Stolen Years: Australian prisoners of war - Hohenfels
Anzac Day sports poster 1944
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
Prison camps held men of many nationalities. Stalag 383 held enough British Commonwealth prisoners to hold an “Empire Games” in 1943 and 1944.
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HMS Pinafore poster 1943
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
Amateur concerts like this helped to ease the boredom of camp life.
RC01083
Theatre poster 1944
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.
The Australian cricket team in Hohenfels in 1943, complete with homemade baggy green caps.
The medley relay team for the Hohenfels games in 1943, when the British lost to an “empire” team.
Athletic meet at Hohenfels 1943, complete with betting facilities. All wagers were in cigarettes.