WARTIME GUIDES

In 1944 Allied Forces started flying over Torun (Thorn) to enlarge knowledge about the town, infrastrucutre and garnisson. In archives till these days survived a lot of maps which show city and Stalag XXA (20A) area - but not all. On the picutres you see good all forts and wooden huts area excluded Stalag XXC . Even today some of remains are still visible and very often we show it our Guests. Stalag XX A (20A): Fort 11 and wooden huts Stalag XX A (20A): Fort 12 and wooden huts Stalag XX A (20A): Fort 13 and area Stalag XX A ( 20A): Fort 14 - Stalag Hospital and area Stalag XX A ( 20A): Fort 15 and area Stalag XX A ( 20A): Fort 16 - Stalag Prison Stalag XX A ( 20A): Fort 17 and main railway station

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 Once again we realised that many of historical documents written in early 50's 70's by researches and based mainly on Red Cross reports are not precisly.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 ...

Saturday 21 February was the one of the most beautiful day in our guide career. During offical celebration of International Tour Guide Day we were awarded for our job to preserve internetional hertiage. After the event we went back to work because this evening Hania had lecture dedicated to POW and uknown stories from Stalag XXA. We are happy that somebody have seen our passion. That was hit of motivation for harder work. Thank you!

We would like to inform that Wartimeguides were responsible for City Council project dedicated for the youth. One day trip on the patriotic path in Torun. During sightseeinf Pawel showed exposition in museum dedicated to WW II next we moved to Historical War Museum for the Peters lecutre about POW and stories of witness from Stalag time. Our trip finished in Fort IV where young people could see how lookes like adapted fort. Moreover visit in Fort was also goog opportunity to empathize how felt POW when they were forced to spend sometimes 5 years in fort. For us it was a new experience and way to share our passion and knowledge about Stalag XXA. We hope that it wasn't last time.   In Museum at WW II exhibition At Peters' lecture

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...

Last weekend of may we were guides for Evelyn and Wighton Clark. It was pleasure to show them places connected with Stalag XXA. Below we are showing a resume from trip of footprints of gunner Hugh C Bone. The day after the BBC’s television coverage commerating  the 70th anniversary of the evacuation of the BEF at Dunkirk, there was a programme shown relating to those soldiers who were left behind in Normandy, in the main the 51st Highland Division, a Division who along with the French helped hold back Rommel’s Panzers  in order to allow the evacuation to take place. Their understanding was that they would be evacuated too. During that t.v. programme, I listened to POWs recount their experience of battle and incarceration in Stallag XXA in Poland and for the first time I had an insight into what my father had been through from 1940 to 1945. From then on I wanted to find out as much as I could.  This was extremely difficult, as like the majority of POWs my dad ...

Finally  we've  published, together with Historical-War Museum, a leaflet about Stalag XXA . It wouldn't have been done without a help from Local Tourist Organisation in Toruń and Toruń City Council. We hope, you will get a grasp of Stalag XXA history and perhaps motivate you to visit Toruń! Here you can view English / Polish version.