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80th anniversary of arriving the first transport British POWs to Lamsdorf.
On 14 of June, 1940, there came the first transport of British POWs to Stalag VIII B (344) Lamsdorf. It consisted soldiers captured in the spring, who, in appalling conditions, marched by 20 km per day from Calais, Dunkirk and Saint Valery-en-Caux. The road to Lamsdorf led through temporary camps.
The Brits got to the neighbourhood of the camp by rail, travelling to the Annahof (present Sowin) in cattle trucks. Being on the spot, they were registered and received identity numbers. For longer time, they couldn’t inform the families about their whereabouts. Many of them were about to stay there till the end of the war. By the late July 1940, there were already 8,5 thousand British in the camp. Latter, the number rose.
The exact fate of this group of prisoners-of-war, was described by Dr Anna Wickiewicz in the book published by the museum Captivity in British Uniform. Stalag VIII B (344) Lamsdorf. Also, our contacts with the relatives of the British soldiers – former prisoners of Lamsdorf camp – remain strong. With a view of the families, in the 80th anniversary of the first transport, we revive our international discussion forum „Stacja Integracja” http://www.cmjw.pl/en/forum-stacja-integracja/.
You are welcome to visit us there and post your stories.
