Set up as a German Army training camp in 1893, the camp was used as a Prisoner of War camp during the First World War.



Designated Stalag XIII-C in May 1940, the first prisoners to arrive were French, Belgian and Dutch soldiers captured during the Battle of France. Yugoslavian soldiers began to arrive the following summer following the Balkans campaign, and were joined soon after by British, Australian and Commonwealth troops captured during the Battle of Crete. Many of the prisoners were not housed at the camp, and were rather posted to small work camps nearby.



A large number of American prisoners arrived at the camp in June and July 1944, following the Invasion of Normandy, another surge followed in January 1945, after the Battle of the Bulge.



In 1945, a huge number of prisoners arrived at the camp, who had been forced marched from Stalag VIII-D, 500 miles away.



The camp was liberated on 6 April 1945 by the US 14th Armored Division.