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WWII STALAG III-A PRISON CAMP MAP

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:600.00 USD Estimated At:1,200.00 - 1,600.00 USD
WWII STALAG III-A PRISON CAMP MAP
Original WWII Stalag III-A prison camp map with guard towers, located 32 miles south of Berlin in Luckenwalde, approx 21 x 16.75 inches. The map is dated 18.9.1943 and shows the camp split into several areas. Noted are a series of numbered guard towers throughout the map with special guard posts. The main parts of the camp are divided and labeled with other roads of the camp. Hand labeled at the bottom margin are keys denoting which shift of guard should be in which area and which guards will be guarding Russian, Italian, or French, or 'special' prisoners-of-war. Machine gun posts are also labeled and located at the hospital, Main Camp, West Camp, East Camp, Middle Camp, South Camp, and Outside Camp. According to the map, the guards for Russian POWs were located mainly at the Main Camp. Italian or French POWs guards were located at the South Camp. 'Special' guards were placed at the hospital, Meadow Camp, and South Camp. The map also draws the routes of day, night, and 24-hour patrol guards on the camp roads. Splits at folds and minor chipping. The camp was planned before the invasion of Poland in 1939. It was designed to hold 10,000 men and to be a model for other camps during the Third Reich. Following the invasion of Poland, the first Polish POWs were brought to the camp, then replaced by 43,000 French POWs who arrived in mid-1940 and remained the largest group of prisoners until the end of the war. In late 1944, small numbers of American, British, and other prisoners arrived. More than 200,000 prisoners passed through Stalag III-A and at its height, 48,600 POW were registered there. As the Russians approached, the guards fled the camp and the prisoners were liberated by the Red Army on 22 April 1945. With research.