Paul Priem

Paul Priem
Born	11 March 1893 Posen, Imperial Germany
Died	2 August 1943(1943-08-02) (aged 50) Leipzig, Nazi Germany
Allegiance	Imperial Germany Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Freikorps
Years of service	?1914–1919 1939–1943
Rank	Captain
Commands held	Security Officer, Oflag IV-C (1939–1943)
Battles/wars	World War I Greater Polish Uprising World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Other work	Teaching

Paul Priem (born 11 March 1893 in Posen, Imperial Germany; died 2 August 1943 in Leipzig, Nazi Germany) was a German officer in the Wehrmacht during World War II and a noted member of the German staff at the Colditz Castle POW camp.

During the Greater Poland Uprising of 1918–1919, he fought against the Polish insurrection as a second-lieutenant in the Freikorps. During the 1930s, he was a school headmaster in Leipzig until called up for active service in 1939.

He was subsequently given the post as the Security Officer at Colditz Castle and was known to the prisoners as being one of the more jovial of the Germans; Pat Reid, a successful POW escapee, said he "possessed a rare quality among Germans - a sense of humour".^[1] Priem's heavy drinking, however, meant he was called before a medical board and found to be unfit for active service. He returned to teaching, and died from the effects of his drinking in August 1943.

References

• Eggers, Reinhold (1974), Colditz Recaptured (New English Library).