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Stalag VIII-B
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Stalag VIII-B
Stalag VIII-B was most recently a German Army administered POW camp during World War II, later renumbered Stalag-344, located near the village of Lamsdorf (now Łambinowice) in Silesia. The camp contained barracks built to house British and French World War I POWs. The site had housed POWs of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71.
In the 1860s, the Prussian Army established a training area for artillery at a wooded area near Lamsdorf, a small village connected by rail to Opole and Nysa. During the Franco-Prussian War, a camp for about 3,000 French POWs was established here. During the First World War, a much larger POW camp was established here with some 90,000 soldiers of various nationalities interned here. After the Treaty of Versailles, the camp was decommissioned.
It was recommissioned in 1939 to house Polish prisoners from the German invasion of Poland, which started World War II in September 1939. Later during the war, approximately 100,000 prisoners from Australia, Belgium, British India, British Palestine, Canada, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, the United States and Yugoslavia passed through this camp. In 1941 a separate camp, Stalag VIII-F was set up nearby for Soviet POWs.
In 1943, the Lamsdorf camp population was split up, and many of the prisoners (and Arbeitskommando) were transferred to two new base camps Stalag VIII-C Sagan (modern Żagań) and Stalag VIII-D Teschen (modern Český Těšín). The base camp at Lamsdorf was renumbered Stalag 344.
On 6–7 October, 5,789 Polish insurgents, including women and children of the Warsaw Uprising were brought to the camp. Most were soon moved to other POW camps, including Oflag II-C, Oflag II-D, Oflag VII-A, Stalag XVIII-C, Stalag III-A, Stalag IV-B, Stalag VII-A, Stalag VII-B, Stalag VIII-C, Stalag IX-C, Stalag XIII-D.
The Red Army reached the camp on 17 March 1945.
In 1945-1946, the camp was used by the Soviet-installed Polish Ministry of Public Security to house some 8000-9000 Germans, both POWs and civilians. Polish army personnel being repatriated from POW camps were also processed through Łambinowice and sometimes held there as prisoners for several months. Some were later released, others sent to Gulags in Siberia. About 1000-1500 German prisoners died in the camp due to maltreatment and deprivation: malnutrition, lack of medicine and acts of violence and terror by the Soviet guards. Camp commander Czesław Gęborski would be put on trial for his role in running the camp.
By 1943 the famous camp for Allied flight personnel in Sagan, Stalag Luft III, was overcrowded. About 1,000 (mostly non-commissioned) flight personnel were transferred to the prison camp at Lamsdorf (now Łambinowice). The flight personnel were housed in what became a camp within a camp when a portion was sectioned off with barbed-wire fencing, and designated Stalag Luft VIII-B. Food continued to be provided from the original camp's army-administered kitchen.
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Stalag VIII-B
Stalag VIII-B was most recently a German Army administered POW camp during World War II, later renumbered Stalag-344, located near the village of Lamsdorf (now Łambinowice) in Silesia. The camp contained barracks built to house British and French World War I POWs. The site had housed POWs of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71.
In the 1860s, the Prussian Army established a training area for artillery at a wooded area near Lamsdorf, a small village connected by rail to Opole and Nysa. During the Franco-Prussian War, a camp for about 3,000 French POWs was established here. During the First World War, a much larger POW camp was established here with some 90,000 soldiers of various nationalities interned here. After the Treaty of Versailles, the camp was decommissioned.
It was recommissioned in 1939 to house Polish prisoners from the German invasion of Poland, which started World War II in September 1939. Later during the war, approximately 100,000 prisoners from Australia, Belgium, British India, British Palestine, Canada, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, the United States and Yugoslavia passed through this camp. In 1941 a separate camp, Stalag VIII-F was set up nearby for Soviet POWs.
In 1943, the Lamsdorf camp population was split up, and many of the prisoners (and Arbeitskommando) were transferred to two new base camps Stalag VIII-C Sagan (modern Żagań) and Stalag VIII-D Teschen (modern Český Těšín). The base camp at Lamsdorf was renumbered Stalag 344.
On 6–7 October, 5,789 Polish insurgents, including women and children of the Warsaw Uprising were brought to the camp. Most were soon moved to other POW camps, including Oflag II-C, Oflag II-D, Oflag VII-A, Stalag XVIII-C, Stalag III-A, Stalag IV-B, Stalag VII-A, Stalag VII-B, Stalag VIII-C, Stalag IX-C, Stalag XIII-D.
The Red Army reached the camp on 17 March 1945.
In 1945-1946, the camp was used by the Soviet-installed Polish Ministry of Public Security to house some 8000-9000 Germans, both POWs and civilians. Polish army personnel being repatriated from POW camps were also processed through Łambinowice and sometimes held there as prisoners for several months. Some were later released, others sent to Gulags in Siberia. About 1000-1500 German prisoners died in the camp due to maltreatment and deprivation: malnutrition, lack of medicine and acts of violence and terror by the Soviet guards. Camp commander Czesław Gęborski would be put on trial for his role in running the camp.
By 1943 the famous camp for Allied flight personnel in Sagan, Stalag Luft III, was overcrowded. About 1,000 (mostly non-commissioned) flight personnel were transferred to the prison camp at Lamsdorf (now Łambinowice). The flight personnel were housed in what became a camp within a camp when a portion was sectioned off with barbed-wire fencing, and designated Stalag Luft VIII-B. Food continued to be provided from the original camp's army-administered kitchen.
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