News

In the summer the Museum sees an increased number of visits from overseas visitors, particularly the descendants of British prisoners-of-war who were held in Stalag VIII B (344) Lamsdorf. One such visitor in recent weeks has been Mr. David Wood, son of Private Joseph Wood, a POW and Second Australian Imperial Force gunner. Private Joseph Wood was taken prisoner by the Germans during the invasion of Greece in April 1941. His son came to us from Australia and donated valuable documents to the Museum which shed new light on the fate of prisoners-of-war.

The donation included, among other things, the military record of Private J. Wood, probably issued at the Dulag 202 Nisch transit camp in 1941, and a letter from a fellow POW, the Yugoslav Private Ciry Nikolic. These are rare testimonies in our collection about the transit camps in the south Europe and tell the story of prisoners-of-war, such as these two: an Australian and a Serb.

This ordinary letter, wrote after the end of the Second World War in the British occupation zone of Germany, is a reminder of the shared experience of captivity of people from the far ends of the world. It demonstrates that values such as friendship and solidarity are of particular importance in the time of war. Although we do not know what was the further fate of Private Nikolic, or whether there were more letters, we are hoping that we will be able to establish more information regarding this matter. It is now time to process the given documents.

The donation is another proof that every photograph, document or object donated to the Museum enriches our knowledge. In addition to its factual value, such as personal history, it carries a great emotional charge and helps us to disseminate the fates of prisoners-of-war.

Thank you very much for your gift!