Stolen Years: Australian prisoners of war
Hohenfels
Sustaining mind and body
ANZAC Day sports poster 1944 (1.2Mb PDF file)
Australian prisoners kept up their national traditions, including the Melbourne
Cup and ANZAC Day. This poster was produced to mark 25 April 1944 at Stalag
383 at Hohenfels.
RC00887
Empire Games poster 1943 (685Kb PDF file)
Prison camps held men of many nationalities. Stalag 383 held enough British
Commonwealth prisoners to hold an “Empire Games” in 1943 and
1944.
RC00935
HMS Pinafore poster 1943 (250Kb PDF file)
Men in many camps went to great lengths to stage theatrical performances, drawing
on unsuspected creativity in design, costume, music and performance. Gilbert
and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore was performed in Hohenfels.
RC01082
Australian Concert Party Programme 1943 (240Kb PDF file)
Amateur concerts like this helped to ease the boredom of camp life.
RC01083
Theatre poster 1944 (240Kb PDF file)
Larger camps, especially non-working ones like Hohenfels, had the people and
the time to mount occasional plays, such as this from November 1944.
RC1084
Prisoners performing Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest in
Hohenfels camp in 1943. The photograph shows how inventive men were in constructing
sets and making costumes.
P02070.004
The Australian cricket team in Hohenfels in 1943, complete with homemade baggy
green caps.
P02071.029
The medley relay team for the Hohenfels games in 1943, when the British lost
to an “empire” team.
P00110.023
Athletic meet at Hohenfels 1943, complete with betting facilities. All wagers
were in cigarettes.
P00110.024
