs of souvenirs of the Stalag 18A experience.
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a list of relatives and friends who would like more information on an ex-POW.
- links to related sites.
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