Cartoons reveal life inside Scottish prisoner of war camp was not all bad for German captives
AN “internationally significant” treasure trove of cartoons of Nazis in a Scottish POW camp has been revealed for the first time ahead of going on public display.
The pen and ink illustrations were created by a prisoner at Cultybraggan in Perthshire during the last two years of the Second World War and detail the lives of the 4,000 inmates at Camp 21.
The images also detail the lives of Waffen SS men and troublemakers from other camps in Britain.
German prisoners are pictured carrying out manual labour and struggling with prison life.
But despite known cases of intimidation, violence and even murder, the pictures also show that life was not all bad for the inmates.
There are also lighthearted and humorous scenes of them enjoying card games, concerts, theatre performances and even a snowball fight.
The 66 pages will go on display for the first time after being released by the family of a British official.
The Comrie Development Trust, which took over the camp near the village, will unveil the cartoon collection at the event, Carry On, Culty, at Cultybraggan on May 12.
CDT’S Phil Mestecky said: “We hope that the cartoons will attract visitors to the camp and provide a source of much needed funds for the Trust to continue to preserve and develop this unique historical site – the only surviving POW camp in Scotland.”