WARTIME GUIDES

Once again, Toruń became a place where history met a family story that had survived primarily through memories passed down through generations. This time, we welcomed relatives of an Italian prisoner of war who was held in Toruń at Stalag XXA Thorn between 1943 and 1945. The history of the Italian prisoners of war is one of the more difficult chapters in the history of the Toruń camp. Following the Italian armistice in 1943, thousands of Italian soldiers were disarmed by the Germans and deported to prisoner-of-war camps and forced labour sites across occupied Europe. In just two years, more than 15,000 Italian soldiers passed through Toruń and the surrounding camps. Many of them were sent to forced labour, working on farms and in agricultural enterprises, factories, and workplaces in Toruń and nearby towns. The scale and speed with which Italian soldiers were deprived of their freedom after September 1943 and dispersed among camps and labour detachments mean that their individual stori...

 The story of captivity that began in Stalag XXA Thorn in Toruń found its continuation in Stalag XXB Marienburg in Malbork. After a short break, we returned to this important chapter of wartime history together with our Australian guest, following the traces of his relative and discovering another part of the prisoner-of-war story. This journey connected two places that were part of the complex history of German POW camps during World War II. Visiting Stalag XXB Marienburg allowed us to explore locations connected with the functioning of the camp and the everyday experiences of prisoners who lived behind barbed wire. These places help us better understand their difficult reality – the hardships, uncertainty, hopes, and personal stories hidden behind historical records. During our visit, we also paid tribute to those who lost their lives during captivity. Remembering the fallen was an essential part of this journey, reminding us that behind every camp number and archival document th...

Around Stalag XXA Thorn, also known as Stalag 20A or the POW Camp in Toruń, numerous labor detachments operated during World War II. Prisoners of war were sent to farms, factories, workshops, and industrial facilities throughout the region to perform forced labor for the German war economy. Today, many of these locations have disappeared or have lost their original character. However, some places still preserve traces of the wartime past. One of them is Unisław, a village located approximately 30 kilometers north of Toruń (Thorn). During the German occupation, the local sugar refinery became one of the workplaces connected with Stalag XXA Thorn. Prisoners from the POW camp in Toruń were assigned here as part of labor detachments. Their daily lives were shaped not only by exhausting work but also by the reality of captivity, separation from their families, and uncertainty about the future. The sugar refinery where Stalag XXA prisoners worked The former sugar refinery in Unisław is a pla...

 A single wartime photograph brought families together many decades later. A preserved group photo of British prisoners of war from Stalag XXA Thorn in Toruń became a unique link between generations and helped descendants discover the shared history of their relatives. Years ago, John and Terry travelled to Toruń to follow the footsteps of their relative. Later, it was discovered that a relative of another British prisoner was sitting right beside their fathers in the same photograph. This remarkable connection led another family to visit Toruń and discover the story of their loved one. One Photograph, Two Families and a Shared Story of Stalag XXA Thorn The history of Stalag XXA Thorn in Toruń is not only a story of wartime events, documents and dates. Above all, it is the story of people – soldiers whose lives were changed by captivity and families who, many years later, began searching for traces of their loved ones. Among the thousands of Allied soldiers who became prisoners of...

Two brothers from Edinburgh, Scotland, visited Toruń to follow the wartime footsteps of their father  a British soldier who served in the Royal Signals and spent the final years of the Second World War as a prisoner of war at Stalag XXA Thorn. Their journey was not only a family pilgrimage, but also an important testimony to the memory of the Allied prisoners held at the German prisoner-of-war camp in Toruń. Following the Story of a British Prisoner of Stalag XXA Toruń welcomed special guests from Scotland – two brothers who travelled from Edinburgh to discover the place connected with their father’s wartime experiences. Their father served as a Private in the Royal Signals, the British Army’s communications corps. In 1940, he took part in the fighting in France as a member of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). During the dramatic events of the French campaign, he was captured by German forces near Dunkirk. The rest of the war was spent in German captivity. He became one of the...

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 ....

  The end of January marks a crucial and tragic moment in the history of Stalag XXA in Toruń ( Stalag 20A Toruń) and Stalag XXB Malbork ( Stalag 20B Malbork) . At this time in 1945 , German authorities issued evacuation orders to POW camps and labor detachments across the region. The advancing Soviet army forced the German command to move prisoners westward. The Departure from Stalag XXA Prisoners from Stalag XXA Toruń began their march on January 21st at around 3: 00 AM . This marked the beginning of what later became known as the “ Long March” or “ Death March” — a dramatic and painful episode remembered in the memoirs of Allied prisoners of war held in northern Poland. Thousands of POWs left the camps around Toruń and began marching in freezing winter conditions. Many of them would walk hundreds of kilometers across occupied territory. Parallel Marches: POWs, Forced Laborers, and Concentration Camp Prisoners What is less widely known is that the POW columns from Stalag...

