1. Why were camps at Lamsdorf/Łambinowice built?

2. Acknowledgements This source collection is made by Chris Rowe and the Central Museum of Prisoners- of-War in Łambinowice-Opole. This collection is part of the unit “Internment without a trial: Examples from the Nazi and Soviet regimes” that is developed in the Multi- Facetted Memory project. More information www.euroclio.eu/multi- facetted-memory There were a few reasons why Lamsdorf was chosen to be a place of confinement. The place was located far from towns and villages, but on the other hand a new railway line had been built between two major towns in the area. It was used for transportation Prussian soldiers to a newly built military training ground where Prussian artillery and cavalry were practicing their skills. Later the same railway line would play a crucial role in the history of Lamsdorf prisoner-of-war camps. It was one of the main reasons why German authorities used the military ground facilities as a base for future interment place. The imprisonment camp at Lamsdorf/Łambinowice in Upper Silesia is best known from the history of stalags during World War II. Those camps haused Allied prisoners-of-war between 1939-45. However, it had been an internment place long before then – during the Franco-Prussian War (1870- 1871) and World War I (1914-1918). Soon after World War II, for a brief period, the place was used a labour camp for ethnic population of Silesia (German and Poles alike). This collection of sources included in the presentation illustrates the multi- faceted motives and reasons behind the history of internment.

4. A view of the objects in the Lager I A postcard issued in the years 1910-1913 (Central Museum of Prisoners-of-War in Łambinowice-Opole)

6. (Central Museum of Prisoners-of-War in Łambinowice-Opole) German troops taking a break during exercises at the Lamsdorf military training ground. April 1914

8. A view of the POW Camp at Lamsdorf during World War I (Central Museum of Prisoners-of-War in Łambinowice-Opole)

10. POWs at the Lamsdorf camp ‘lazarett’ (hospital) during World War I, 1915 (Central Museum of Prisoners-of-War in Łambinowice-Opole)

12. Russian POWs at Lamsdorf during World War I (Central Museum of Prisoners-of-War in Łambinowice-Opole)

14. POWs at the camp at Lamsdorf during World War I (Central Museum of Prisoners-of-War in Łambinowice-Opole)

16. Prisoners-of-war at Lamsdorf during World War I

18. POWs organised for work at Lamsdorf during World War I. 1918 (Central Museum of Prisoners-of-War in Łambinowice-Opole)

20. Upper Silesia The village of Lamsdorf/Lambinowice is situated in the region of Upper Silesia, not far from the town of Oppeln/Opole. Upper Silesia has formed part of several different political entities. From 1871, it was part of the Second Reich – the new German Empire proclaimed at Versailles after the Franco-Prussian War. After the collapse of the Kaiserreich in 1918, possession of Silesia was disputed between the newly-independent Poland and the Weimar Republic – the German state that succeeded the Kaiserreich from 1919. The area around Lamsdorf/Lambinowice witnessed major disturbances and shifts of population during the three uprisings that took place in Upper Silesia between 1919 and 1921. (Central Museum of Prisoners-of-War in Łambinowice-Opole)

21. Upper Silesia After Hitler established control over Nazi Germany, German ambitions to regain control over Upper Silesia were reawakened. Following the invasion of Poland in 1939, much of the country, including Upper Silesia, was incorporated into the Third Reich. The remaining parts of Poland became part of the General Government, under Nazi occupation. The ‘liberation’ of Poland by the Red Army in 1944-45 led to the establishment of a Communist Poland as part of the ‘Soviet Empire’ that lasted until 1989. Since the end of the Cold War, Lambinowice and the region of Upper Silesia have beEn part of the restored independent Poland. (Central Museum of Prisoners-of-War in Łambinowice-Opole)

22. Post-1990 borders Poland's prewar boundaries German’s boundaries till 1937 r. III Reich’s boundaries till 1943 r. The General Government Transit camp (dulag) Permanent camp for privates and non-commissioned officers (stalag) Permanent camp for officers (oflag) Roman numerals denote the Wehrmacht military districts The location of the camp at Lamsdorf/Lambinowice

