Captured at Arnhem

Operation Market Garden and Its Aftermath

The British 1st Airborne Division's operation in September 1944 was a disaster. The division was eliminated as a fighting force with around half of its men captured. The Germans faced dealing with 6,000 prisoners in a fortnight; many of them seriously wounded. The men were processed and sent to camps around Germany and German-occupied eastern Europe. Here, they experienced the reality of the collapsing regime – little food and shrinking frontiers. Once liberated in 1945, returning former prisoners were required to complete liberation questionnaires. Some refused, others returned before Operation Endor to handle released men and their repatriation to Britain was in place. Around a third did.

Experiences in Captivity

The questionnaires that do exist give a picture of every day experience for the 2,357 of these elite troops' time in captivity from capture to release. They show that German procedures were still operating, but that men were often treated inhumanely, especially when moved to camps by closed box cars and when camps were evacuated. Although their interrogators were interested in Allied aircraft and airfields, they were also concerned with the effect of the new miracle weapons and with politics, including how Germany would be treated after an Allied victory.

Morale and Resistance

Nevertheless, the airborne men's morale remained high; they carried out sabotage at artificial oil plants, railway repairs, factories, and mines. Some overcame their guards when being evacuated at the end of the war, in some cases joining the Resistance. They also recorded help received from Dutch, French, and German civilians.