Following the Footsteps of a Dunkirk POW: From Stalag XXA Toruń to Stalag XXB Malbork

Every year we meet people who travel across Europe to follow the wartime stories of their families. One such visit recently brought Roy to Poland, whose journey helped us uncover another fragment of the history connected with Stalag XXA in Toruń and Stalag XXB Malbork.

A Journey That Began at Dunkirk

Roy’s father was among the soldiers who fought during the dramatic evacuation at the Dunkirk Evacuation in 1940. Like thousands of British and Allied soldiers, he was eventually captured and became a prisoner of war (POW). For many captured soldiers, the journey into captivity was long and uncertain. Transported from the beaches of France across occupied Europe, they were sent to various German POW camps. One of the first stops for Roy’s father appears to have been Stalag XXA in Toruń.

A Brief Stop in Toruń – Stalag XXA

Historical records suggest that Roy’s father passed through Stalag XXA, the large German POW camp established in the forts of the Toruń Fortress. This camp held thousands of Allied prisoners during World War II, including soldiers from Britain, France, and other occupied countries. Many POWs stayed there for years, while others were transferred further across the German camp system. In Roy’s father’s case, Toruń appears to have been only a temporary stop.

Transfer to Malbork – Stalag XXB

Documents from July 1940 onward list Stalag XXB Malbork (Stalag 20B) as his main place of imprisonment. Prisoners were often assigned to labor detachments in nearby villages and farms, which explains why Roy’s father’s records mention not only Stalag 20B Malbork but also one of the surrounding villages. He remained connected with this camp system until 1945, when the war in this region finally came to an end.

Source: https://stalag.malbork.pl/oboz/

Discovering Family History on the Ground

Each visit like Roy’s helps bring the history of these camps back into focus. Archival documents provide dates and names, but walking the ground in Toruń and Malbork allows families to visualize the reality of wartime captivity. For many visitors, seeing the sites connected with Stalag XXA Toruń and Stalag XXB Malbork transforms family stories into a clearer historical picture. Every person who comes here gains a deeper understanding of what really happened in this region between 1939 and 1945.

Comments

Just few hours to understand life in Stalag XXA(20A) in Torun

"I will always be grateful to Pawel for helping me understand better what happened to my father when he was captured by the German army after the fighting at Dunkirk. Like many former British POWs, Dad was reluctant to tell his children very much about what he had endured during the war. We knew he spent most of the war in German POW camps, in particular one in Poland. From his army records we discovered that camp was Staleg XX-A. I contacted Pawel at very short notice recently when I was in traveling with my husband in Europe. Pawel was able to meet me in Torun to walk me through the history of Staleg XX-A and some of the forts of Torun. My father, John Wilkinson, was with the British Expeditionary Force, serving in the Light Tank Regiment of the 1st East Riding Yeomanry. We believe he fought at Cassel in France before being captured. It was extraordinary for me to walk with Pawel at Torun where the British POWs disembarked, knowing my father would hav...

Thanks this trip we've discovered new facts about POW from Stalag XXA in 1945

That was wonderful trip. During three days we saw couple of places connected with POW path of Jack Stansfield. Moreover thanks his son Michael we saw notes with memories of last days in Stalag XXA in Torun. In opposit to all facts which says that prisoners left camp in late december 1945 Jack wrote that they started to march on 21 january! That means that lasts groups of POW left camp in 10 days before Torun was liberated. Fortunatley Jack survived afeter he escaped from march. He met russians army and polish partizants. Below we presents you short memories about Jack and trip to Poland... My father was called Jack Stansfield, he was born in August 1918. He was brought up in the market town of Malton in North Yorkshire where his parents were publicans. He joined the Territorial Army in March 1939 and was mobilised on the declaration of war. Jack enlisted in his local regiment joining the 5th Battalion of the Green Howards. After a short time at the Regimental HQ in Richmond, North...

Living conditions in Stalag XXA

Monthly bath in Stalag XXA Living conditions Lawrence Travers Dorins a former POW describes „fort XI was surrounded by a high bank and the fence around it with gates across the entrance road, on one side there was also a dry moat with a bridge on it. The bridge led to a tunnel” The fortress was covered with trees, bushes and earth so that the fortress could not be visible from the bird's eye. Prisoners slept in caponiers where initially were supposed to sleep Prussian soldiers. Yet PoW describes the rooms as if there were designed as rooms in the concentration camps. Rooms looked as semi tunnels. “The perpendicular walls were about 3m high and the height of the arched roof was about 5 m, wooden bunks provided sleeping spaces. Each room had only two small windows which obviously allowed no ventilation. Due to the end of the night the air was solid and everyone would have a headache due to oxygen starvation” .In those rooms kept approximately 32 men. There were three shelves whe...

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