Stalag VIII-B was most recently a German Army administered POW camp during World War II, later renumbered Stalag-344, located near the village of Lamsdorf (now Łambinowice) in Silesia. The camp contained barracks built to house British and French World War I POWs. The site had housed POWs of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71.
Timeline In the 1860s, the Prussian Army established a training area for artillery at a wooded area near Lamsdorf, a small village connected by rail to Opole and Nysa. During the Franco-Prussian War, a camp for about 3,000 French POWs was established here. During the First World War, a much larger POW camp was established here with some 90,000 soldiers of various nationalities interned here. After the Treaty of Versailles, the camp was decommissioned.
It was recommissioned in 1939 to house Polish prisoners from the German invasion of Poland, which started World War II in September 1939. Later during the war, approximately 100,000 prisoners from Australia, Belgium, British India, British Palestine, Canada, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, the United States and Yugoslavia passed through this camp. In 1941 a separate camp, Stalag VIII-F was set up nearby for Soviet POWs.
In 1943, the Lamsdorf camp population was split up, and many of the prisoners (and Arbeitskommando) were transferred to two new base camps Stalag VIII-C Sagan (modern Żagań) and Stalag VIII-D Teschen (modern Český Těšín). The base camp at Lamsdorf was renumbered Stalag 344.
On 6–7 October, 5,789 Polish insurgents, including women and children of the Warsaw Uprising were brought to the camp. Most were soon moved to other POW camps, including Oflag II-C, Oflag II-D, Oflag VII-A, Stalag XVIII-C, Stalag III-A, Stalag IV-B, Stalag VII-A, Stalag VII-B, Stalag VIII-C, Stalag IX-C, Stalag XIII-D.Stanek, pp. 55–50
The Red Army reached the camp on 17 March 1945.
In 1945-1946, the camp was used by the Soviet-installed Polish Ministry of Public Security to house some 8000-9000 Germans, both POWs and civilians. Polish army personnel being repatriated from POW camps were also processed through Łambinowice and sometimes held there as prisoners for several months. Some were later released, others sent to Gulags in Siberia. About 1000-1500 German prisoners died in the camp due to maltreatment and deprivation: malnutrition, lack of medicine and acts of violence and terror by the Soviet guards. Camp commander Czesław Gęborski would be put on trial for his role in running the camp.
Stalag Luft VIII-B By 1943 the famous camp for Allied flight personnel in Sagan, Stalag Luft III, was overcrowded. About 1,000 (mostly non-commissioned) flight personnel were transferred to the prison camp at Lamsdorf (now Łambinowice). The flight personnel were housed in what became a camp within a camp when a portion was sectioned off with barbed-wire fencing, and designated Stalag Luft VIII-B. Food continued to be provided from the original camp's army-administered kitchen.
Medical facilities
The hospital facilities at Stalag VIII-B were among the best in all the Stalags. The so-called Lazarett was set up on a separate site with eleven concrete buildings. Six of them were self-contained wards, accommodating each about 100 patients. The others served as treatment blocks with operating theaters, X-ray and laboratory facilities, as well as kitchens, a morgue, and accommodations for the medical staff.
The lazarett was headed by a German officer with the title Oberst Arzt ("Colonel Doctor"), but the staff were entirely POWs. They included general physicians and surgeons, even a neurosurgeon, psychiatrist, anesthesiologist and radiologist.
Forced marches, liberation and repatriation
In January 1945, as the Soviet armies advanced into Germany, many of the prisoners were sent on notorious forced marches, westward in groups of 200 to 300. Many deaths resulted from exposure and exhaustion.
Those that encountered western Allies forces were generally repatriated immediately. For those liberated by Soviet forces, repatriation sometimes took several months longer, and often occurred through the port of Odessa, in Ukraine.
Arbeitskommandos
There were more than 700 subsidiary Arbeitskommandos (working parties outside the main camp or labor camps) at various locations in present-day southern Poland and northern Czech Republic. The RC Chaplain Father John Berry said in 1943: "...there are about 600 Working Parties and .... you will be able to guess why so many of you will have not yet had a visit".The Clarion (the camp magazine), Issue 2, February 1943.
