Stalag IXC (9C)
Bad Sulza, Germany
Bad Sulza is in the German state of Thuringia. The curative springs of Bad Sulza were the origin of the saltwater Spa.
Many of the pictures on this page are with the kind permission of Heinz Renkel whose website link is at the end of this page
Bilder mit freundlicher Genehmigung von Heinz Renkel
The camp was opened in February 1940 to hold Polish soldiers from the German invasion of Poland. In June 1940 many Belgian and French troops taken prisoner during the Battle of France arrived.
The early prisoners found the camp unfinished and were accommodated in a dilapidated "lime factory".
Bad Sulza in 1910 (view from the Sonnenburg)
Part of the fenced off camp area and the Administration block (lower right) as viewed from the Sonnenburg Castle. The long narrow building (RHS) was where you would take the "salt air cure"
Not an exact comparison but the new swimming pool is clearly located over the site of the PoW huts.
(This image is courtesy of Heinz Renkel)
French PoWs marching through Bad Sulza to work in the Lime Factory
The longer summer nights of 1941 saw a series of Bomber Command raids on the city of Bremen and the inevitable losses increased the number of RAF PoWs in Bad Sulza.
The camp gate and Guard Room. All the buildings in the background were demolished in the year 2000. There is now a park with a small memorial to murdered PoWs in this area.
At the end of April 1942 virtually all RAF PoWs moved to the newly opened Stalag Luft 3at Sagan (on the Baltic coast). Although the RAF interest in the camp had come to an end for the
time being, in 1943 British and Commonwealth soldiers came in from the battles in Italy and North Africa. In September and October 1944 British and Canadian airborne troops, taken prisoner during
"Operation Market Garden" at Arnhem, arrived. Finally in late December 1944 Americans arrived who were captured in the Battle of the Bulge.
On the 29th March 1945 the camp was evacuated and the POWs were forced to march eastwards in advance of the American offensive. For some the march lasted four weeks
before being freed by U.S. Army units. Those left in the camp were freed by troops of U.S. 3rd Army.
Also under the administration of Stalag IX-C was a large hospital with the official title, Obermassfeld Reserve-Lazarette 1249 Stalag IX-C(a). This was located in a former agricultural college in the village of Obermaßfeld-Grimmenthal. The hospital was operated by British, Canadian and New Zealand medical staff. Its staff was greatly enlarged in October 1944 with the arrival of an entire ambulance team of the
British 1st Airborne Division, captured at Arnhem. Patients came from across Germany. There was also a smaller hospital Reserve-Lazarette IX-C(b) at Meiningen.
The picture above shows two British surgeons at work. Major Tucker & Major Donald
A view of the general camp area in 1912 and a similar view today
The following 49Sqn aircrew member was a prisoner here during WW2
The following website has additional information
(website opens in a new window)