Oflag VII-C

Oflag VII-C / Ilag VII
Laufen, Germany
Oflag VII-C / Ilag VII
Coordinates
Type	Prisoner-of-war camp Internment camp
Site information
Controlled by	Nazi Germany
Site history
In use	1940-1945
Garrison information
Occupants	British POWs British and U.S. internees

Oflag VII-C was a World War II German prisoner-of-war camp for officers located in Laufen Castle, in Laufen in south-eastern Bavaria from 1940 to 1942. Most of the prisoners were British officers captured during the Battle of France in 1940. To relieve overcrowding, some of the officers were transferred to Oflag VII-C/Z in Tittmoning Castle. The Oflag existed only for a short time. In early 1942 all the officers were transferred to Oflag VII-B in Eichstätt.

The castle was then used as an Internment Camp Ilag VII for men from the British Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey until the camp was liberated in May 1945. Previously, in September 1944, after lengthy negotiations, 125 elderly and sick prisoners were repatriated to Great Britain via Sweden. In April 1944 the count of internees in Laufen included 459 British internees (417 Channel Islanders) and 120 American civilians who had been trapped in Europe when war was suddenly declared in December 1941. Even though the camp housed civilians, it continued to be operated by the German Army. The camp was liberated by the U.S. 3rd Army on 5 May 1945.

Eight Channel Island internees died in Laufen camp during the period of internment.

Notable inmates

• Captain Pat Reid, arrived 5 June 1940, escaped 5 September 1940, later British escape officer at Colditz.
• Ambrose Sherwill, President of the Controlling Committee in Guernsey, who became British Camp Senior.
• Josef Nassy, a black expatriate artist of Jewish descent, holding a US passport who created a visual diary of life in the camp.

See also

• List of prisoner-of-war camps in Germany
• Occupation of the Channel Islands#Deportation
• Oflag VII-D in Tittmoning

References

• German army list
• Story of John Bremner, 51st Seathforth Highlanders
• Ilag list
• Deportations from the Channel Islands