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From Dunkirk to Toruń: Following the Trail of a Stalag XXA Prisoner

He came to Toruń twice – first in 1940 and then again in 1944. Yet he spent most of his captivity in Malbork and the surrounding villages. Years later, his family came to Toruń to walk together through the places that may have been part of his wartime story.

He was a soldier who became a prisoner of war after the fighting at Dunkirk. His wartime journey took him through many different places, including Toruń and Stalag XXA, the German prisoner-of-war camp operating here. He appeared in the city twice – in 1940 and again in 1944. However, we still know very little about his time in Toruń.

Much more is known about the later stages of his captivity. He spent most of his time in Malbork and the surrounding villages, where he worked as a prisoner of war. This is why the Toruń part of his story remains, in a sense, a mystery.

This time, we guided his closest family members along the former camp trail – his son, wife and grandson. Together, we visited places that we could identify with certainty as being connected with the history of Stalag XXA. We could not always say, “this is where he definitely was.” Sometimes, all we could do was point out places that were very likely to have been part of his wartime journey.

And it is in moments like these that history takes on a completely different meaning.

There were emotions, moments of deep reflection and, above all, a great deal of curiosity. For the family, this was not simply a tour of Toruń. It was an attempt to find traces of a man whose wartime story had remained, for decades, primarily a family history.

Every journey along the prisoner-of-war trail also brings something new. This time was no different. Walking together through places connected with the camp allowed us to look at familiar locations from a different perspective. But, above all, it raised new questions.

One question in particular remains with us: why was he evacuated from Malbork in the summer of 1944 together with airmen? Was it connected with his previous experiences, his place of work or the situation in the camps? Or was there an entirely different reason?

We are still looking for the answers.

Perhaps this is one of the most important outcomes of family journeys following the trails of former prisoners of war. Sometimes a tour does not bring a story to an end. Instead, it opens new doors and encourages families to continue searching through documents, memories and archives.

The story of a prisoner of war from Dunkirk brought us to Toruń once again. This time, however, we were not simply looking for his traces. Together with his family, we were trying to understand what might have happened here more than eighty years ago.

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