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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Mahima Kaur & Sam Elliott-Gibbs

Inside abandoned PoW camp in the Cotswolds where Nazi soldiers were imprisoned in WW2

An urban explorer couldn't believe what he discovered after stumbling upon an abandoned World War Two Prisoner of War camp where captured Nazi soldiers were kept.

The old military-style buildings have been found behind some bushes in the Cotswolds.

Pictures taken by Dean Overthrow, 38, near Chipping Campden show empty buildings covered in mossy greens, abandoned machinery including a tractor and a car spread over a ground in a way that camps were during the two world wars.

He discovered the MOD camp behind thick shrubs and quickly carried out some research.

The old military-style buildings were found behind some bushes (mediadrumimages/DeanOverthrow)

The man found out that it was one of the many POW camps in the UK that as used to imprison German, Russian and even some Polish soldiers during the war.

German prisoners of war were held in Britain between the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 until as-late-as 1948.

The number of German prisoners in the UK reached a peak of around 400,000 in 1946.

The British government also introduced a programme of re-education for the prisoners to inform them about the evils of the Nazi regime.

Graffiti was seen on the walls as the urban explorer looked around (mediadrumimages/DeanOverthrow)

Around 25,000 German prisoners remained in the United Kingdom voluntarily after being released from prisoner of war status.

Most of the soldiers that were imprisoned here were captured in France.

Discovering this history was not just thrilling for Dean but also unnerving as he walked through this piece of British and world history.

Some of the abandoned building are covered with mossy greens (mediadrumimages/DeanOverthrow)

"The buildings had that typical old military style to them," said Dean "The buildings were big and dotted over a large area and were mostly empty.

"A couple of them had some old farming machinery left in them.

"It was a pretty strange feeling knowing the sorts of heinous things that would have happened here.

Another shell of a building was also discovered (mediadrumimages/DeanOverthrow)

"It was pretty cool seeing the buildings, but it was also kind of creepy knowing some people may have lost their lives here.

"But these shots capture some of the history of the country, which is great. It makes you feel like a part of history.

"It's not every day you get to walk around an abandoned POW camp."

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