Stalag XXB Marienburg
Unnamed Road, 82-200 Malbork, Poland
Overview
Stalag XXB was a German prisoner-of-war camp in World War II, located in (then) Marienburg, now Malbörk, a town in the Pomeranian district of Poland. At its peak, in 1944, it held some 30,000 Polish, British, French, Belgian, Serbian, Soviet, Italian, Australian, New Zealand and Canadian POWs. The camp was disbanded in early 1945.
The main camp site was located some two miles south of the town of Malbörk, overlooking the Nogat River. There were many sub-camps, located to support industry in the greater Danzig (now Gdańsk) city and hinterland. In the town of Malbörk there were also facilities for feeding, maintenance, medical needs, and camp guards. Many groups POWs were also assigned to work in local factories and farms in the area. The central camp area remained as the administrative centre. Transport was typically by truck, horse drawn wagons (sledges in winter), and the local narrow-gauge railway.
Timeline 1939-45
In 1939 the first prisoners were Polish, following the German invasion of their homeland. Many British and other Allied nations were imprisoned in early 1941 following the overrun of Western Europe. Originally, prisoner facilities were temporary and very poor, but by 1942 many purpose built structures had been added, including barracks, administrative buildings, a library and a theatre. Following Germany’s push east, many Soviet prisoners were added in 1942-43 and Italian prisoners after Italy’s capitulation in 1943.
Nationalities at the Camp
The approximate number of prisoners at the camp was as follows:
1940 | 14,000 – mostly Polish |
1941 | 18,000 – additional British |
1942 | 24,000 – additional Serb and Soviet |
1943 | 25,000 |
1944 | 30,000 – additional Italian |
1945 | 31,000 – before camp was emptied Jan 1945 |
The British contingent at XXB was around 9,000 from 1941 till 1945. Around 80% of all these prisoners were placed outside the central camp area, working on farms, in factories, roads and railways.
Camp Guards
A senior German officer commanded the camp, and there were many in the 5 years of its existence. Reporting to him would be some 100 military staff. Approximately 300 camp guards were drawn from units of older soldiers and auxiliaries and were concerned with the physical security of the sites, rather than supervising the prisoners.
POW Work
Approximately two-thirds of the prisoners were assigned to agricultural work in the area. Work units (Kommandos) where formed from 10 to 500 men, and assigned to farms, factories and shipyards. Much of the factory work was in support of timber, sugar beet, grain and other agricultural produce. Life was marginally better on the farms, where extra food might be available. In all cases, the POWs were much sustained by Red Cross food parcels, when these were made available. The Red Cross also made inspection visits and were briefed by the “Man of Confidence”, James Fulton, who was awarded an MBE on his return to UK. Many sports were organised, including football and boxing with leagues and competitions.
From a POW description of the barracks at the Camp…. “The room is about 30 feet long and 20 wide. Every corner is utilised. There are nine double decker bunks with a large locker between. The two tables are filled. Some are stretched out on their beds reading (the only way to ensure comfort). History, travel, cowboy story books are the blessed form of escape in this life. The wood stove is burning brightly and black-out shutters are securely fastened. A 200 watt bulb supplies the illumination with a secret, concealed one to help out. On the back of every bed there hangs a greatcoat, a spare uniform. Every spare space is utilised to dry washing and shirts, socks, pyjamas, underwear hang everywhere, for Sunday morning is the only day that hot water can be obtained for clothes washing”.
Escape
Given the extreme eastern location of XXB, escape was very difficult. Russia to the east, Germany and Axis allies to the west and south, and the Baltic Sea to the north meant that there was no obvious escape route home. A few prisoners managed to slip on to boats at Gdansk and make it to neutral Sweden.
1945, The March
The Germans dissolved the camp in January 1945 in the face of the Russian advance. The POWs were marched west in very hard conditions. Some 10% died or escaped on the journey, which took 8-10 weeks, marching 25 kilometres a day. Some POWs slipped off the back of the march, and were met by Russian forces, eventually to be repatriated. Stalin never trusted the Russian POWs, and many were sent to the Gulags. Allied POWs reached central German towns in April 1945 and were repatriated by British and American forces moving east. They finally got home in May 1945. Russian forces overran the main site of XXB in February 1945.
In 2009, a mass grave of 2000 people was found during building work in Malbörk. This was assumed to be German nationals who had been massacred in early 1945.
The site today
The main site of XXB can be visited fairly easily from the UK. It lies some 30 miles south-east of the city of Gdańsk. There are trains from Gdańsk to Malbörk, and the site is a short taxi or bus trip from the local station. However, the site is gradually being overrun by the municipal cemetery, and it may be totally lost in time. The last original buildings on the site were removed in 2013. There is a memorial to the camp on the cemetery site. One mile north is the Commonwealth War Grave cemetery, which contains the graves of some 250 Allied servicemen, who had either died at the camp, or perished in air raids over Gdańsk. There is also a Russian cemetery from 1945.
In 2020 the Municipality of Malbörk mounted a museum exhibition and published documents on the history of the camp.
Sources and Further reading
- General information is derived from Wikipedia:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalag_XX-B
- Camp details, numbers and organisation are drawn from documents at Muzeum Miasta Malborka. There are also various personal stories:
- Description of POW life and The March is from a personal document held by the author.
- There is a BBC report on the discovery of graves in 2009 at:
- Description of the site today is from a personal visit by the author, Doug Neilson.
POWs
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Working Parties
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