Arbeitskommandos were set up to house lower ranks that were working in the coal mines, quarries, factories and on railways. Among them were:
Siołkowice (Schalkendorf) - work to strengthen the embankments on the Odra River (50/80 POWs) Dzierżno (Stauwerder), present-day district of Pyskowice E1 in Łabędy (Laband) - (Lager I - Train station) - 1st work at Siemens-Bau-UNION, next at Łabędy (Laband) ironworks (221 POWs) Huta "Łabędy" Gliwice E2 in Koźle (Cosel), present day district of Kędzierzyn-Koźle (102 POWs) E3 in Blachownia Śląska (Blechhammer), present day district of Kędzierzyn-Koźle at Oberschlesische Hydrierwerke A.G. E8 in Krapkowice (Krappitz) at a paper mill run by Natronzellstoff-und Papierfabriken A.G., Werk Krappitz-Zellstof u.Papierfabrik (Fabryka Celulozy i Papieru Natronowego w Krapkowicach) (102 POWs) E17 in Opole at a cement factory E22 in Gliwice-Sośnica (Gleiwitz-Oehrigen) at Sośnica (Sosnitza) coal mine (290 POWs) (Stalag VIII-B Teschen) E25 in Radoszowice (Rauschwalde) E27 coal mine E30 in Opole-Zakrzów (Oppeln III (Sakrau)) at a cement factory (Oppeln III Portland-Zementwerke/Cementownia "ODRA") E31 in Smolarnia (Pechhütte)/Chrzelice (Schelitz)/Łącznik (Lonschnik/Wiesengrund) E42 in Rudawa (Rothfest) at a paper mill run by "Rothfest Papierfabrik dr. Albert Spenner GmbH" company (Głuchołaskie Zakłady Papiernicze Zakład Rudawa) E51 in Zabrze-Mikulczyce (Hindenburg-Klausberg (Mikultschütz)) at Mikulczyce (Abwehrgrube) coal mine (533 POWs) (Stalag VIII-B Teschen) E55 in Zabrze-Biskupice (Hindenburg-Borsig) at Pstrowski (Hedwigs-Wunschgrube) coal mine; Borsig-Koks-Werke E62 in Gliwice-Sztygarów (Ligota Zabrska) (Gleiwitz-Steigern (Ellguth-Zabrze)) (23 POWs) (Stalag VIII-B Teschen) E71 in Nowa Ruda (Neurode) at the Piast (Rubengrube) coal mine, building gym "Turnhale" and barracks, and in Drogosław (Kunzendorf), present-day district of Nowa Ruda E72 in Bytom (Beuthen) at Bytom (Beuthengrube) coal mine (171-204-600 POWs) E74 in Domecko (Althaus) E75 in Knurów at the Knurów coal mine (262 POWs); 3 POWs were shot while escaping in 1944 E88 in Wełnowiec (Hohenlohehütte), present-day district of Katowice, at the Król (König) coal mine, "Agnieszka" (Agneschaft) east shaft of the Król mine in Agnieszka (Agneshütte) colony (177 POWs), and in Chorzów (Königshütte) at Prezydent (Königsgrube) coal mine E90 in Olszyniec (Erlenbusch) (Nieder Tannhausen) E93 in Zakrzów (Sakrau) at a limestone quarry E94 in Malnia (Mallnie/Odergrund) - "Emilienhoff" Vorwerk, limestone quarry, "Bata" shoe factory and construction Reichsautobahn motorway; ex-property Malnia "Emilienhof" belonged to Graf von Sponeck E110 in Dzierżno (Stauwerder), present-day district of Pyskowice - exploitation of aggregates (39 POWs) (Stalag VIII-B Teschen) E114 in Velké Kunětice (Gross Kunzendorf) at a stone quarry and factory E115 in Dobra (Burgwasser). Three POWs escaped on 18 August 1941 E116 in Bělá (Bielau) E119 in Mankovice (Mankendorf) at a sawmill E126 in Opole-Półwieś (Oppeln-Halbendorf) E131 in Gogolin - Tiefbau Pollok - stone quarry E138 in Racibórz (Ratibor) - steel works (Schondorff Hegenscheidt Werke Ratibor) (30 POWs), accommodation in a restaurant E149 in Rachowice (Buchenlust) - forestry work (68 POWs) E150 in Przywory (Oderfest) E151 in Zabrze-Maciejów at the Ludwik-Concordia (Concordia-grube) coal mine, Maciej shaft (Westschacht) 1941-42 Gewerkschaft Castellengo-Abwehr A.G.