-Avro Lancaster-
LM621 (HW-C) 100 Sqn
Buchenwald Concentration Camp
Buchenwald was a forced labour camp of about 60,000 inmates of mainly Russian POWs, but also common criminals, religious prisoners (including Jews), and various political prisoners from Germany, France, Poland, and Czechoslovakia. It was one of the biggest camps based on German soil. 43,000 people died at the camp during the war. The horror was not to end there, as the Russians used the camp to house anti-communists after the war. At least 22,000 more died under Russian rule.
On 20 Aug 44, 168 airmen arived at the camp from Fresnes Prison in Paris. They had been betrayed by Gestapo double-agent Jacques Desoubrie. They were labelled "Terrorflieger" (terror flyers), and were not given a trial. The were treated as terrorists, and sent to Buchenwald to be executed. On arrival the camp guards pointed to the chimney and said the only way they were leaving the camp was up that chimney.
Buchenwald being liberated by the American 6th Armoured Division, US 3rd Army on 11 Apr 45.
They were interned in "Little Camp", the harshest part of the camp,. They were completely shaved and had to live outside with no shoes or medical help. They soon identified Sqn Ldr Phil Lamason, a RAF Lancaster pilot from New Zealand. It was decided that during their stay, they would still act like military personnel, so marched in formation to every roll call. This seriously upset the camp commanders.
They also created a group, the KLB Club (initials for Konzentrationslager Buchenwald). This had sub-groups for each nationality of the 168 airmen. RAF airman, Bob Taylor, created a design depicting a naked, winged foot, representing the barefoot condition of the airmen while in the concentration camp (left). The foot is chained to a ball bearing the letters KLB (Konzentrations lager Buchenwald). There is a white star surround, the symbol of the Allied invasion forces. KLB Club members used their Buchenwald prisoner number as their club member numbers. The group continued to contact each other after the war.
Lamason managed to smuggle a note out of the camp via a trusted Russian inmate addressed to the Luftwaffe. In arrived on the desk of inspector of day fighters Colonel Hannes Trautloft. Trautloft decided to visit the camp and see for himself under the pretence of inspecting aerial bomb damage near the camp. Trautloft was about to leave the camp when captured US airman Bernard Scharf called out to him in fluent German from behind a fence. The SS guards tried to intervene, but Trautloft pointed out that he out-ranked them and made them stand back. Scharf explained that he was one of more than 160 allied airmen imprisoned at the camp and begged Trautloft to rescue him and the other airmen. Trautloft's adjutant also spoke to the group's commanding officer, Phil Lamason. Disturbed by the event, Trautloft returned to Berlin and began the process to have the airmen transferred out of Buchenwald. Trautloft, a Luftwaffe fighter ace, reported the Buchenwald affair to Adolph Galland. Galland informed Goering that allied fliers were being held by the Gestapo in Buchenwald, but Goering was not interested, saying it was not Luftwaffe problem. Galland, barged into Erhard Milch's office with Gustav Rödel and Johannes Steinhoff in tow. Galland, Steinhoff and Rödel were all senior commanders and top-ranked fighter aces. They told Milch the airmen being held in Buchenwald needed to be transferred right away.
Sqn Ldr Phil Lamason - Senior Officer of the 168 airmen at Buchenwald
Milch said he would take care of it, but could not put anything in writing. He apparently called someone. At some point, Trautloft notified the commandant at Buchenwald the airmen had better be released in good shape. Trautloft sent word to Hermann Pister, the Commandant at Buchenwald that he wanted the airmen released to the Luftwaffe, and furthermore, released in good condition. During their time at the camp, 2 of the airmen died of illness, which is not surprising when considering the conditions they were kept in, and the total lack of medical aid. On 21 Oct 44, seven days before their scheduled execution, the airmen were taken by train by the Luftwaffe to Stalag Luft III at Sagan (famous for The Great Escape),
The "Little Camp" memorial at Buchenwald showing the Fresnes 168 airmen.