History of WWII POW camp Shumen

WWII POW Camp - Shumen 1943/1944 History

During World War II, in the period of 1943-44, within the boundaries of what is today Shumensko Plateau Natural Park, around city of Shumen, Bulgaria, there was an active POW camp. This camp was for the English and American aircrew members, who were shot down over Bulgaria and the Balkan Peninsula. There were 329 prisoners of war in the camp from 9 nations, most of them from USAF. All were released from the camp on the 8 of September 1944 and went with train to Turkey.

288 DAYS BY SHUMEN
1943
November 25^th	A POW camp is established in the premises of a former military recreation camp west of Shumen. First camp Commandant – WO Georgi Georgiev
November 26^th	The first group of 10 POWs /1^st Lieutenant Darlington and others/, shot down on August 1^st 1943 arrived.
December 18^th	The Chairman of the Shumen branch of the Bulgarian Red Cross Organization visits the POWs and brings some cigarettes and sweets. 1^st Lieutenant Julian Darlington elected a POWs’ Representative
1944
January 10^th	New Camp Commandant assigned: 2^nd Lieutenant Petar Petrov
January 19^th –20^th	The wounded earlier Thomas DeGuisepe and Harrold Ross sent to the Shumen hospital
February 10^th	New Camp Commandant assigned: 2^nd Lieutenant Dragomir Evrov. In March a picture in the camp was made by his camera.
March 12^th	New Camp Commander assigned: Kiril Kiriakov. A delegation of the International Red Cross Organization visits the POW Camp near Shumen. POWs complain about stolen things from the P.O. and the police during their stay in the Sofia camp.
March 27^th-28^th	9 packages of personal belongings sent form Sofia to their owners against receipts.
April 12^th	First newspaper received from the American Red Cross Organization.
Aril 27^th	Two Dutch POWs arrive – Lodevig and Hubertus van der Meulen
May 9^th	The POW Ivan Hapala hurts Modrag Timotiyevch and is arrested. Milotievich is hospitalized by July 22^nd.
May 12^th	New Camp Commandant assigned: 2^nd Lieutenant Pano Hristov.
June 3^rd, 8 P.M.	4 American POWs make an attempt to escape. They were captured near the camp.
June	The POW Charles Angelo stubs a loaf of bread on the guard’s bayonet.
June 28^th	A new group of 17POWs arrives, but is moved to military barracks in Shumen, because of the lack of sufficient space. Next 2 groups also.
July 13^th	The Shumen Military Court suits the POW Ivan Halapa for his assault. The POWs are moved into the new camp premises on “Ilchov” hill /by 4 hours foot march/.
July 15^th	New Camp Commandant assigned: 2^nd Lieutenant Ivan Vladikin
July 16^th-17^th	A new group of 28 POWs arrives /including the “Gidi Gidi Boom Boom” crew/.
July 24^th	An incident during bread distribution, caused by Raymond Tyrrel /Australia/ and Erling Arson . From this date POWs walk on foot the distance from the railway station the Camp on the “Ilchov” Hill /about 2.5 km (~1.4 miles)/ Wounded POWs are transported in carriages.
July 27^th	Salaries paid to the enlisted men by the Swiss Legacy – a total of BG Leva 22,778.
August 24^th	POWs are sent to the “New Bath” public bath in Shumen, at Vasil Levski St. Before this date they were sent several times to Sountur bath in Shumen.
September 5^th	Two POWs are sent to the dentist’s. They go shopping and drop in a pub.
September 6^th	New Camp Commandant assigned: 2^nd Lieutenant Georgi Visokov
September 8^th	A written order from the new Government to release the POWs received. 5.30 A.M. – Major Walter Smith leaves to Sofia by plane. 7.00 P.M.- 12 P.M. The Shumen Garrison Commander gives a farewell dinner to Lieutenant-Colonel Hugh Grant, Major Cyril Clark and Captain Ivan Korosha.
September 9^th	A special train with 327 former POWs leaves for Turkey at 1:30 AM.1 POW is left in local hospital, 1 in Sofia ( A. Tasich)
September 12^th	1 American,detained at Shumen hospital and 4 Americans, detained at the Ruse hospital, leave for Romania.
September 25^th	The POW Camp for Allied POW's is closed. But the new history begin- POW camp for German soldiers under Bulgarian- Russian jurisdiction...

Until July 12^th 1944 the POWs were settled in a recreation camp situated 7 km west from the town of Shumen. On the ground floor, there was a mess-room, washroom and storerooms. On the second floor there were two big bedrooms – one for the officers and another for the lower ranks. A third room, situated between the other two served as a Commandant Office. The rooms were able to contain up to 120 people. On June 28^th 1944 the camp was crowded to such an extent that the new-coming 17 POWs were returned back and settled in military barracks. The fact that the camp was overcrowded brought to its repositioning to a new place – in the former barracks of the 3^rd Ammunition Platoon, on the plateau called Ilchov Bair (Hill). There, the living conditions for the POWs and their guard were better than in the old camp. On December 30^th 1943 the Army Staff ordered the Head of Staff of 4^th Division Region to request form the POWs election of a POWs’ Representative. The POWs’ Representative task was to communicate with the POWs patron country – Switzerland, through its Embassy in Sofia, for protection of their interests in accordance with the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Initially, 1^st Lieutenant Darlington was elected a POWs’ Representative. He was later replaced by Major Smith. At their entry into the camp, the POWs had to personally fill in special forms, which were later submitted to the Bulgarian Red Cross Organization and the International Red Cross Organization in Geneva. POW camp was visited twice by the representative of the International Red Cross.The POW camp was under the jurisdiction of the Shumen Garrison Commander.

This page is to be reconstracted

American publications in 1944 about Shumen Camp (Courtesy of Mark LaScotte)