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Concrete, brick, plaster – materials that were expected to last for many years, today are in need of protection themselves. Their remnants are one of the clearest testimonies to the history of Lamsdorf, still time has not treated them with gentleness. During the September Łambinowice Museum Meeting, organized within the framework of European Heritage Days 2026, we were talking about what is happening to the historic fabric of the former POW camps and how it can be protected.

The meeting was held under the title “The future of the past. Heritage in danger” and was devoted to results of the recent examination of the state of conservation of the camp infrastructure as well as to the conservation works conducted in the grounds of the former Stalag 318/VIII F (344) Lamsdorf. The course of the work was presented by our colleague of the Department of Collections and Conservation, Zofia Szlęg. She acquainted the participants with the method of documenting and securing remnants of the camp infrastructure, as well as discussed the threats facing persons who take care of them.

That was not merely a lecture on the brick and the concrete, though. The participants were able to drop behind the curtains of conservation work and get to know how seemingly harmless factors such as water, sunrays, plants, fungi or bacteria – step by step contribute to degradation of the materials. The meeting confirmed the fact that protection of what has been left of the former camp system requires not only specialist knowledge and research but also everyday consistent work.

The September Łambinowice Museum Meeting offered also an opportunity to meet people who carry out the work – museologists, conservators and volunteers involved in preservation of material traces of the history of Lamsdorf. For, even though concrete and brick can survive through decades, without our attention and care, they can disappear with time.