Rifle butts knocked out my teeth, and made me very sore. An administration block including a hospital was erected in the latter part of 1940, mainly by prisoner labour. Stalag 20b prisoner of war camp in the second world war 1939. A book that contains prisoner of war experience at stalag xxa at thorn and a satellite working party at bromberg, now bydgoszcz, and a state farm in east prussia, along with gruesome mention of a russian pow camp near thorn, and can be found on amazon books, is, the memoirs of private james peters 1939 1945 isbn. The camp began begins in late 1939 with polish pows being held in forts 9 and 10 which they converted to prisons. A hand drawn sketch map presumed to be by henry owens showing the layout of stalag xxb, marienburg some time between 1942 1944. Housing mainly british and american flyers, it was the historical setting for the movie the great escape. Information needed by a relative for family history.
My father died in may 1973 and i am trying to compose a life book for my. These unseen photos really do show tommies whod fought and lost in the beaches making the best of grim stalag xxa. Conditions were difficult, as with most pow camps, but one of the reasons that this camp was known better than most is that much of the cruelty. Book of the month stalag luft iii an official history. Segregation in usarmy during world war 2 and stalag viia moosburg pow camp sfp 186 duration. Bbc ww2 peoples war jack collins stalag xxb category. A few days latter the newly freed soviet pows were causing chaos in and around fallingbostelthey had looted most if not all of the town and started raping the locals. My father was in stalag xxb marienburg from march 1943 to february. There is little information online and what there is seems to be confusing iva with ivb which was liberated by the russians, april 23, 1945. Looking for information on thomas muir moffat craven murray born in dundee 04011916.
Henry owens, stalag xxb, camp 946 and camp 210, 19441945. This website is currently being rebuilt and is not yet fully functioning. An official history of the pow camp of the great escape grehan, john on. Stalag xxb in willenberg in east prussia was the hutted camp, which had been used for the same purpose in world war i and was in poor condition. He did the long march and was liberated luckily by the americans. It lists information about the royal australian air force pows who were accommodated in hut 18a at stalag viiib344 lamsdorf, and their participation in the long march of 1945, and published in the book the raf pows of lamsdorf. This is the diary of the life of our father jack collins during the time he was a. Military and naval science air forces military aspects escapes military prisons prison escapes prisoners of war food and nutrition social aspects statistics prisons, military.
The german pow camps stalag xxa and 312 were located in thorn torun. Marienburg stalag xxb or stalag 20b marienburg danzig was a german pow camp in world war ii. Located near marienburg, it was originally a hutted and tented camp with a double boundary fence and watchtowers. I have a book and my fathers diary describing the 10 week march. Photograph by private herbert stupples, 45th battalion, the buffs regiment, world war two, 1945. The untold story of allied prisoners of war in germany. He was interned in stalag camp 20b or xxb at marienburg which was furthest camp east in east prussia. Some pows were billeted with local famers to work on the farms, because the local young men were all away at war. British prisoners of war in poland, 19401945 imperial. Stalag xib and stalag xid 357 were built in 1937 and in.
Scroll to the bottom of this page for the long march to freedom. Marienburg stalag xxb or stalag 20b marienburg danzig was a german pow camp in world. Photos show tommies making the best of grim stalag xxa. Maybe not the greatest history book ever written, but the author should be thanked and honored for documenting this little known aspect of wisconsinww ii history. Download surviving the swastika ebook pdf or read online books in pdf. Imprisoned in stalag xxb in malbork marienburg, poland. Jack durey, who was transferred to the camp in december 1940 wrote. Henry owens, stalag xxb, marienburg 1942 1944 51st. Jack collins pow life 194045 part1 stalag xxb this is the diary of the life of our father jack collins during the time he was a prisoner of war in. Stalag 20b xxb, according to the german designation system was a ww2 prisonerofwar. During the second world war, the pow camp stalag viia was one of the better known pow camps run by germany. It took me down a road of research that i will eventually document while i continue to copy the log book pages.
Orig british ww2 pow medals dunkirk 2nd glosters ruck. The official history of the camp was prepared for the war office but was never released to the general public. Soldiers at the stalag xxb main camp eastern district group, 25 february 1945. There were separate camps for navy, aircrews, and civilians. I am familiar with most of the camp locations described in the book and enjoyed reading what the locals remembered about the pows. Soldiers at the stalag xxb main camp eastern district.