24. Entrance gate to Stalag VIII B (344) Lamsdorf, 1940-1945 (Central Museum of Prisoners-of-War in Łambinowice-Opole)

26. View of the camp, Stalag VIII B (344) Lamsdorf, 1939-1945 First prisoners-of-war were brought into the camp in 1939. They were a Polish contingent from the so called September compaign of 1939. Later other Western Allied soldiers were detained there. After all, approximately 100 000 prisoners-of-war from all around the world were imprisoned in the stalag: from Great Britain and Commonwealth, France, Belgian, Yugoslavia, America and many more. (Central Museum of Prisoners-of-War in Łambinowice-Opole)

28. Buildings in the camp hospital in Stalag VIII B (344) Lamsdorf (Central Museum of Prisoners-of-War in Łambinowice-Opole)

30. A camp hospital in Stalag VIII B (344) Lamsdorf. 1940-1945 The Western soldiers were treated in accordance with the Geneva Convention of 1929. The common problem for every prisoner-of-war was insuffcient amount of food. (Central Museum of Prisoners-of-War in Łambinowice-Opole)

32. Edward Kłos – captured during the campaign of September 1939 - removing lice from his clothes in Dulag VIII B Lamsdorf (Central Museum of Prisoners-of-War in Łambinowice-Opole)

34. British POWs during leisure time in Stalagu VIII B (344) Lamsdorf (Central Museum of Prisoners-of-War in Łambinowice-Opole)

36. British POWs during sport events in Stalag VIII B (344) Lamsdorf (Central Museum of Prisoners-of-War in Łambinowice-Opole)

38. POW labour in Lamsdorf / Lambinowice (Central Museum of Prisoners-of-War in Łambinowice-Opole)

40. Swimming pool in the camp lazarett (hospital) in Stalag VIII B (344) Lamsdorf. (Central Museum of Prisoners-of-War in Łambinowice-Opole)

42. The enlargement of Stalag 318/VIII F (344) Lamsdorf, 1942 Construction work on one of the buildings of Stalag 318/VIII F (344) Lamsdorf On July 1941 the camp was opened up north to the Stalag VIIIB the Stalag 318/VIII F and known locally as Russenlager (“Russian Camps”). The Soviet prisoners weren’t treated according to the same standards as their Western Allied POWs. (Central Museum of Prisoners-of-War in Łambinowice-Opole)

44. Stalag 318/VIII F (344) Lamsdorf and village Klucznik in the backround. POWs detained in the camp could see a churche’s tower in the second plan. Living condition in the Soviet camp were much poorer that in the British camp. It is estimated that 40 000 out of the 200 000 who had passed through the camp died of starvation, mistreatment and disease. (Central Museum of Prisoners-of-War in Łambinowice-Opole) The extension of Stalag 318/VIII F (344) Lamsdorf to accommodate for Soviet prisoners, 1942-1945

46. A view of Stalag 318/VIII F (344) Lamsdorf, Winter 1943 (Central Museum of Prisoners-of-War in Łambinowice-Opole)

48. There were other camps, besides Stalag VIII B/344 Lamsdorf. Fort Winiary, originally built for the Prussian army in the 19 th century, formed part of Stalag XXI D Posen (now Poznań)

50. (Central Museum of Prisoners-of-War in Łambinowice-Opole)

52. A Plan of Stalag VIIIB Lamsdorf drawn by the son of David McSorley, a British POW held there

54. A workshop barracks at the Labour Camp in Łambinowice, 1957 When the POW camps were liberated in March 1945, and Silesia region (where Lamsdorf area was located) became part of Poland, the Polish authorities set up a labour camp for ethnic population of Silesia (German and Poles alike). (Central Museum of Prisoners-of-War in Łambinowice-Opole)

56. The gate and guardhouse at the entrance to the former German military training ground in Lamsdorf/Lambinowice. In 1945-46, the Labour Camp of Łambinowice was situated a short distance beyond the gate, on the right. (the Archives of the District Court in Opole)

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