WARTIME GUIDES

I am pleased to share with you the news of my latest article, which has been published in the Atlas of Toruń Fortress. This time, I focused on Fort XV, which served as a place of imprisonment for the prisoners of Stalag XXA during World War II, and its subsequent history as a Forced Labor Camp. In my article, I delve into the fascinating history of Stalag XXA, where Australian prisoners of war were among those held captive. Through in-depth research, source analysis, and eyewitness accounts, I sought to bring readers closer to the dramatic experiences of these prisoners and the conditions in which they lived. I recount their daily lives, the challenges they faced, and the exceptional bonds that formed among them in the difficult camp conditions. It is worth noting that the history of this place did not end in 1945. After the war, Fort XV was transformed into a Forced Labor Camp, where German and Polish prisoners were forced to perform various physical tasks. This topic was dealt with v...

It is great when we can help to discover family stories. This time, we were totally suprised when we got a parcel with picutres from Stalag XXA (20A). It had been dicovered accidentally on trash but before it was destroyed a man who found it, called and asked us if we are interested in them. After reseach, we know that this is a collection of pictures from a working camp  in the north east of Poland. What is more, on reverse of one of the pictures, was full data and address. Now we are waiting for response to finish this story.... we will inform you about  the results.

"I will always be grateful to Pawel for helping me understand better what happened to my father when he was captured by the German army after the fighting at Dunkirk. Like many former British POWs, Dad was reluctant to tell his children very much about what he had endured during the war. We knew he spent most of the war in German POW camps, in particular one in Poland. From his army records we discovered that camp was Staleg XX-A. I contacted Pawel at very short notice recently when I was in traveling with my husband in Europe. Pawel was able to meet me in Torun to walk me through the history of Staleg XX-A and some of the forts of Torun. My father, John Wilkinson, was with the British Expeditionary Force, serving in the  Light Tank Regiment of the 1st East Riding Yeomanry. We believe he fought at Cassel in France before being captured.  It was extraordinary for me to walk with Pawel at Torun where the British POWs disembarked, knowing my father would hav...

Thanks to our cooperation to Museum of Dobrzyńska Land in Rypin , Poland we had a great opportunity to give a short presentaion about Stalag XXA and working camps around Rypin. This city is located on the East of Kujawsko - Pomorskie region and since 1941 there was a working camp of Stalag XXA, Thorn (now Torun). Thanks help of the locals we possessed a lot of new facts: how did the camp worked and relations between citizens and Pows. What is more interesting,  we learnt about how partizans helped imprisoned soldiers, ways of escapes and farmers who hid soldiers who had decided to escape. Sometimes these stories could be script for a movie. We hope that with time we'll find new folders in local archives which fulfill white gaps in the history dedicated to personal storiers of British PoW's there. 

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...

Since January we were preparing for exticing trip thru footprints of POW. In April we had pleasure to be guide for Alison and Andrew. Alisons uncle was in Stalag XXA, subcamp 11a and even knowledge from the sources each trip gives us opportunity to better know new facts and stories about daily live in Stalag XXA. Once again we realised that many of historical documents written in early 50's 70's by researches and based mainly on Red Cross reports are not precisly. Personally stories, letters, diaries etc. are opening new ways in our project. Below we put short brief from trip wirtten by our guests: Our trip to Stalag XX A in the footsteps of my Great Uncle Joe Gribben My great uncle Joe Gribben (Princess Louise‘s Kensington Regiment 6206452) was fighting with the 51 st Highland Division when he was captured at St Valery-en- caux, in France, on the 12 th June 1940. He was a prisoner of war at Stalag XXA at Torun. From there he was assigned to Bau und Arbeits Battalion 20, a ...

More than 20 000 people from different countries like never before  waited for consignment from a camp post...  Christmas time was well celebrated especially by POW's. Men from rooms and wooden huts  prepared their own Christmas dinner, sometimes small gifts, and of course interiors, were well decorated by hand made ornaments and Christmas tree. What is more, actor groups prepared special shows (concerts, dance bands, plays, pantomimes) related to Christmas tradition and very often written in the camp. For Christmas were also published special number of a camp newsletter: Prisoners Pie (or New Prisoners Pie) Very interesting is also fact that POW's assoctations in motherslands organised events like competitions for the best Christmas hand made postcard! Front page of  the Christmas Number The New Prisoners Pie Front page of  the Christmas Number The New Prisoners Pie When it comes to the Christmas dinner, it's necessary to point out that the...

That was amazing trip. Phill with his wife visited Poland inspiring by book of his father who was PoW in Torun. Again we could travelled in time, sightseeing forts and old paths from WWII. Below we put some memories of Phill and pictures. My father, Ralph Johnson, was a member of the 2/5th Australian General Hospital. He was captured on his 21st birthday in Greece on the 28th April 1941. In December 1941 my father, along with many others, were loaded into cattle trucks for the nine day journey to Torun where he spent the next three and a half years in various POW camps with the majority of time spent in Fort 15, Torun. Dad did not speak about his experiences for 30 years after his return and is was only in the later years of his life that he shared his experiences in a book he wrote for his family. We are extremely grateful that he did this as without his recollections we would have little knowledge of his experiences. So it was with mixed feelings that my wife and I d...