Kamińsk is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in the administrative district of

Gmina Górowo Iławeckie __NOTOC__ Gmina Górowo Iławeckie is a rural gmina (administrative district) in Bartoszyce County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland, on the border with Russia. Its seat is the town of Górowo Iławeckie, although the town is not ...

, within

Bartoszyce County __NOTOC__ Bartoszyce County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, northern Poland, on the border with Russia. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish loca ...

, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland, close to the border with the

Kaliningrad Oblast Kaliningrad Oblast () is the westernmost federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of the Russian Federation. It is a Enclave and exclave, semi-exclave on the Baltic Sea within the Baltic region of Prussia (region), Prussia, surrounded by Pola ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. It lies approximately north of

Górowo Iławeckie Górowo Iławeckie () or simply Górowo, is a town in northern Poland, located in the Bartoszyce County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, with 4,068 inhabitants (2016). The town has a land area of and is the smallest municipality (''gmina'') in ter ...

, west of

Bartoszyce Bartoszyce (pronounced ; , ) is a town on the Łyna River in northern Poland, with 22,597 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the capital of Bartoszyce County within the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. Geographical location Bartoszyce lies on t ...

, and north of the regional capital

Olsztyn Olsztyn ( , ) is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with powiat rights, city with county rights. The population of the city was estimated at 169,793 residents Olsz ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, it was the location of the southern section of the German prisoner-of-war camp

Stalag I-A Stalag I-A was a German prisoner-of-war camp during World War II, located in the village of Stablack (now divided between Kamińsk, Poland, and Dolgorukovo, Russia). It housed mainly Polish, Belgian, French, Soviet and Italian prisoners of wa ...

. The camp was established on 6 September 1939, during the German

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

, which started

. It initially held Polish POWs, and then also

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and Belgian POWs from 1940, Soviet POWs from 1941, Italian POWs from 1943, plus also smaller numbers of British and Serbian POWs. In 1950 Kamińsk prison was established in its place. Segments of it were burned down during a prison strike in 1981, which was part of a greater wave of

unrest Unrest, also called disaffection, is a sociological phenomenon, including: * Civil disorder * Domestic terrorism * Industrial unrest * Labor unrest * Rebellion * Riot * Strike action * State of emergency Notable historical instances of unrest ...

in Poland.

References

Villages in Bartoszyce County {{Bartoszyce-geo-stub