WARTIME GUIDES

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...

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 ....

It's really hard to write about trips when we meet people who was so close to stories which aren't written in any books. Fear, escapes and longing that typical features which appears very offten in memories of POW's relatives. This time we heard amazing story about three escapes and liberation by Americans. We really admire people who decided to visit our city sometimes for few hours only to see footsteps, places connected to Stalag but moreover to their personally history. Below we present you a brief from Michael's trip to Torun which is trully hard to publish at all. But belive us information about tunnels in Stalag XXA really suprised us!  Our trip over to Poland was wonderful and our accommodation at Hotel Spichrz was fantastic.  The studio was on two floors it was like an apartment but without the kitchen. I would recommend the Hotel without any hesitation. Prepeparation to trip    We started the morning with a presentation which my wife and found...