WARTIME GUIDES

  A story that has come full circle — 80 years after a New Zealand soldier became a prisoner of war, his family visited Toruń to follow in his footsteps and honor his memory at the former German POW camp, Stalag XXA. The journey of their ancestor was nothing short of extraordinary. He traveled from distant New Zealand to fight in Europe during World War II. Captured after the Battle of Crete , he was transported — like many Allied POWs — by train for eleven days , arriving in Toruń in February, where he was held in Stalag XXA , the German prisoner-of-war camp. The details of his captivity in and around Toruń remain incomplete. However, from the surviving records, we know he was held in several forts, worked on a local farm, and was later forced to join an evacuation march deep into Germany. During the march, he suffered severe frostbite and lost both legs. Remarkably, thanks to the intervention of the Red Cross — and reportedly a bribe — he was transferred to an American milita...

Some journeys go far beyond sightseeing — they become personal pilgrimages into family history. This was the case for Wayne , who came to Poland to discover the places where his father, a British soldier and prisoner of war during World War II, was once held captive. Wayne’s father was a gunner in a tank crew . He was captured following the British retreat at Dunkirk and later interned in Stalag XXA in Toruń , and then transferred to Stalag XXB in Malbork . These details were uncovered through preserved wartime records. The most extraordinary moment of the visit happened in the Malbork City Museum , where Wayne saw something unimaginable — his father’s Bible from captivity , discovered by a local woman and donated to the museum. Such moments are incredibly rare and deeply emotional. Wayne was joined by his daughter, representing the next generation. Together, they experienced a moving journey through history — exploring Polish cities, landscapes, and cuisine, all while gaining a deepe...

This was a truly extraordinary and moving visit. All the way from Ireland, three generations of the same family — the son, grandson, and great-grandson of Corporal David Hann — came to our museum in Toruń. It is not often that we have the privilege of welcoming such a multigenerational group, united by a shared desire to learn about their ancestor and understand the legacy of the Stalag XXA POW camp in Toruń. Corporal David Hann served in the 1st Gordon Highlanders regiment. On June 12, 1940, during operations in France, he was captured by German forces at St. Valéry . After being held in a transit camp (Dulag), he was transported on July 10, 1940, to Stalag XXA (Stalag 20A) in Toruń , where he remained until May 17, 1944, before being transferred to Stalag III A . During their visit, we used the documents and details shared by the family to guide them through key locations associated with Stalag XXA POW camp in Toruń . We aimed to share as much knowledge as possible, helping them und...

On the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, Toruń paid tribute to the victims of Nazi occupation. The central ceremony took place at the obelisk on the Square of the Artillery Officers’ School, where both the tragic fate of the city’s inhabitants and the joy of the May 1945 victory were commemorated. Part of the commemoration also took place at the monument honoring the former prisoner-of-war camp. City officials laid flowers there, paying their respects. fot. torun.pl

On the anniversary of the end of World War II, Toruń became the setting of a deeply moving encounter with history. Linda and Barbara – the niece and daughter of British POW Jack Bird – visited the city to pay tribute to his memory and trace the locations connected to his imprisonment in Stalag XXA. The visit, carefully prepared since autumn 2024, was a powerful reminder of the legacy of prisoners of war in Stalag XXA, which Toruń continues to honor and preserve. Since the autumn of 2024, we had been working to establish precise historical facts and identify the exact places where Private Jack Bird was held during his captivity in the Stalag XXA prisoner-of-war camp in Toruń . Our goal was to prepare a meaningful and historically grounded journey for Barbara and Linda — one that would lead them as close as possible to the real sites their father and uncle once knew. Their visit was based on verified archival data, including valuable documents shared by the guests themselves. Together, w...