Stalag VIII B (344) Lamsdorf

Stalag VIII B (344) Lamsdorf

Stalag VIII B was established on 4 October 1939. It was located in the area of the former Camp II (Lager II), initially referred to as a camp of field artillery (Feldlager). For years Prussian and – subsequently – German soldiers had trained there. In the time of successive wars, it provided facilities where prisoners-of-war were detained: during the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871) –soldiers of the French Army, during World War 1 – soldiers of the Entente.

In the interwar period, in Camp II, there lived German immigrants who had come from the Polish part of Upper Silesia. They were mainly workers of the Headquarters of the Reich’s Railways, based in Katowice, staying together with their families, who – in consequence of the changes to the German-Polish borderline and the resulting need to transfer the seat of the headquarters to Opole, had to wait for new work places to be organized for them and their new places of abode. They were accommodated in Camp II and in Camp I. The former was also a place where many sports and military trainings were held in the 20 years of the interwar period.

In the time of World War 2, the area saw a German camp organized, which constituted a part of the Lamsdorf POW complex – one of the largest of the kind in Europe. The camp was organized already in August 1939 as a transitory one (Dulag B). In October that year, it was transformed into a permanent camp designed for privates and non-commissioned officers. Its name was changed then to Stalag VIII B Lamsdorf. In the middle of 1943, it had the nearby Stalag 318/VIII F Lamsdorf subordinated to it, and later on – also Stalag VIII D Teschen (Cieszyn). Towards the end of 1943, the camp was again renamed to 344 Lamsdorf, retaining the name until the end of the War.

The first transport of POWs, numbering about one thousand soldiers of the Polish Army was brought to this place on 5 September 1939. Initially, beside the soldiers, there were also civilian prisoners detained here for a short time. One of them was Father Maksymilian Kolbe. In mid-1940, the place of the Polish POWs, the majority of whom were sent to the camps located in the heart of the Reich, was taken by British POWs. Shortly afterwards, there were soldiers of the other armies of states being at war with the Third Reich brought here as well: the French, the Belgian, the Yugoslavian, the Greek and the American. Due to a large number of the British (about 48 thousand) who were kept here uninterruptedly until the end of the War, the camp was colloquially dubbed into “British” (Britenlager).

The living conditions and the camp regime were similar to those encountered in other POW camps maintained by the Third Reich. The POWs were forced to work in agriculture, forestry and industry. In order that they were able to survive in the captivity the POWs engaged in cultural-educational, religious and sports activities. Letters and packets sent to them by their nearest or charity organizations proved an invaluable support to the POWs as well.

January 1945 saw the evacuation of the POWs. The camp was left by all who were capable of walking. Detachments of the Red Army entered the place on 18 March 1945. In the 1940s, the Polish military authorities established a military range in this area. Until its liquidation in 2000, the place had been inaccessible to visitors. There has been very little left of the original camp infrastructure: fire ponds, fragments of bunkhouses and storehouses. The Chestnut Alley, along which POWs were led into the camp has also been preserved.