Exhibition "The Bird-Cage"

J.E.M. 'Jimmy' Atkinson (1912–1997): Scottish farmer and lieutenant of the 7th Battalion ‘The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders‘. After the Battle of Dunkirk in 1940, he endured a week-long march from the Somme to Oflag VII C. During the march he developed the melody and the dance steps of what should become a world-famous Scottish dance: the 'Reel of the 51st Highland Division' also known as ‘Laufen Reel’. The steps symbolize the St. Andrews cross and were written down in a shorthand version, which was initially interpreted by the Nazis as a secret code. – Atkinson survived the war and continued to farm the family estate near Nairn.

Desmond Wilkinson Llewelyn (1914–1999): Welsh actor and lieutenant of the Infantry Regiment of the Royal Welch Fusiliers. While defending France near Lille, he was captured by the German troops and sent to Oflag VII C, later being transferred to Colditz Castle, where he was liberated. From 1963 (“From Russia with Love”), Desmond Llewelyn achieved world fame as “Mister Q” in almost all James Bond films until 1999.

Edward John Mawby Buxton (1912-1989): English university lecturer of English literature, writer, poet, ornithologist and intelligence officer. In May 1940, he was taken prisoner in Norway and arrived at Oflag VII C two months later. In Laufen, he taught English literature at the ‘university’ initiated by fellow prisoners and contributed significantly to the camp's library. Buxton's book, "Westward," about his imprisonment, was published in London in 1942 and was, therefore, written in Laufen. Other stops during his captivity included the camps in Warburg and Eichstätt.

Peter John Conder (1919-1993): English ornithologist, conservationist and lieutenant. He was captured on June 12, 1940, in St Valery-en-Caux on the English Channel and had to reach his destination, Laufen, after weeks of marches on foot through France, Belgium, Holland, and Germany. Conder was in Oflag VII C from July 1940 to March 1941 and spent the remaining war years in numerous other POW camps. After the war, he became known as the director of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.