The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933-1945

The Wehrmacht established Oflag XI B on September 20, 1939, in Braunschweig (map 4a), in Defense District (Wehrkreis) XI. The camp was located in the Leutnant-Müller-Kaserne.¹ The camp was subordinate to the Commander of Prisoners of War in Defense District XI (Kommandeur der Kriegsgefangenen im Wehrkreis XI). The commandant was Oberst Georg von Alten.

Oflag XI B held approximately 1,050 Polish officers and 130 enlisted orderlies, most of whom the Germans captured during the battles for Kraków and Warsaw. The total number of Poles who went through the camp in 1939 and 1940 was over 2,000. Most of them were reserve officers with a variety of civilian backgrounds, from industrial workers and salespeople to doctors and artists.

In contrast to the situation in many camps for Polish prisoners of war (POWs), the Germans treated the POWs in Oflag XI B in strict accordance with the provisions of the Geneva Convention of 1929. They did not have to work, and the Germans did not abuse them. Books and newspapers were available, and the prisoners took part in a variety of recreation activities, such as choir, lectures, theater productions, and sports. Each officer received a bottle of wine at Christmas.

The Germans disbanded Oflag XI B on June 24, 1940. Its staff was transferred to Dössel, where it was redesignated as Oflag VI B. The prisoners were transferred to Oflag II C in Woldenberg.