Stalag XI-B and Stalag XI-D / 357 were two German World War II prisoner-of-war camps (Stammlager) located just to the east of the town of Fallingbostel in Lower Saxony, in north-western Germany. The camps housed Polish, French, Belgian, Soviet, Italian, British, Yugoslav, American, Canadian, New Zealander and other Allied POWs.
Camp history
Stalag XI-B
The camp was built in 1937 as accommodation for workers building the barracks at the nearby Westlager ("Western Camp") of Truppenübungsplatz Bergen ("Military Training Area Bergen"). In September 1939 the huts were fenced in and designated Stalag XI-B. The first prisoners to arrive were Poles in late 1939, followed by French and Belgians the following year. By the end of 1940 around 40,000 POW were registered there, although only about 2,500 of these were housed at the camp, with the majority assigned to various Arbeitskommando ("work camps") in the area. Close by were the barracks of Landesschützen-Bataillon 461 ("Local Defence Battalion 461"), who guarded the camp. This Army unit was composed of men considered too old or otherwise unfit for front-line service, and were commonly used for guard and garrison duties.
In the final stages of World War II, in 1945, the Germans evacuated Canadian prisoners of war from the Stalag II-D prisoner-of-war camp in Stargard to Stalag XI-B.
Stalag XI-D
In July 1941 the first Soviet POWs arrived, and were accommodated in a large fenced-off open area called Marquartsfeld about north-east of Stalag XI-B, and designated Stalag XI-D (also known as Stalag 321). Lacking huts the Russian prisoners initially lived in dugouts. Another 10,000 Soviet officers were accommodated in XI-B. In late 1941 the SS separated out the senior officers, Communist Party officials and Jews from the Soviet POW, and sent them to the concentration camps at Sachsenhausen and Neuengamme. By November 1941 there were about 11,000 Soviet POW in XI-D, and some huts were built. The same month an epidemic of typhus broke out in both camps which lasted until February 1942. In early 1942 rations for the Soviet prisoners were slightly increased in order to enable them to work, however it was still so inadequate that many prisoners died from exhaustion. In July 1942 Stalag XI-D was dissolved and incorporated into Stalag XI-B.
In late 1943 a large number of Italian POW arrived at XI-B. They were poorly treated and suffered, second to the Russians, the most deaths in the camp. By mid-1944 there were 93,380 POW registered at XI-B; 25,277 Russian, and 79,928 of other nationalities, mostly in Arbeitskommando.
Stalag 357
In September 1944 Stalag 357 was moved from Toruń in German-occupied Poland to the site of the former XI-D, with construction being carried out by the Italian POW from XI-B. This new camp was used to house mostly British and Commonwealth POWs. In November 1944 British paratroops captured at Arnhem arrived at Stalag 357. Led by the formidable RSM John C. Lord of 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment, they set about raising the standards of the camp. Lord insisted on proper military discipline with regular exercise and parades. At that time 17,000 POW; mostly British, but also Russian, Polish, Yugoslav, French, and American prisoners were crammed into the camp causing severe overcrowding. Each hut contained 400 men, though it had bunks for only 150. By February 1945 the POW of XI-B and 357 were suffering from lack of food and medical supplies exacerbated by the influx of several hundred American POW captured in the Battle of the Bulge and Operation Nordwind. These newer arrivals found themselves accommodated in tents.