ABSTRACT
The story of those Britons who were traitors to their own country during the Second World War is not that well known. The British authorities had known about the Corps from various sources for some time, but could hardly take it seriously when they discovered that it was such a pathetic affair. Germans in trying to recruit disenchanted British prisoners-of-war (POW) for service with the German forces. The Germans had some success in attracting men with 'Nordic' qualities from some of the occupied territories but recruitment was extremely slow among the British POWs. The official 'launch' date of the British Free Corps was 1 January 1944. The immediate task of the members was recruitment, and they visited various POW camps, and among some of the more disaffected prisoners they did manage to elicit some response. The Corps was brought back from Dresden after the terrible Allied bombing on the 12-13 February which all the members survived.
