Hammelburg was a large German Army training camp, set up in 1893. Part of this camp had been used as a POW camp for Allied army personnel in
World War I. After 1935 it was a training camp and military training area for the newly reconstituted German Army. In May 1940 the camp was established in wooden huts at the south end of the training ground. The first prisoners included Belgian, Dutch and French soldiers taken during the
Battle of France. In May–June 1941
Yugoslavian, predominantly
Serbian prisoners arrived from the
Balkans Campaign, and soon after in June–July 1941
Australian and other
British Commonwealth soldiers arrived, captured during the
Battle of Crete. A strike against treatment conditions in early 1942 was suppressed. Many locals in the area were of the Roman Catholic religion and reported to be anti-Hitler. and forestry or digging potatoes. It was estimated by December 1944 that 90% of POWs were engaged in agricultural work. The stalag served as the base for distribution of
International Red Cross packages and mail. A military hospital (German "Lazarett") cared for prisoners that were sick or had been injured in industrial accidents or air-raids. A number of enlisted men and
NCOs were housed in the adjacent Oflag to provide necessary services. Stalag XIII-C also saw Australia-Britain cricket matches, music concerts, and theatrical performances. The Australians also held a sports day on Anzac Day, April 1943, of football, rugby, cricket, and basketball. There was also an
egg-and-spoon race,
sack race, three-legged race, fill-the-bottle-by-mouth, and clog race, with participants additional to Australia from France, Poland, and Serbia. Basketball was an active camp activity in February 1944, with a competition between the Australian, French, and Polish POWs. In April 1944, some prisoners were transferred from Stalag XIII-C to
Stalag 357. June 1944 saw about 769 Australian POWs still in the camp, where they had recently raised
£84 for the
Australian Red Cross. Red Cross packages were very important to the comfort of soldiers, especially clothing from the cold. American soldiers who had been captured during the
Battle of Normandy arrived in June–July 1944, and more from the
Battle of the Bulge in January 1945. By December 1944 the camp was reported to hold 28,000 POWs, including 735 Australians. 4000–5000 British POWs alone liberated, while some prisoners from the camp had already been marched further to the east.
Camp leader (Australian forces) Regimental sergeant major William Roderick 'Bill' Brown of the
2/11th Australian Infantry Battalion was the Red Cross representative, man of confidence, and camp leader, from August 1941 until the arrival of the liberating US forces on 9 April 1945. A "man of confidence" was elected by the other prisoners and approved by the camp commandant; documents signed by him is accepted by British courts. He organised many events within the camp, and wrote to Australian newspapers. – for gallant and distinguished services whilst POW – and awarded the US
Bronze Star on 13 April 1946. Born in October 1900 in Perth, Scotland, he died in 1961, aged 60, in Perth, Western Australia. == Post-war ==