Marlag und Milag Nord Marlag und Milag Nord was a World War II German prisoner - of - war camp complex for men of the British Merchant Navy and Royal Navy . It was located around the village of Westertimke , about north - east of Bremen , though in some sources the camp ' s location is given as Tarmstedt , a larger village about to the west . Status of merchant seamen . Of more than 5 , 000 Allied merchant seamen captured by the Germans during the war , most were held at " Marlag - Milag " . As civilian non - combatants , according to Section XI , Article 6 , of the 1907 Hague Conventions , merchant seamen " . . . are not made prisoners of war , on condition that they make a formal promise in writing , not to undertake , while hostilities last , any service connected with the operations of the war . " The Germans , however , always treated Merchant Navy seamen as POWs ( as did the British from 1942 ) . In 1943 the Germans suggested an exchange of equal numbers of Merchant Navy prisoners , but this offer was refused by the First Lord of the Admiralty A . V . Alexander on the grounds it would be more to Germany ' s benefit , as it would provide them with a large number of men suitable to be used as U - boat crews , of which they were desperately short . Camp history . Stalag X - B . Initially , prisoners from the Merchant and Royal Navy were confined in several camps in northern Germany . In April 1941 they were gathered together at Stalag X - B at Sandbostel and housed in two compounds designated " Ilag X - B " ( Internierungslager " , " Internment camp " ) and " Marlag X - B " ( Marinelager " , " Navy camp " ) . At the instigation of the U . S . and Swiss governments , the International Committee of the Red Cross put pressure on the German government not to keep civilian non - combatants in a POW camp . The Germans complied , selecting what was originally a small " Luftwaffe " training camp consisting of six barracks and a small airfield at Westertimke . In July 1941 the prisoners of " Ilag X - B " were set to work dismantling their barrack huts at Sandbostel , then rebuilding them at Westertimke , finally completing the " Milag " camp in February 1942 . " Marlag " camp was not completed until July 1942 . Marlag and Milag Nord . " Marlag " , the Royal Navy camp , was divided into two compounds ; " O " housed officers and their orderlies , while " M " held NCOs and ratings . The majority of prisoners were British , but there were also small numbers of other Allied nationalities . In late 1942 all the ratings were sent to Stalag VIII - B at Lamsdorf and assigned to " Arbeitskommando " ( " Work details " ) , and " M " housed only NCOs . " Milag " ( " Marineinterniertenlager " , " Marine internment camp " ) , the Merchant Navy camp , was to the east of " Marlag " . This also divided into two separate compounds for officers and men . The area in between contained the guard house , a prison block , fuel bunker , and the camp hospital . Just outside of the gates of " Milag " was the " Kommandantur " ( " Headquarters " ) and accommodation for the guards . In between the camps there was a large shower block which was used by men of both camps . Each camp contained a number of single - story wooden huts ; 29 in " Marlag " and 36 in " Milag " . Most of them were barracks , while the others contained kitchens , dining rooms , washrooms , guard barracks , storehouses , a post office , and other administrative buildings . The barracks were divided into rooms each accommodating 14 to 18 men who slept in two and three - tiered bunks . The POWs occupied themselves in various ways . There was a camp theatre in " Marlag " and the POWs performed concerts and plays . Each camp had its own sports field , and there was also a library with around 3 , 000 books . Prisoners ran courses in languages and mathematics , as well as commercial , vocational , economic , and scientific subjects . Sports equipment and textbooks were obtained from the Red Cross and YMCA . POWs were allowed to send two letters and four postcards each month . There were no restrictions on the number of letters a POW could receive . Naturally all incoming and outgoing mail was censored . A popular diversion was provided by the " Milag Jockey Club " which held race meetings every Saturday evening . The " horses " were wooden models that raced on a track , controlled by dice . The POW bet on the races , and money was raised and donated to the Red Cross . Under normal conditions the camps had a capacity of 5 , 300 . According to official figures in April 1944 there were 4 , 268 men held there . Initially the camp was guarded by Naval troops . Later they were replaced by Army reservists . Other camps . The German