Irish seamen sent to Nazi labour camps, letters show

Irish-born merchant seamen were sent to concentration camps because they refused to work for the Germans, new documents show.

Files released at the National Archives, in Kew, west London, show the men were awarded compensation by the British government in recognition of the horrific conditions they endured at the hands of the Germans.

The Irishmen were held at the Marlag-Milag Nord prisoner of war (PoW) camp, and were asked to pitch in with the German war effort by working on railways at Bremen, and at the shipyards in Hamburg.