Very little was missing for Toruń to go down in World War II history as the site of one of the most spectacular escape attempts from a German prisoner-of-war camp. The former Toruń airfield, today part of the Pomeranian Aero Club, was not only a Luftwaffe training facility but also a place where the fates of POWs, Polish pilots, and Allied intelligence intersected. During the German occupation, work details from the prisoner-of-war camp Stalag XXA were regularly assigned to physical labor at the Toruń airfield. As recalled by one of the prisoners, their duties included clearing snow from the runway , maintaining infrastructure, and carrying out fieldwork around the airfield used by the Luftwaffe. It was during one of these work assignments that an event occurred which could have ended in a daring escape. Two officers — POWs from Stalag XXA — swapped places with fellow prisoners who were scheduled to go out on a work detail that day. The plan was simple and bold: at the right moment,...

In the first days of November, we especially commemorate those who are no longer with us. I visited the monument of Stalag XXA you all know and, on behalf of our community, took the liberty of lighting a symbolic candle. As you can see, I was not alone, and I am very pleased that residents also remembered this. Please also see the photos of Toruń's cemeteries, which were illuminated by the glow of candles on November 1st.

Even in the face of inevitable terrain changes, the latest technologies are allowing historians and enthusiasts to discover deeply hidden evidence of the past. Around the Toruń fortress, the location known as Stalag XXA , remnants of wartime dramas still lie concealed. Join us on a virtual journey tracing the paths of prisoners of war ( POWs ) and find out what the terrain relief reveals around Fort XI , the main headquarters of the POW camp . Toruń and Stalag XXA: Places That Remember The history of World War II in Toruń is inextricably linked to the POW camp system in Military District XX. A key site was Stalag XXA (also known as Stalag 20A ), which operated within the 19th-century forts. Although the landscape around Fort XI is constantly transforming, modern methods such as laser scanning and aerial photo analysis make it possible to spot what was once blurred by time and nature. The analyzed terrain relief clearly shows the shape of Fort XI . As you know, this fort was the c...

It is rare to meet families with such well-preserved wartime archives, but this story is one of them. The son of a British POW visited Poland to trace his father’s path during World War II. Based on remarkable archival materials and photographs, we now know that his father was held in Prabuty, Bydgoszcz, the forts of Toruń (Stalag XXA / Stalag 20A), Chełmno, and a village near Chełmno . Thanks to precise verification of these records, it was even possible to locate the site where one of the prisoners was buried. With high probability, the same tree still stands there, silently witnessing that event over 80 years later. A truly moving moment came during a special tribute: a bagpipe concert in memory of the father and all those who perished during WWII . This was the first time we experienced something so emotional and powerful in our work to preserve the memory of prisoners of war in Toruń . Stories like this remind us why documenting the history of POWs in Stalag XXA is so import...

During the operation of the German prisoner-of-war camp Stalag XXA in Toruń, there was an official channel of communication between the prisoners and their families. It consisted of letters and postcards sent under the supervision of the German administration. Every message was censored, and its content strictly controlled. Nevertheless, there were cases where prisoners embedded coded information about their own situation or the fate of their fellow soldiers in such correspondence – but that is a story of its own. However, it is hard to imagine that during the occupation, with thousands of prisoners located so close to civilian areas, no unofficial network of communication would have developed – and its organization is remarkably interesting. This communication had a completely different character – it was part of the activities of the Polish resistance and the involvement of Allied soldiers. Thanks to these efforts, intelligence reports were smuggled out of Stalag XXA, while informati...

Raymond was captured during the events connected to the Dunkirk operation. As a prisoner of war, he was held in the military forts of Toruń, part of the German POW camp  Stalag XXA (Stalag 20A) . Like many British POWs in Toruń, he was also sent to work in rural areas of the region. Surviving documents reveal that he spent time near Bydgoszcz, Chełmno, and Grudziądz. One particularly fascinating detail is a German record of his escape and a gap of over six months in official reports on Raymond whereabouts. Even more intriguingly, relatives recognized his handwriting in Fort XI from photographs in the Imperial War Museum. His time in the camp’s prison cell may have been connected to sabotage he reportedly carried out while working on a farm near Grudziądz — at least according to German reports. This was one of the rare families who were able to visit every confirmed location where their relative had been held. We are honored to have taken part in preserving and sharing Raymond sto...