We want to pass this story on to our family and friends and general public, so they. Outnumbered by at least three to one they held out for 4 days until they ran out of ammunition and were forced to surrender. They are no longer available for a reading today in terms of traditional publication, although the advent of the internet has allowed for peertopeer file sharing. Stalag 7a prisoner of war camp in the second world war, the wartime memories project. Stalag was a shortlived genre of nazi exploitation holocaust pornography in israel that flourished in the 1950s and early 1960s, and stopped after the time of the eichmann trial, because of a ban by the israeli government. Stalag xib was the first british pow camp to be liberated by advancing troops. Collection of digital photography depicting graffiti and various inscriptions with personal information left on the walls of fort xi, a part of stalag xxa 20a in torun thorn, by british, french and polish pows during the second world war. My father was a british gunner with the royal artillery regiment. The goal of this picturebased book is to uncover and assemble the history of my fathers war with my two sons, and to create a book that is compelling and interesting. About 40,000 allied rearguard troops were captured and. We suggest if you are a pow or the family of a pow that you leave your regular mail address as well as your email as emails change frequently and can be beyond our control, so others visiting may be able to contact you to inquire or share information. Marienburg stalag xxb or stalag 20b marienburg danzig was a nazi pow camp. I am pleased to see that there are books being written about the prisoners and this. Stalag xxb marienburg was situated in and around modern malbork, poland.
The officer in command who was a bit drunk lined up the german guards, who had all buried their uniforms to look like civvies, offering a machine gun saying any of these guys give you grief. Photos show tommies making the best of grim stalag xxa daily. Stalag xxa also called 357 in the early part of the war was situated at torun thorn in poland, where there were a number of defensive forts. He was in various camps, the final one being stalag iva hohenstein. Pow in stalag xxb advice please world war two page 1. Jack collins pow life 194045 part1 stalag xxb icon for story with photo. Indeed, the story of the remarkable escape is recounted in this summers. Here is the latest book of the month from pen and sword stalag luft iii an official history of the great escape pow camp. He did tell us he was a tumbler and having seen his log book growing up i saw a different photo of dad at the top of a group tumbler formation. Message boards topics military world war ii prisoners of war patrick j obrien stalag xxb. The liberation of stalag iib, some of the british prisoners of war liberated from stalag iib.
Stalag 20a 312 prisoner of war camp in the second world. Search below to view digital records and find material that you can access at our library and at the shapell center. The camp was very large, with many sites and centres not at all like the great escape style camps. This was a prison camp on the outskirts of elbing, and was what you might call a bed and breakfast camp without the breakfast. A chronicle of stalag xviib, kremsgneisendorf, austria. Finding dad in spinellis book was like running into dad at the stalag. The german camps were named according to a numbering system, beginning with a roman numeral representing the military district the camp was located in. Information and exchange about stalag viiib344 lamsdorf prisoner of war camp 19401945. Stalag luft iii became famous through the books and films of. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the true story of the great escape. This turbulent and gutsy play shows a group of american prisoners lodged in a.
Company sergeant major joseph newton, at stalag xxa, part of the. Details taken from original soldiers service and pay book 64. An official history of the pow camp of the great escape. This official account of this notorious prisoner of war camp was written for the war office and was based on information and testimonies provided by the prisoners themselves. The museums collections document the fate of holocaust victims, survivors, rescuers, liberators, and others through artifacts, documents, photos, films, books, personal stories, and more. My dad was at both stalag xxa and stalg xxb as many were. Stalag luft iii is the camp most commonly associated with the allied prisoner of war experience in world war ii germany. Life in the pow camps bore little resemblance to the cheerful films of the 1950s with casual brutality never far from the. Private smyth of downham, captured at cherbourg in private ryan of bradford. Another prisoner in the willenberg camp was stuart brown, who wrote about it in his book forbidden paths.
Stalag 7a prisoner of war camp in the second world war. Pow in stalag xxb advice please world war two page 9. Henry owens, stalag xxb, camp 946 and camp 210 elbing, east prussia, 19441945 stalag xxb, camp 946, elbing, east prussia. Orig british ww2 pow medals dunkirk 2nd glosters ruck gloucestershire regiment.
He was on the forced marches described in the book, from stalag xxb in marienburg now marlbork, poland. Clift of the royal artillery, army service number 49125, pow number 17289. Henry owens describes stalag xxb, camp 946 and camp 210 at elbing, east. Irving of the royal army service corps, army service number 155097, pow number 16930. Stalag luft iii, march 1944 ebook written by jonathan f vance. Ww2 peoples war jack collins stalag xxb category bbc. Stupples was a prisoner of war in stalag xxb from 1940 after being captured during the fall of france. For the next five years ted found himself part of the huge slave labour force in poland under the administration of stalag xxa and stalag xxb. We would like to show you that in the shadows of the beautiful gothic city there is also forgotten history.