WARTIME GUIDES

Bryan and Emma traveled to Toruń with one very personal goal – to uncover the fate of Bryan’s father, William, who was a prisoner of war in Stalag XXA from 1940 to 1945. Like many from his generation, William rarely spoke about his wartime experiences. That’s why this journey felt like assembling a puzzle – complex, demanding, but deeply meaningful. Through the analysis of archival documents and fragmented memories, we were able to reconstruct a highly detailed timeline of events that led to William’s capture. It all began near Dunkirk, where he was taken prisoner by the Germans and transported to the POW camp in Toruń. Further research led us to the people he was interned with, including Sam Kydd – a post-war actor who later recounted his experiences in Stalag XXA. The journey to Toruń was not just about visiting the former camp site. We wanted to show Bryan and Emma the broader context – what the city was like under occupation, the living conditions in the camp, and how the fate of p...

Stalag XXA in Toruń remains one of the most historically significant POW camps of World War II. This prisoner-of-war camp housed thousands of Allied soldiers, enduring the harsh realities of captivity. One of the most intriguing, albeit propagandistic, portrayals of the camp comes from 1945 a Soviet film that captured the so-called "liberation" of Toruń and Stalag XXA. "In the Lair of the Beast"  The Soviet film "In the Lair of the Beast" (В логове зверя) was produced to showcase the Red Army's advance through East Prussia. The film was created by Central Studio of the Order of the Red Banner of Documentary Films, a Moscow-based film studio specializing in documentary production. During the war, this studio documented the progress of military operations, producing films with enormous propaganda significance. These films depicted the "heroism" of Soviet soldiers, the "cruelty" of the Nazis, and the "liberation" of cities an...

This is a translation of an article from the Nowości newspaper from 2016, which I wrote about the evacuation of the camp and the first days after the liberation. Operation Roland In late January 1945, the sounds of Russian artillery were already audible in the center of Toruń, signaling the approaching Red Army. During this time, Franz Jakob, the mayor of Toruń, implemented the pre-prepared 1944 plan "Roland," which entailed the evacuation of civilians, prisoners of war, and forced laborers from the city. The operation was divided into three stages: "Roland Erwartung" : Propaganda activities. "Roland I" : The evacuation by train of children, women, the elderly, the sick, and those requiring care. "Roland II" : The remaining population was to be evacuated from Toruń. In reality, residents sought safety by any means possible. Panic on the Roads Accounts from that time mention crowded roads, panic, and uncontrollable chaos. Years of propaganda abou...