Oflag VIII-E Johannisbrunn explained

Oflag VIII-E
Location:	Jánské Koupele, German-occupied Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic)
Map Type:	Czech Republic
Coordinates:	49.8352°N 17.7043°W
Map Alt:	Jánské Koupele, Czech Republic
Type:	Prisoner-of-war camp
Used:	1940–1942
Occupants:	Predominantly Polish and French general officers, plus other Allied general officers
Battles:	World War II

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

Notes and References

1. Web site: Winter 2004 Newsletter . The National Ex-Prisoner of War Association . 2011 . 20 April 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120214095753/http://www.prisonerofwar.org.uk/winter_2004.htm . 14 February 2012 .
2. Book: Krukowicz-Przedrzymirski . Emil . Emil Krukowicz-Przedrzymirski . Report on POW camps . 20 April 2012 . . London .
3. Web site: Generalmajor Johann Janusz . Michael D. . Miller . Gareth . Collins . Axis Biographical Research . 2005 . 20 April 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20091029025940/http://www.geocities.com/~Orion47/WEHRMACHT/HEER/Generalmajor2/JANUSZ_JOHANN.html . 29 October 2009 . dead.
4. Web site: History of Jánské Koupele in World War II . Petr . Zahnaš . pzahnas.webnode.cz . 2012 . 20 April 2012. cs.
5. Web site: General Stanislaw Taczak . Wladyslaw . Baltiysk . zosprp.poznan.pl . 2012 . 20 April 2012. pl.
6. Web site: Biography of Brigadier Nigel FitzRoy Somerset (1893–1990) . generals.dk . 2012 . 20 April 2012.
7. Teo van Middelkoop, Generaal H.G. Winkelman, Standvastig strijder, Zaltbommel, 2002