Stalag 307 and Oflag 77 was a German prisoner-of-war camp operated during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Dęblin Dęblin is a town at the confluence of Vistula and Wieprz rivers, in Lublin Voivodeship, Poland. Dęblin is the part of the agglomeration with adjacent towns of Ryki and Puławy, which altogether has over 100 000 inhabitants. The population of ...

in German-occupied Poland.

History

The first POW camp was established in Dęblin by the German occupiers in 1939 for Polish troops of the Independent Operational Group Polesie taken prisoner during the German

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

that began World War II. Following the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, Dutch, Belgian and

Senegalese Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

POWs were brought to the camp. It was located in the

Dęblin Fortress Dęblin Fortress refers to the 19th century fortifications in the town of Dęblin, Poland. Part of the fortress is used as a museum and the area is owned by the Polish military. History The fortifications were constructed between 1837 and 1847, wh ...

. In April 1941, the Stalag 307 camp was established in Moosburg, then relocated to Kaliłów in May 1941, and finally to Dęblin in October 1941. While still in Kaliłów, abysmal living conditions and feeding rations caused widespread malnutrition and diseases, and there were also mass executions of POWs, including those attempting to escape. Some 13,000 POWs died there. In Dęblin, Stalag 307 housed French, Soviet and Italian prisoners.Megargee; Overmans; Vogt, p. 292 Overcrowding, poor food rations and sanitary conditions caused starvation and epidemics, resulting in a high mortality rate. The camp had two subcamps, located in Zarzecze and Poniatowa. In January 1944 Stalag 307 was reorganized into Oflag 77, and on August 19, 1944 it was dissolved. Around 100,000 POWs died in the camp.

Notable inmates

* Janusz Komorowski, Polish Olympic equestrian

References

{{reflist Nazi war crimes in Poland World War II prisoner-of-war camps in Germany World War II sites in Poland