Friesack Camp Friesack Camp or Camp Friesack is a name commonly used to refer to a special World War II prisoner of war camp where a group of Irishmen serving in the British Army volunteered for recruitment and selection by " Abwehr II " and the German Army . The camp was designated Stalag XX - A ( 301 ) and located in the Friesack area , Brandenburg region . The training and selection by " Abwehr II " and the German Army occurred during the period 1940 - 1943 . The camp was eventually dissolved , and its attendees were sent to fight on the Eastern Front , or interned in concentration camps after 1943 . Immediate context . In the context of Irish Republicanism and German relations , there had been one previous attempt to raise a group of soldiers from nationalist - minded Irishmen serving in the British Army . These attempts took place during World War I in the POW camp at Limburg an der Lahn . However , despite the best efforts of Roger Casement and the Imperial German Army the attempt failed due to the fact that only fifty - two Irishmen volunteered for the duty in the " Irish Brigade " . During World War II the German intelligence service ( " Abwehr " ) , and the German Foreign Ministry of Nazi Germany had developed an interest in operations on the island of Ireland as part of its operations against the British military . A number of abortive and some successful attempts were made to insert " Abwehr " agents into Ireland with a view to intelligence gathering and assisting the Irish Republican Army . That Germany might expect assistance from Irish nationalists in their fight against Britain is understandable . A common theme in Irish Republican thinking prior to , and during , World War I and World War II , is that : " England ' s difficulty is Ireland ' s opportunity . " Genesis of the idea . " Abwehr II " was a section of German Intelligence which amongst its other duties was tasked with seeking out the disaffected and anti - authoritarian in opposing nations to give arms , assistance , or whatever means to increase disharmony . Following the successful 1940 campaign to defeat France , and the capture of British Army personnel throughout the period , a decision was taken within the " Abwehr " to sound out captured enemy soldiers in POW camps as to whether they would consider fighting for the German Army and / or German Intelligence . While it is likely that this was normal procedure for the " Abwehr " , the decision may have been influenced by Seán Russell , then IRA Chief of Staff , who had suggested a new " Irish Brigade " during his meetings with German Intelligence and the Foreign Ministry in Berlin during the summer of 1940 . These attempts were made through the German Stalag network . The training and the induction of Irish - nationality POW ' s into German service was attempted at Friesack Camp . Attempts such as these were also tried amongst other POW groups with some success . Recruitment and selection . The best route to recruitment was considered to be inviting POWs to take on certain tasks which were considered to be equally in German and their own national interests . In the case of Irish nationals it was presumed that the cause of Irish reunification , an end to partition , and the absorption of Northern Ireland into the Irish Free State was a common cause which Germany could appear to support . An NCO from the " Abwehr II " commando unit , the Brandenburgers , Helmut Clissmann , was involved in selection of the candidates for training . Clissmann explained how the proposition of working for the German authorities was phrased to the POWs : " All Irishmen in prisoner - of - war camps were therefore invited to give their names with a view to going to a special camp which offered better conditions . " It was believed that POWs familiar with the country could assist as saboteurs or agents , guiding German troops in the event of the invasions of Britain and Ireland ( Operation Sea Lion and Operation Green respectively ) . Three entries in the " Abwehr II " war diary refer to the camp and its operation . The entries concern Operation Innkeeper , Operation Seagull I , and Operation Seagull II - all missions planned for either Britain or Ireland which involved attendees at Camp Friesack . The German authorities were conscious that the possible recruits putting themselves forward for selection might have included moles , faux Irish nationalists , faux Irishmen with little connection to the island , and informers ordered by their superiors to report back on the details of the training . To guard against this , each candidate that showed an interest was interviewed by Clissmann and also by Frank Ryan , a former IRA member who been captured by Franco ' s forces during the Spanish Civil War and whose release from a 30 - year prison sentence into the hands of the " Abwehr " had been organised by the Irish Government . However , Ryan ' s cooperation is disputed . According to Clissmann , the initial December 1940 recruitment pool from the entire Stalag network was just over one hundred POWs , with each claiming to be of Irish nationality , and the number of officers was under five . The five officers made it clear that they would only fight in the event of an invasion of Ireland by British troops ( this was being planned as Friesack recruitment took place , see Plan W ) . In Spring 1941 , when Dr . Jupp Hoven , who was considered an " expert " on Irish affairs because of his time in the country before the war , arrived at Friesack , he found a recruiting base of eighty Irish POWs . This was eventually weeded down to a mere ten POWs who the Germans felt were sincere in their desire to fight for Germany . In order to keep their agreement to work for the Axis secret from their fellow prisoners , a prison break to spirit these POWs from the camp was arranged and the ten men were taken to Berlin to take up training by " Abwehr II " . In Berlin they were accommodated in a house . Training . Dr . Hoven explains that on arrival in Berlin , " they were given instruction at the " Abwehr " training establishment on the Quenzgut , in the improvised manufacture of explosives , incendiaries and such like . Also , in the district of a troop training area in western Germany , they were instructed in " Abwehr " radio procedure . " The men involved in the training and orientation in Berlin were : Codd was selected to take part in Operation Innkeeper . Brady and Walsh were selected to take part in Operations Seagull I and Seagull II . Cromwell O ' Neill ( a civilian captured on an interned freighter ) and codenamed " Eisenbart " was sent on a mission to spy in Northern Ireland although he turned himself in after reaching London . Other than the " suspect " Irish nationals known to have been at Friesack there was also : Other " Suspect " Irish nationals in Germany . There were other Irish living or working in Germany at the time — these were people entirely unconnected to the regime , its activities , or involved in military / intelligence matters . For one reason or another they found themselves in the country during World War II either through marriage to German citizens or soldiers , were just drifting , or were internees from civilian ships caught in Germany at the outbreak of war . Some , however , did become involved in various activities through sheer circumstance . Irish Intelligence ( G2 ) attempted to keep track of these individuals , who numbered around eighty - five in total . Of particular interest to G2 were :