Trip with Tony and Mirek was very fascinating and demanding for us. They really suprised us because of their determination and desire for knowledge. Below we're presenting you some memories from their trip.
Pavel began with a fascinating presentation detailing the history
of Torun and an account of how it became such a centre for the "Stalags"
during the Second Word War. I hadn't realised that many of the camps
began with the utilisation of 19th Century Prussian Forts.
Our
journey with Pavel began in the town of Torun where we stopped to view
what must have been the very first view my father must have had of Torun
where the railways converged. He explained that with typical German
efficiency upwards of several thousand prisoners were processed here
before being distributed to other camps around the town. The suffering
of these prisoners who travelled in these rail wagons with little
sanitation was a sobering thought.
 |
| Old Railway Statation |
Pavel
took us to see where the administrative headquarters of the camps was
established. The highlight was visiting Fort
11 where Pavel explained that some of my father's regiment, the South
West Kent's were placed. Unfortunately we were unable to gain access so I
managed to climb the bank and creep for a short distance along the wall
and got a photo of the side of the fort. Pavel had already shown us
some of the famous graffiti by POWs written and drawn on the interior
walls. My favourite was a simple scratched message " Let me out you
bastards! " which I thought succinct and to the point. Maybe a moment of
levity in an existence that must have been incredibly harrowing. We
loved the views of Torun from the river and the visit to the Soviet
cemetary was a salutary reminder that the treatment of POWs varied from
poor to completely inhumane.
 | ||||
| Soviet Cemetery |
 |
| Toruń from the riverside |
The following
morning saw a trip to see the museum created by a friend of Pavel,
Piotr, like us a teacher. Housed in the basement of his school there
were several rooms in which a huge number of artefacts had been collated
and exhibited. Even including personal accounts submitted by many
visitors and people in contact form overseas. We loved looking through
these slices of life from the POW existence. Piotr proved an intensely
interesting and passionate guide. The display also helped us to consider
the history of the Soviet prisoners and the partisans. We followed
this absorbing morning with a lunch with Piotr sampling a wide range of
Polish cuisine.
 |
| Artefacts in Museum. |
The afternoon saw us
travelling with Pavel up to Malbork about 150 kms in the direction of
Gdansk. Here there were two memorials to see commemorating Stalag XXB.
The
journey back to Torun was a thoughtful one. I had been struck by the
tranquillity of the camp's location but also the fragility of life
within them. Why had my father survived and others had not?
 |
| Stalag XX B Cemetery |
 |
| Stalag XX B Cemetery |
We
both felt that Pavel was a fascinating and knowledgeable guide who had
added so much to our trip taking us to places which we would never have
found and given us the opportunity to gain an insight into the life of a
POW which for me filled in a huge gap which my father had been so
secretive about. I now marvel at his resilence and fortitude. I wish I
could have appreciated that so much earlier in life than now many years
after his death. What a rewarding experience.
Many thanks Pavel and Piotr. I hope we can remain in touch.
I feel that I need to make this journey myself after reading the above. This was clearly a harrowing chapter in my Dad's life. Thanks for this Tony and for all the research you did on Dad's life as a POW. What a journey it must have been for you.
ReplyDeleteThank you for comment. It's great that POW relatives decided to visit Stalag places. For us it's a greate opporutnity for knowledge which wasn't wirtten in books.
ReplyDelete