Stalag XX-A was a German
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 ...
prisoner-of-war camp
A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war.
There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. P ...
located in
Toruń
)''
, image_skyline =
, image_caption =
, image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg
, image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg
, nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town
, pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...
in
German-occupied Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
. It was not a single camp and contained as many as 20,000 men at its peak. The main camp was located in seven forts of the 19th-century
Toruń Fortress
Toruń Fortress ( pl, Twierdza Toruń, german: Festung Thorn) is a historic fortress located in Toruń, Poland, one of the largest Fortification, fortresses in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe.
It was built in 1872–1894 by the Kingdom ...
, located in the southern part of the city.
History
In September 1939 some of the forts were used as POW camps for Polish prisoners, specifically those captured after the surrender of the Polish fort at
Westerplatte
Westerplatte is a peninsula in Gdańsk, Poland, located on the Baltic Sea coast mouth of the Dead Vistula (one of the Vistula delta estuaries), in the Gdańsk harbour channel. From 1926 to 1939, it was the location of a Polish Military Transi ...
at the mouth of the river
Vistula
The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland.
The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...
and on the
Hel Peninsula
Hel Peninsula (; pl, Mierzeja Helska, Półwysep Helski; csb, Hélskô Sztremlëzna; german: Halbinsel Hela or ''Putziger Nehrung'') is a sand bar peninsula in northern Poland separating the Bay of Puck from the open Baltic Sea. It is l ...
. In June 1940 additional forts were added to the camp to accommodate British soldiers. The first to arrive were 403 men from the
Allied campaign in Norway. Later, about 4,500 arrived from
Dunkirk
Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.[51st (Highland) Infantry Division
The 51st (Highland) Division was an infantry division of the British Army that fought on the Western Front in France during the First World War from 1915 to 1918. The division was raised in 1908, upon the creation of the Territorial Force, as ...]
captured at
Saint-Valery-en-Caux
Saint-Valery-en-Caux (, literally ''Saint-Valery in Caux'') is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France.
The addition of an acute accent on the "e" (Valéry) is incorrect.
Geography
The town is locat ...
. In 1941 and 1942
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
prisoners arrived. At the peak there were about 10,000 prisoners at the camp. However, many of them were located in sub-camps. The camp was expanded by building additional wooden barracks.
[
The POWs in the camp were often weakened, exhausted, and various diseases were prevalent, including ]dysentery
Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...
, diphtheria
Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...
, tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
, peptic ulcer disease
Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) is a break in the inner lining of the stomach, the first part of the small intestine, or sometimes the lower esophagus. An ulcer in the stomach is called a gastric ulcer, while one in the first part of the intestines ...
, etc.[Bukowska, p. 112] Many suffered from depression and had mental breakdowns, and there was a case of suicide.[ Australian prisoner of war recalled random extrajudicial executions of Polish prisoners of war carried out by the Germans.] Many POWs died in the camp.[ A hospital was located in Fort XIV, which was operated by the British Sanitary Corps.
The Polish resistance movement facilitated escapes of British POWs from the camp, subsequently sheltering them in ]Bydgoszcz
Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...
, and transporting them through Gdynia
Gdynia ( ; ; german: Gdingen (currently), (1939–1945); csb, Gdiniô, , , ) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With a population of 243,918, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and ...
to neutral
Neutral or neutrality may refer to:
Mathematics and natural science Biology
* Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the unified neutral theory of biodiversity
Chemistry and physics
* Neutralization (chemistry), a chemical reaction in ...
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
.
The camp was liberated on 1 February 1945 by the Soviet Army
uk, Радянська армія
, image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg
, alt =
, caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army
, start_date ...
.
Sub-camps
In accordance with the Third Geneva Convention
The Third Geneva Convention, relative to the treatment of prisoners of war, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. The Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War was first adopted in 1929, but significantl ...
, POWs below the rank of Sergeant were required to work and were attached to ''Arbeitskommando
''Arbeitslager'' () is a German language word which means labor camp. Under Nazism, the German government (and its private-sector, Axis, and collaborator partners) used forced labor extensively, starting in the 1930s but most especially duri ...
'' ("labour units") mostly located in various towns and villages in the region. They were hired out to military and civilian contractors. In the case of farm work, this was often carried out on state farms. Sergeants and above could not be forced to work and if they did so were sent to non-working camps. Some of these sub-camps were not the traditional POW camps with barbed wire and guard towers but merely accommodation centres. According to the International Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...
and British POW Sam Kydd
Samuel John Kydd (15 February 1915 – 26 March 1982) was a British-Irish actor. His best-known roles were in two major British television series of the 1960s, as the smuggler Orlando O'Connor in '' Crane'' and its sequel ''Orlando''. He als ...
living conditions in the sub-camps were much better than in the main camp.[Bukowska, p. 107] The POWs received better food there, and they had contact with people from the outside, despite the fact that such contacts were forbidden. Some camps were large and created for a particular project.
* Camp 34 - Construction of a large housing project for German colonists.
* Elbing camp
* Konitz
Unterwellenborn is a municipality in the district Saalfeld-Rudolstadt, in Thuringia, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe af ...
camp
* Bromberg Dynamit Nobel AG Factory
Bromberg Dynamit Nobel AG Factory also known as Bromberg DAG AG Factory or DAG Fabrik Bromberg was one of the largest arms factory of Dynamit Nobel during the Nazi Germany, Third Reich: covering , it was the second most extensive DAG factory at th ...
in Bydgoszcz
Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...
