Moosburg Online: Stalag VII A (history 1939-45)


Stalag VII A: History 1939-1945

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Beginning of the camp
Development of the camp
Dissolution of the camp
Nationalities of the POWs
Pictures
Source

Beginning of the camp:

In September 1939, in the very first days of the Second World War, a tract of land between.the rivers Isar and Amper north of the town Moosburg was planned to become a prisoners-of-war camp. The order of the Generalkommando of the Wehrkreis (military district) VII at Munich said, "Within a fortnight's time, a camp has to be put up here - a camp for 10,000 prisoners of war". The first prisoners already arrived in October 1939 and were provisionally housed in tents. That's what the Stammlager (= Stalag) VII A resulted from.

Development of the camp:

In 1940, solid barracks were additionally built. In July/August 1940, there were prisoners from 72 countries and nations in the tents and barracks of the camp. The superficies of the camp amounted to approximatly 100 Tagewerk = 350,000 square metres = 85 acres. Numerous POWs were employed in industrial, agricultural and other businesses outside the camp all over the Wehrkreis VII (Bavaria south of the Danube). At the end of the war, there were about 80,000 prisoners in the camp; the number of administrative and guarding troops had increased to 2,000. Most of the prisoners came from France (January 1, 1945: approx. 38,000) and from the Soviet Union (14,300). The dead prisoners of war were buried in Oberreit, in the south of the town, where you can find a memorial place today.

Dissolution of the camp:

At the end of April 1945, the POWs from Stalag VII A were liberated by the American Troops. Subsequently, the camp served the Americans as a work und internment camp for Germans called to amount for activities during the tyranny of the National Socialists. After the release in 1948, the camp area would become a new home for plenty of German expellees. In the following years, a new quarter developed where the camp once had been - "Moosburg-Neustadt".

Nationalities of the POWs:

Date	France	Britain	Belgium	Poland	South-east Europe	Soviet Union	Italy	U.S.A.	Nether- lands	Other	Total	Working
1.2.1941 1.5.1941 1.6.1941 1.9.1941 1.1.1942 1.6.1942 1.1.1943 1.8.1943 1.9.1943 1.1.1944 1.7.1944 1.1.1945	56.582 52.799 52.000 49.291 47.951 46.608 44.240 38.591 38.234 40.067 39.173 38.156	--- 1 1 1 1.967 2.075 1.902 72 30 4.472 5.535 7.975	--- --- --- --- --- --- 3 1 2 1 1 1	1.312 972 963 960 934 929 848 926 992 904 904 1.408	--- 38 6.038 6.074 3.680 3.653 3.306 3.176 2.969 4.923 5.999 5.852	--- --- --- 4.003 4.620 9.188 15.472 16.009 15.071 13.101 12.384 14.300	--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 10.422 11.385 1.540	--- --- --- --- --- --- --- 845 1.494 200 1.584 5.767	--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 6 --- ---	--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 237 1.163	57.574 53.810 59.002 62.295 59.169 62.453 65.771 59.620 58.720 74.096 77.202 76.248	47.391 47.668 52.572 52.217 53.301 54.134 57.325 51.013 48.361 54.932 60.289

Source:
Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv (Federal archive - military archive), Wiesentalstr. 10, D-79115 Freiburg/Br., Tel. 0761-47817-0
Roland Zimmer

Pictures:

Source:

Das Kriegsgefangenenlager STALAG VII A Moosburg in Oberbayern. Ed.: Stadt Moosburg a. d. Isar. Authors: Walter Beer, Franz Binn, Andreas Beer, Anton Neumaier. Moosburg 1995, p. 15.
Reproduction kindly permitted by the © Town of Moosburg.


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