Oflag VIII-E Johannisbrunn

Oflag VIII-E
Jánské Koupele, German-occupied Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic)
Senior Dutch officers in 1941 during their captivity in Oflag VIII-E
Oflag VIII-E
Coordinates	49.83524°N 17.70425°E / 49.83524; 17.70425
Type	Prisoner-of-war camp
Site information
Controlled by	Nazi Germany
Site history
In use	1940–1942
Battles/wars	World War II
Garrison information
Occupants	Predominantly Polish and French general officers, plus other Allied general officers

Oflag VIII-E was a World War II German prisoner-of-war camp for Allied general officers (Offizierlager) located in Jánské Koupele (then Johannisbrunn) in German-occupied Czechoslovakia (now located in the Moravian–Silesian Region, Czech Republic).

Camp history

The camp, a former spa hotel, was opened in July 1940[1] and housed approximately 70 Allied generals and their aides. Among those officers imprisoned were 30 from Poland, 24 from France, 7 from the Netherlands, 6 from Belgium, 1 from the United Kingdom, and a Colonel from Norway. On April 27, 1942, all the Poles were transferred to other camps, mostly to Oflag VII-A Murnau.[2] Soon after all the other prisoners were also transferred, and the camp was closed on 1 July 1942.[1][2]

Commandants

• Oberst Hencker (29 October 1940 – 30 June 1941)
• Generalmajor Johann Janusz (1 July 1941 – 19 May 1942)[3]

Notable prisoners

A number of high-ranking officers were held in the camp, including:

Polish[4]

Generał dywizji

• Władysław Bortnowski
• Tadeusz Kutrzeba
• Juliusz Rómmel

Generał brygady

• Roman Abraham
• Franciszek Alter
• Władysław Boncza-Uzdowski
• Leopold Cehak
• Jan Chmurowicz
• Walerian Czuma
• Franciszek Dindorf-Ankowicz
• Juliusz Drapella
• Janusz Gąsiorowski
• Edmund Knoll-Kownacki
• Wincenty Kowalski
• Józef Kwaciszewski
• Stanislaw Malachowski
• Czesław Młot-Fijałkowski
• Zygmunt Piasecki
• Wacław Piekarski
• Zygmunt Podhorski
• Zdzislaw Przyjalkowski
• Jan Jagmin-Sadowski
• Stanisław Taczak[5]
• Wiktor Thommée
• Juliusz Zulauf

Kontradmirał

• Józef Unrug

British

• Brigadier Nigel FitzRoy Somerset (145th Infantry Brigade)[2][6]

Dutch

• General Henri Gerard Winkelman, Commander-in-Chief Dutch Forces 1940[7]

See also

• List of prisoner-of-war camps in Germany

References

1. "Winter 2004 Newsletter". The National Ex-Prisoner of War Association. 2011. Archived from the original on 14 February 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
2. Krukowicz-Przedrzymirski, Emil. Report on POW camps. London: Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
3. Miller, Michael D.; Collins, Gareth (2005). "Generalmajor Johann Janusz". Axis Biographical Research. Archived from the original on 29 October 2009. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
4. Zahnaš, Petr (2012). "History of Jánské Koupele in World War II". pzahnas.webnode.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 20 April 2012.
5. Baltiysk, Wladyslaw (2012). "General Stanislaw Taczak". zosprp.poznan.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 20 April 2012.
6. "Biography of Brigadier Nigel FitzRoy Somerset (1893–1990)". generals.dk. 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
7. Teo van Middelkoop, Generaal H.G. Winkelman, Standvastig strijder, Zaltbommel, 2002

External links

• Media related to Oflag VIII-E Johannisbrunn at Wikimedia Commons