[
Historical Note:
British actor ]Sam Kydd
Samuel John Kydd (15 February 1915 – 26 March 1982) was a British-Irish actor. His best-known roles were in two major British television series of the 1960s, as the smuggler Orlando O'Connor in '' Crane'' and its sequel ''Orlando''. He als ...
was a prisoner in one of these camps throughout the war. During his internment, where he remained for the next five years, he took command of the camp's theatrical activities - devising and staging plays. He felt so strongly about his work there that, when he was offered repatriation after three years, he turned it down to continue with his theatrical work. While imprisoned in a sub-camp in Wyrzysk
Wyrzysk (german: Wirsitz) is a town in Poland with 5,263 (2004) inhabitants, situated in Piła County, Greater Poland Voivodeship.
Geographic location
Wyrzysk is located in the ethnocultural region of Krajna in northern Greater Poland, admin ...
, Sam Kydd had contact with local Poles and learned various phrases in Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
.
Notable prisoners
* Aonghas Caimbeul
Aonghas Caimbeul (9 October 1903 – 28 January 1982), alias Am Puilean, was a Scottish Gaelic Bard, war poet, and memoirist.
Early life
Caimbeul was born on 9 October 1903 at Swainbost, Ness, Isle of Lewis, where his family had lived since ...
, Private in 51st (Highland) Division
The 51st (Highland) Division was an infantry division of the British Army that fought on the Western Front in France during the First World War from 1915 to 1918. The division was raised in 1908, upon the creation of the Territorial Force, as ...
from the Isle of Lewis
The Isle of Lewis ( gd, Eilean Leòdhais) or simply Lewis ( gd, Leòdhas, ) is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to as ...
. He subsequently became a highly important figure in 20th century Scottish Gaelic literature
Scottish Gaelic literature refers to literature composed in the Scottish Gaelic language and in the Gàidhealtachd communities where it is and has been spoken. Scottish Gaelic is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages, along with Iri ...
as both a war poet
A war poet is a poet who participates in a war and writes about their experiences, or a non-combatant who writes poems about war. While the term is applied especially to those who served during the First World War, the term can be applied to a p ...
and award-winning memoirist
A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...
.[Ronald Black (1999), ''An Tuil: Anthology of 20th century Scottish Gaelic Verse'', page 757-759.]
* Peter Conder
Peter Conder, OBE (20 March 1919 – 8 October 1993) was a British ornithologist and conservationist known predominantly for his contribution as Director of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
Early life
Peter Conder was born in S ...
, British soldier, ornithologist and conservationist
* Okey Geffin, South African soldier and rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
player
* Sam Kydd
Samuel John Kydd (15 February 1915 – 26 March 1982) was a British-Irish actor. His best-known roles were in two major British television series of the 1960s, as the smuggler Orlando O'Connor in '' Crane'' and its sequel ''Orlando''. He als ...
, British soldier and actor
* Tommy Macpherson
Colonel (United Kingdom), Colonel Sir Ronald Thomas Stewart Macpherson (4 October 1920 – 6 November 2014) was a highly decorated British Army officer during and after the World War II, Second World War. He fought with the No. 11 (Scottish) Co ...
, British officer, escapee from the camp
* Frank McLardy, British soldier and Nazi collaborator
* Airey Neave
Airey Middleton Sheffield Neave, (;) (23 January 1916 – 30 March 1979) was a British soldier, lawyer and Member of Parliament (MP) from 1953 until his assassination in 1979.
During World War II he was the first British prisoner-of-war
...
, British soldier, lawyer and Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
* Brian Paddon, Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
pilot, escapee from the camp
* , Australian soldier, who escaped from the camp, joined the Polish resistance and took part in the Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occ ...
[
* John Stephenson, British soldier, Sherwood Foresters.
]
See also
* List of prisoner-of-war camps in Germany For lists of German prisoner-of-war camps, see:
* German prisoner-of-war camps in World War I
* German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II
Nazi Germany operated around 1,000 prisoner-of-war camps (german: Kriegsgefangenenlager) during World Wa ...
References
Reports of British prisoners
External links
*
*
*
*
* Hanna Bukowska
Obóz jeniecki Stalag XXA w Toruniu 1939-1945
Rocznik Toruński 40 (2013).
Further reading
* Aonghas Caimbeul
Aonghas Caimbeul (9 October 1903 – 28 January 1982), alias Am Puilean, was a Scottish Gaelic Bard, war poet, and memoirist.
Early life
Caimbeul was born on 9 October 1903 at Swainbost, Ness, Isle of Lewis, where his family had lived since ...
(1973), ''Suathadh ri Iomadh Rubha, eachdraidh a bheatha'' ed. Iain Moireach
Iain Moireach (John Murray) (27 March 1938 – 17 November 2018) was a Scottish Gaelic writer from Barvas, Isle of Lewis. He wrote poetry, screenplays, and short stories.
He published many short stories in the Gaelic magazines ''Gairm'' and '' ...
, Gairm
''Gairm'' was a Scottish Gaelic quarterly magazine founded in 1951 by Derick Thomson, and Finlay J. MacDonald (Fionnlagh Domhnallach). Its first issue was published in Autumn 1952. MacDonald served as an editor until 1964; Thomson remained presen ...
, Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
. (In Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...
)
* Kydd, Sam (1974). ''For You The War Is Over''. London: Futura.
* Morrison, Charles (1989). ''We've Been A Long Time Coming Boys''. Haddington: Albyn Press.
* Longden, Sean (2005). ''Hitler's British Slaves''. London: Constable. .
* Mansel, John. "The Mansel Diaries" (1977). Privately printed.
* Foster, Steve & Clark, Alan (2018) "The Soldier who came back"
{{Authority control
World War II prisoner of war camps in Germany
History of Toruń
Military history of Poland during World War II
World War II sites in Poland