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

The Wehrmacht formed Dulag 135 on June 12, 1942, from Frontstalag 135, which was deployed in the rear area of Army Group South (Heeresgruppe Süd) in Ukraine.¹ In July, it moved to the rear area of Army Group A, where it came under the authority of the 454th Security Division (Sicherungsdivision). As of August 30, 1942, the camp was located in the village of Peschanokopskoe (map 9i).² In 1943, the camp deployed to various locations in Ukraine. In the fall of 1943, the camp deployed to the Balkans, first in Nea-Kokkinia (today Nikaia) (8) and later in Zagreb (7); a branch of the camp, Dulag 135/I, was located in Athens, where it served as an internment camp for Allied civilians. During this period, it was subordinate to Army Group E. The Germans ordered the camp disbanded on November 9, 1944. The camp carried field post number (Feldpostnummer) 34 670, which was assigned between March 1 and September 7, 1942, and struck on November 28, 1944.

Dulag 135 first held Soviet prisoners of war (POWs). Detailed statements on the conditions there are not available. In general, conditions for Soviet POWs had improved over the murderous circumstances that existed from the summer of 1941 through the winter of 1942. Still, the prisoners received rations and treatment that was far below the standards for Western Allied POWs, and the mortality rate was generally high.

While deployed in Greece and Croatia, the camp held Italian military prisoners. Information on conditions for these prisoners is also not available, but the Germans generally treated Italian prisoners harshly.

While Dulag 135 was in operation in Athens, it also held 14 American civilian internees prior to their relocation to an official civilian internment camp. International observers noted that these civilians were “extremely poor” and had by and large been forced out of their homes without being able to bring any personal effects with them to the camp as was customary for civilians. To meet their basic needs, these American internees relied on food and clothing from the International Red Cross.³