Stalag XVIII-D

Stalag XVIII-D (also known as Stalag 306) was a German prisoner-of-war camp located in Maribor in German-occupied Yugoslavia (today in Slovenia). It opened in the spring or early summer of 1941, operating until the end of the war.[note 1][1][2]

Stalag XVIII-D / Stalag 306
Maribor, Slovenia
Group of prisoners at Stalag XVIII-D
Stalag XVIII-D / Stalag 306
Coordinates	46.5625°N 15.6662°E / 46.5625; 15.6662
Type	Prisoner-of-war camp
Site information
Controlled by	Nazi Germany
Site history
In use	1941–1945
Battles/wars	World War II
Garrison information
Occupants	Allied prisoners of war

By July 1941 Stalag XVIII-D contained nearly 4,500 British and Commonwealth prisoners captured in Greece and Crete. Conditions initially were very poor, with more than 1,000 men accommodated in tents while huts were being constructed. There was an outbreak of typhus in early 1942. However the situation improved as the war went on.[3]

Escapes assisted by Yugoslav Partisans became increasingly common, with most escapers being led south to the Partisan base and airfield at Semič in White Carniola. In August 1944, the largest mass rescue of POWs of the war in Europe took place when 105 Allied prisoners from a work camp administered by Stalag XVIII-D were freed by Partisans in the raid at Ožbalt.

Between August and November 1942 there was a second camp at Maribor, Stalag XVIII- B/Z.[4]