Navy also operated a Dulag ( " Durchgangslager " , " Transit camp " ) in Wilhelmshaven , where newly arrived prisoners were processed before being sent to other camps . After the Allied bombing raids on Wilhelmshaven in February 1942 this facility was moved to Westertimke . The camp Dulag Nord was located between " Marlag " and " Milag " . In September 1943 , 630 merchant seamen from India , China , Burma and Aden were moved out of the " Milag " into a new camp , Milag ( Inder ) ( known as the " Inderlager " or " Indian Camp " ) west of Westertimke . To the north and east of the village three smaller camps were also built . The " Kommandatur " contained the headquarters and administration buildings , while the " Stabslager " and the " Wache " contained accommodation for the administrative personnel and the camp guards . Liberation . At the end of 1944 prisoners evacuated from other camps began to arrive , resulting in overcrowding , and a reduction in food rations . On 4 February 1945 some 3 , 000 men evacuated from Stalag Luft III arrived at " Marlag - Milag " . In order to accommodate them the entire population of " Marlag " " M " were moved into " O " . In 2 April 1945 the Commandant announced that he had received orders to leave the camp with most of his guards , leaving only a small detachment behind to hand over the camp to Allied forces , who were already in Bremen . However that afternoon a detachment of over a hundred " SS - Feldgendarmerie " entered the camp , mustered over 3 , 000 men and marched them out , heading east . The next day , at around at 10 . 00 a . m . , the column was strafed by RAF aircraft , and several POWs were killed . Over the next few days the column was attacked from the air several times . Finally the Senior British Naval Officer offered the Germans the POWs parole , in return for being allowed to rest during the day and march at night . The Germans agreed . On 9 April 1945 the guards at " Milag - Marlag " moved out and were replaced by older men , presumably local " Volkssturm " . Meanwhile , the column slowly headed east , finally crossing the River Elbe , north of Hamburg , on 18 April . On 19 April units of the 15th Panzergrenadier Division positioned tanks and artillery next to the camps . The remaining prisoners responded to the threat of a pitched battle on their doorstep by digging slit trench es . The artillery fired from the positions next to the camps , but fortunately had moved away by the time the British Guards Armoured Division liberated the camps on 27 April 1945 . The next day , 28 April , the column finally arrived at Lubeck on the Baltic coast . They were liberated by the British 11th Armoured Division on 1 May 1945 . Post - war use . After the German surrender " Marlag - Milag " was used by the British occupation authorities to house German prisoners - of - war . " Marlag " " O " was designated Civil Internment Camp No . 9 and housed high - ranking party officials and suspected war criminals . In 1946 " Marlag " " M " was used as a location to film Basil Dearden ' s POW drama " The Captive Heart " . " Between 1952 and 1961 " Milag " was used as accommodation centre for female refugees from East Germany . The northern part of " Milag " was eventually built over with new housing , while the southern half is now heavily wooded . The " Bundeswehr " took over the site of " Marlag " , and from March 1963 as the " Timke - Kaserne " ( " Timke Barracks " ) it was the headquarters of the " Flugabwehrraketenbataillon 31 " ( " 31st Anti - aircraft Missile Battalion " ) of the 4th Luftwaffe Division , operating the MIM - 23 Hawk surface - to - air missile . They finally left the site in 1993 , since when it has been redeveloped as a business park . Escapes . Several escape tunnels were dug from " Milag " . The first was about long , built from March to August 1943 . Twelve prisoners escaped , though all were recaptured within two weeks . A second tunnel , about long , was built from April to August 1944 . Five men escaped , but again were soon recaptured . Another tunnel built by Norwegian prisoners was discovered before its completion . In addition , another tunnel was dug to store contraband . Two officers ; Lieutenant Denis Kelleher RNVR , and Lieutenant Stewart Campbell , FAA , escaped from " Marlag " in early 1944 , wearing blue overalls to cover their uniforms , and managed to reach England within 22 days , having been smuggled to neutral Sweden on a ship from Bremen . Another successful escaper from " Marlag " was Lieutenant David James , RNVR . In December 1943 James slipped out of the shower block , but was arrested at the port of Lübeck . In late 1944 he escaped again and this time made it to Sweden .