Skorpa prisoner of war camp
| Skorpa prisoner of war camp | |
|---|---|
| Skorpa fangeleir | |
| Skorpa in Kvænangen, Troms | |
| Type | Prisoner-of-war camp |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | Norway |
| Site history | |
| Built | April–June 1940 |
| Built by | Norwegian 6th Division |
| In use | May–19 June 1940 |
| Materials | Tents, wooden barracks |
| Demolished | June 1940 |
| Events | Norwegian Campaign |
| Garrison information | |
| Past commanders |
Captain Rei Sandberg |
| Garrison | 80 soldiers |
Skorpa prisoner of war camp (Norwegian: Skorpa fangeleir) was a facility built by the Norwegian 6th Division to hold German prisoners of war during the 1940 Norwegian Campaign of the Second World War. Skorpa was the main PoW camp in Northern Norway and held around 500 civilian and military prisoners when it was shut down at the end of the Norwegian Campaign.
With the outbreak of war between Norway and Nazi Germany following the German invasion of Norway increasing numbers of German prisoners fell into Norwegian hands in the fighting that followed. While many of these were soon liberated by the advancing German forces, the situation for those captured in Northern Norway was different. The Germans fighting at Narvik were on the defensive against superior Norwegian and Allied forces. Prisoners taken during the fighting were sent behind Allied lines, outside the reach of the Wehrmacht. After having first interned the German prisoners at various locations around the region the decision was made by the Norwegian 6th Division command to establish a central prisoner of war camp at the small and isolated island of Skorpa in Kvænangen in Troms county. Access to the island was by boat. The nearest Norwegian armed forces other than the guard force were 10 to 12 hours away from the camp.
When the first prisoners were sent to the camp they had to live in tents designed for 16 occupants each. By May the construction of wooden barracks had begun, with the prisoners providing the labour force under the guidance of civilian Norwegian craftsmen. Around 100 prisoners were at any time taking part in construction work, much of this outside the barbed wire. The construction was overseen by a second lieutenant of the Norwegian Army engineers. The barracks were meant to provide proper accommodation for the prisoners in the next winter.
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