~ Vereinigte Oberschlesische Huttenwerke AG Gleiwitz Werk Donnersmarckhutte E152 in Górażdże (Goradze/Waldenstein) at a limestone quarry E154 in Golina-Pomianów Dolny (Gollendorf-Nieder Pomsdorf) E155 in Koźle-Port (Cosel-Oderhafen) within present-day city limits of Kędzierzyn-Koźle, at the Siemens Papier- und Zellstofwerke Feldmuhle AG (Zakłady Papieru i Celulozy Kędzierzyn-Koźle) E159 in Domašov nad Bystřicí (Domstadtl) at a quarry E162 in Zdzieszowice (Oderthal/Deschowitz) - Schaffgotsch Benzin Werke GmbH Odertal, POWs held near Odertal-Bahnhof-Hotel building E171 in Vápenná - Setzdorf III at Neugebauer limestone quarry (29 POWs) E172 in Vápenná - Setzdorf I at a quarry of Alojs Rösner (20 POWs) E173 in Vápenná - Setzdorf II at a quarry of Anton Latzel (60 POWs) E183 in Bierutów (Bernstadt), probably at a sugar factory (Zuckerfabrik Bernstadt) E191 in Steblów (Stöblau) E195 in Kopalina (Roding/Kopaline), today part of the village of Ścigów E196 Opoleonoora - cement factory E198 in Słupiec (Schlegel), present-day district of Nowa Ruda, at the Słupiec (Jan Baptysta/Jan - Nowa Ruda - Johann Baptista-Grube) coal mine E199 in Wałbrzych (Waldenburg) at a glass factory in the Biały Kamień district (Weißstein Glashüttenwerk Weihrauch & Zimmer) E201 in Dzierżysław (Dirschel) at a gypsum mine E203 in Opole, cement works E209 in Bobrek, present-day district of Bytom, at the Józef shaft of the Bobrek coal mine (Gräfin Johanna Schacht) (111/141 POWs) (Stalag VIII-B Teschen) E211 in Trzebnica (Trebnitz), railway work E218 in Pławniowice (Flössingen) - 17 POWs worked the estate of Count von Ballestrem E234 in Czerna (Tonhain/Tschirne) at a brickyard E243 in Wrocław (Breslau) at municipal gasworks in the Tarnogaj (Dürrgoy) district ("Städtische Gasanstalt Dürrgoy") E247 in Głubczyce (Leobschütz) E253 in Polska Cerekiew (Neukirch) E255 in Twardawa (Hartenau) at a sawmill E256 in Zlaté Hory (Zuckmantel) E265 in Kolonowskie (Grafenweiler) at "Kartonagenfabrik Colonnowska GmbH" E267 in Baborów (Bauerwitz) at a sugar beet factory (64 POWs) E268 in Muszczyna (Moschendorf) near Złotoryja (Stalag VIII-A Görlitz) E276 in Otmuchów (Ottmachau) at a sugar beet factory E283 in Racibórz (Ratibor) at a sugar mill E287 in Polska Cerekiew (Neukirch) E288 in Baborów (Bauerwitz) E291 in Radzikowice (Stephansdorf) E294 in Radzikowice (Stephansdorf) at a sugar beet factory E297 in Starenhiem Markat Gardening. E303 in Pietrzykowice (Petersweiler) at a sugar beet factory E324 in Dębieńsko (Gross Dubrnsko), present-day district of Czerwionka-Leszczyny - 25 POWs worked in private estates (Stalag VIII-B Teschen) E330 in Tuły (Thule) E332 in Rudziniec (Rudgershagen) - 37 POWs worked in private estates; (Stalag VIII-B Teschen) E341 in Żyrowa (Zyrowa/Buchenhöh) - 25 POWs E354 in Krnov (Jägerndorf) at a saw mill and timber goods factory E363 in Kuźnia Raciborska (Ratiborhammer) -1940-43Eng POW(80), "Schondorff-Hegenscheidt Werke" ("RAFAMET") factory making aircraft parts E364 in Niemysłowice (Buchelsdorf) at a saw mill E365 in Strzelce Opolskie (Gross Strehlitz) at a lime quarry (150 POWs) E371 in Głuchołazy (Ziegenhals) at a furniture factory (Pantke und Scheitza) E373 in Vlaské (Blaschke), Czech Republic at a sawmill E389 in Rudziniec (Rudgershagen) at a sawmill "Sägewerk" (15 POWs) (Stalag VIII-B Teschen) E393 in Łaziska Średnie (Mittel-Lazisk), present-day district of Łaziska Górne, at a power station (158 POWs); (Stalag VIII-B Teschen) E399 Sudetenland Cardboard Factory E406 in Zátor (Seifersdorf) at a brickyard E411 in Szombierki (Schönberg), present-day district of Bytom, at the Szombierki Coal Mine (Hohenzollerngrube) (38 POWs), (Stalag VIII-B Teschen) E414 in Brzezie (Hohenbirken), present-day district of Racibórz, at a saw mill in Lukasyna/Dębicz (Lukasine)