New Zealand in the Second World War

Prisoners of War

Prisoner of War Camps

A list of Prisoner of War Camps where New Zealand POWs were held during the Second World War.

North Africa

Greece

Crete

The camps in North Africa, Greece and Crete were transit camps where prisoners were held while awaiting transport to Italy or Germany.

Italy

Note: Camps numbered with a backslash e.g. 103/6, were working camps attached to main camps.

Germany

Interrogation Camps

Oflags (Officer Camps)

Stalag (Other Ranks Camps)

Stalag Luft (Air Force Camp)

Dulag Luft (Air Force Interrogation Camp)

Arbeitskommandos

These were working camps, usually linked to a main Stalag. There were hundreds of these. Some may have only involved small groups of prisoners working on farms, while others had hundreds of men working on such activities as railway construction and coal mining. The following are examples only:

A number of New Zealanders were also held by the Japanese in camps in Japan (Hakodate, Osaka), Burma (Rangoon), Java (Batavia, Garoet, Tjilatjap), Singapore (Changi) and some also worked on the Burma–Thailand railway.

Some New Zealand soldiers or air force personnel were held prisoner in France (St. Hippolyte, Fort de la Rivere) as well.

This list does not claim to be definitive. W. Wynne Mason, Prisoners of War (1954), from the Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939-1945 series is a recommended reference text. A map of German POW campsites is available online at http://mutton.editthispage.com/discuss/msgReader$52.

Next: Related Book >

Copyright © Ministry for Culture and Heritage, Wellington, New Zealand
Copyright and disclaimer information for this website.