WARTIME GUIDES

 Situated in a strategic location between Toruń and Bydgoszcz , Emilianowo (German: Emilienau ) played a crucial role in the Polish resistance movement as early as 1940. This small forest lodge became one of the most important contact points for underground networks operating around the German DAG ammunition plant in Bydgoszcz , and most importantly – for Allied POWs escaping from Stalag XXA in Toruń and from German forced labor detachments in the surrounding towns and villages . A Forest Gateway to Freedom The so-called northern route of escape passed through Emilianowo. It was a covert trail leading across Pomerania toward the Baltic ports, mainly Gdańsk. For many escaped POWs, this was the first secure stop along their journey. In Emilianowo, they could rest safely, receive new clothes and false documents, get food supplies, and obtain crucial information to help them reach the coast. Among those who passed through Emilianowo were Allied officers such as T. Cullen , J. Grieg...

Stalag XXA in Toruń, also known as Stalag 20A, hides many untold stories. One of them belongs to a Royal Navy sailor captured during a daring special operation on the rivers of France. On our blog wartimeguides.blogspot.com, we share real accounts of POWs who were imprisoned in camps like Stalag XXA in Toruń. This time, we tell the story of a sailor involved in one of the first special missions of its kind – destroying German river infrastructure using floating mines launched from French territory.  After being captured, he was sent to the POW camp in Toruń, where he spent the remainder of the war. Thanks to the visit of his son, who travelled all the way from New Zealand, we were able to reconstruct this extraordinary story.  Together, we visited key places connected to the Stalag, including the forts that formed part of Stalag XXA, to better understand daily life in captivity. The son revealed that his father never spoke about the war. This made the journey not only emotiona...

The story of RAF Sergeant Peter, second pilot of a Manchester bomber, is a powerful example of the fate of Allied airmen who were captured and endured the hell of German POW camps – including Stalag XXA in Toruń. Recently, we had the honor of welcoming his son to our city. He came to Poland to visit the places connected to his father’s wartime captivity and to understand his experience more deeply. This emotional encounter reminded us how much there is still to discover about the prisoners of war held in Toruń . Peter was shot down over the Netherlands and taken into German captivity. His journey led him through several POW camps: Heydekrug in Lithuania, Toruń (Stalag XXA / Stalag 20A), Żagań, and Fallingbostel . Near the end of the war, he endured the brutal evacuation march – one of the most harrowing chapters in the history of Allied POWs. Stalag XXA in Toruń was a key stop in his captivity. Thanks to his son's memories and our joint efforts to reconstruct Peter’s path, we ...