World War II Itter Castle
itter castle seen southeast, 1979
after 1938 anschluss annexation of austria nazi germany, reich government officially leased castle in late 1940 owner, franz grüner. itter castle seized grüner ss lieutenant general oswald pohl under orders of heinrich himmler on february 7, 1943, , transformed prison april 25, 1943. established incarcerate prominent french prisoners valuable reich, facility placed subcamp under administration of dachau concentration camp.
notable prisoners included: former prime ministers Édouard daladier , paul reynaud; generals maurice gamelin , former commander-in-chief maxime weygand, had been prominent during phoney war; former tennis champion jean borotra, later general commissioner of sports in vichy regime; right-wing leader françois de la rocque, leader of right-wing croix de feu movement; trade union leader léon jouhaux; andré françois-poncet, politician , diplomat; , michel clemenceau, politician , son of georges clemenceau. former republic president albert lebrun held @ itter 3 months in 1943, before being sent france health reasons; marie-agnès de gaulle, resistance member , sister of general charles de gaulle, interned in castle @ end of war, in april 1945.
besides french vip prisoners, castle held number of eastern european prisoners detached dachau, used maintenance , other menial work.
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