One of the largest camps in the UK for German PoWs was opened in Berechuch Hall near Colchester in September 1944. It housed 6,000 prisoners and acted as a combined base camp and inward transit camp. Later it became a repatriation transit camp. Most texts on German PoWs concentrate on the well known names, particularly officers being held for war crimes. Camp 186 however was essentially an "other ranks" camp and these have generally been ignored by historians. Yet this camp was unique in many ways - it was home to extreme Nazis and to strong pacifists.
Contact with the local civilian population was established within weeks of opening thanks to the work of a Congregational Minister and his congregation. Despite initial opposition (once knowledge or the camp became public) feelings gradually changed and local dignitaries changed from being anti-German to being anti-Nazi.
Using original articles and letters from the PoWs, letters to the local newspapers and other documents as well as the more usual national sources and texts this book conveys the feelings of the prisoners as ordinary men and the feelings of the local population who believed in reconciliation, while at the same time relating these to official Government policy of the day. It uniquely reveals the relationships formed between the local people and the German PoWs, from them getting off the lorries and erecting their tents to their arrival home after repatriation and subsequent letters to their English friends.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ken Free and his parents were members of the church attended by the German prisoners of Camp 186 and he well remembers the prisoners attending services under armed guard. Camp 186 is Ken’s first book.
He lives in Colchester.
| Publication: |
August 2010 |
Extent: |
192 pages |
| Availability: |
In stock |
Images Mono: |
0 |
| Format: |
235 x 156 mm |
Images Colour: |
69 |
| Binding: |
Paperback |
COVER PRICE £16.99
