Camp 186

The Lost Town at Berechurch

This book tells the story of one of the most amazing PoW Camps of the second World War. Camp 186 held 6,000 mostly 'other ranks' - ordinary Germans who had been forced into an abnormal situation. Home to extreme Nazis and to strong pacifists they formed a volatile mixture. Largely using original articles and letters by the prisoners, it tells some of their stories, from capture to arriving at night in a desolate field. Living in bell tents and despite the bitterly cold winter and quagmire that formed, they created a hospital and theatres with a programme of which any professional company would be proud. Despite the hatred and murders, they broke down the barriers of religion and even became home to a Catholic Seminary. The camp boasts what is probably the largest number of successful escapees in one attempt, but also the story of a prisoner who escaped but came back a year later - a case described by the Head of the British PoW Investigation Department as 'the most improbable story'.