During visits to Toruń, stories often resurface—stories that, although from the past, still stir strong emotions. One such story is that of escapes by prisoners of war from Stalag XXA, a German POW camp located in the city of Toruń. Over the years of guiding the families of former POWs, we have noticed that there are two most commonly repeated types of escapes from the camp. Spontaneous escapes – impulse and hope for freedom The first type involves spontaneous escapes—prisoners slipping away from work assignments, most often from farms, taking advantage of guards' carelessness or sudden opportunities. Unfortunately, these attempts usually ended in failure. After a few days, exhausted and hungry, the escapees were brought back to the POW camp under escort. Planned escapes – the power of cooperation and courage The second type involved carefully planned escapes, which required time, trust, and cooperation from many people. A key element was a well-prepared route and a convincing ...
This blog is dedicated to people who were imprisoned in Stalag XXA in Thorn in 1939-45. We would like to show you that in the shadows of the beautiful gothic city there is also forgotten history.