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Background history
The colored map of the environs of Upper Bavaria is a memento of Captain Adam Daniłowicz, a POW in Oflag VII A Murnau. It was prepared in an exceptionally elaborate way, since it was most probably supposed to come in handy during a planned escape from the camp. There were a few factors which were decisive in achieving the final success of such an undertaking, among others: knowledge of the German language, possibly a short distance to reach a railway knot and the state border of the Third Reich, having money, fake documents and civilian clothes. It was not without significance for POWs to be physically fit and inventive, either. The international articles of war did not ban escapes from POW camps. In compliance with Art. 50 and 51 of the Geneva Convention of 1929, a POW’s escape was classified as a disciplinary offence punishable with a 30-day arrest. It was the duty of a soldier and, in particular, an officer, though, to undertake to escape from captivity and to free himself from the hands of the detaining state, and to resume fighting with the enemy. The German military authorities did not always respect the legal regulations in force and in many cases punished POWs captured while attempting to escape in a very severe manner. The severity of punishment depended mainly on the POW’s belonging to a particular army and on time when the escape took place. Repressions towards escapees became dramatically severer after 25 March 1944, following the spectacular escape of 76 POWs of the Allied Forces from Stalag Luft 3 Sagan (Żagań). Similar attempts were made in the majority of the Wehrmacht-run camps, including Oflag VII A Murnau, which was located in the former barracks of a German armored battalion. The initial number of POWs in the camp amounted to about 800, yet from September 1942 it grew to over 4 thousand POWs. There were mainly officers of the Polish Army interned there, including five generals: Emil Krukowicz-Przedrzymirski, Jan Kruszewski, Bernard Mond, Tadeusz Piskor and Antoni Szylling. The area of Oflag VII A Murnau was surrounded with barbed wire, with watchtowers placed in the corners and the closely guarded entrance. An escape from this place was extremely difficult, chiefly because of the long distance which fleeing POWs would have to cover to find themselves outside the Third Reich’s borders, as well as due to stricter safety measures taken by the German camp personnel. Moreover, the attitude of the Bavarian, who were unfriendly towards POWs and sensitive to any manifestation of their presence outside the delineated area, made a grave factor in hampering POWs’ attempts to free themselves. The most daring escape was successfully completed by Second Lieutenant Józef Tucki, who, in broad daylight, rode outside the gate on a bike, dressed in a German uniform and displaying the pass of a Wehrmacht officer. He managed to travel as far as Hungary, where he was captured. As the German commander of the camp, Paul von Troschke, observed, that escape was a hussar’s masterstroke. He wanted Second Lieutenant Tucki to personally assure him that he would not undertake such an attempt again in the future. In response, the smart lieutenant assured the commander that he would do it on the earliest possible occasion. In 1940, there took place also a feigned escape of Captain Edward Mamunow, who fled from the custody and was hiding away inside the camp. This incident inspired Andrzej Munk who based the plot of his famed movie Eroica (1957) on it. Adam Daniłowicz did not manage to make use of his map in an attempt to escape. He lived to see the liberation of the camp on 29 April 1945 by one of the detachments of the American 12th Armored Division commanded by Major General Roderick R. Allen. After the war Adam Daniłowicz went to live in Great Britain.
Prepared by: Dorota Musiał
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Map of the environs of Murnau
Source of acquisition
The map of the environs of Murnau was passed to the Museum by Lech Daniłowicz, the son of Captain Adam Daniłowicz who was a POW in Oflag VII A Murnau.
Description of the item
A colored plan of the environs of Murnau, including names of places, detailed information on topography of the area: hypsometric lines, water reservoirs and water courses, woods, swamps, roads and railway lines. The map was drawn on a sheet of tracing paper 23cm x 31cm. The state of preservation – good.
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