Stalag XX-B was a German prisoner-of-war camp in World War II, operated in Wielbark (present-day district of Malbork, Poland). It housed Polish, British, French, Belgian, Serbian, Soviet, Italian, Australian, New Zealand and Canadian POWs.

Locations

The camp was founded in Recklinghausen on 16 December 1939, then relocated to Licze on 20 December 1939, and afterwards to Wielbark on 1 February 1940. Two subcamps were formed in Gdańsk, in the districts of Biskupia Górka and VII Dwór, and there were also up to about a thousand forced labour subcamps in the region. On 1 April 1940 there were some 2,200 POWs in Stalag XX-B and its subcamps. Following the German invasion of the Netherlands, Belgium and France, the Germans brought British, French, Belgian and Dutch POWs to the camp. An administration block including a hospital was erected in the latter part of 1940, mainly by prisoner labour. In the second half of 1941, there were still no showers nor a disinfection station, which were only organized in 1942. In early 1942, there were 23,470 POWs in the camp.

Most of the POWs were not housed in the main camp, but were deployed in up to about a thousand forced labour subcamps in the region. There were sizable subcamps at shipyards in Gdynia and Elbląg, and at least seven subcamps within Malbork itself, however, most were located in rural areas with the POWs working in agriculture. POWs were sent out to labour in farms, sawmills, factories, goodsyards and cutting ice on the river Nogat.

Dissolution

The Germans dissolved the camp in January 1945, and the POWs were marched west. The march lasted three and a half months, during which the POWs struggled with cold, hunger, exhaustion, diseases, etc., and were even subjected to forced labor to clear cluttered roads and railroads after Allied bombings. There were days when POWs ate nothing, and some died during the march.

See also

  • List of German World War II POW camps

References

Bibliography

  • Journey into captivity 1940, William Bampton. Printed privately.
  • The March Towards Home, William Bampton. Printed privately.
  • B24.net
  • The Last Escape - John Nichol, Tony Rennell - 2002 Penguin UK
  • An account by Jack Durey of his service with 2nd Battalion Hampshire Regiment in France, his capture time at Stalag XX-B and his escape, and journey home via Odessa [http://www.warlinks.com/memories/durey/index.html]