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Background history
The Clarion is the title of the camp paper which was issued by and for the British POWs in Stalag VIII B (344) Lamsdorf, those who were both staying inside the camp and working in labor units outside it. The paper was printed by the publishing house OS-Tageszeitung Oppeln (based in Opole) upon the consent and through agency of the German camp authorities. The version designed for the camp censors was translated into German. It was intended to be a monthly providing the POWs with general information about the functioning of the camp, yet it did not come out systematically. The first issue, edited by James W. Wood, was published in January 1943, and contained the explanation that “[…] the paper is meant to be written to and read. It will depend on you whether it is going to be understood and full of information […].” In compliance with the editors’ intention, it was to include a column dealing with sports competitions, a section devoted to religious events, cultural issues, like theatre reviews, educational materials, or at last “small ads for public services”. Moreover, the paper was to present picture stories, poems and offer a jokes corner. The expense to bring out successive issues came from the POWs’ social fund and specific contributions. The cost of publishing the first issue amounted to Reichsmark 310.50, that is about £ 62. We do not have the information concerning the circulation of the individual issues. We know, on the other hand, that a copy of the paper was supposed to be read by ten POWs. The first issue of the paper appeared in the second half of the war, when the life in the camp was relatively stable and the POWs were convinced that the conflict would come to an end soon. This hope manifests itself in the topics of the features devoted to, for instance, architecture of rebuilt London or advice on how to raise children. A considerable part of each issue was occupied by news from home, which the editors continuously turned to POWs for. Finally, eighteen issues of The Clarion were successfully brought out. On closing the seventh issue, James W. Wood was repatriated, and the function of the editor-in-chief was taken over by Percy R. Parramore. The last, special issue came out in December 1944 at Christmas. The editors managed to gather material also for another Spring 1945 issue; however, it was never finalized because of the evacuation of the camp. There are two copies of the ninth issue of February 1944 in the collections of the Museum. This issue features, among others, a list of the names of eleven British POWs from Stalag VIII B (344) Lamsdorf, who had died between 2 October and 14 November 1943, season greetings for the Queen and the Prime Ministers of Canada and Australia. The column dealing with cultural activity presents a favorable review of Pygmalion, a theatre play being an adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s drama, which was staged in the camp (a very popular piece on the British Isles at that time). The staging of it was seen to by Denholm M. Elliot (a British actor known, among others, for his role in the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade), who – in Lamsdorf – himself appeared in the play also as the flower girl. The column headlined “We are now 344!” deserves paying special attention to. The editor informs the readers about the renaming Stalag VIII B into Stalag 344 Lamsdorf, instructing the POWs to take account of the fact while addressing their correspondence. The Clarion was the only paper issued in Stalag VIII B (344) Lamsdorf. It is the first time ever that we have been presenting it on an exhibition.
Prepared by: Anna Wickiewicz
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