Stalag XXI-C
Stalag XXI-C was a German Army World War II prisoner-of-war camp located in Wolsztyn in German-occupied Poland. It held mostly Polish, French, British and Soviet POWs, but also American, Norwegian, Dutch and Italian.
Stalag XXI-C | |
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Wolsztyn, German-occupied Poland | |
Stalag XXI-C | |
Coordinates | 52.1185°N 16.1204°E |
Type | Prisoner-of-war camp |
Site information | |
Controlled by | Nazi Germany |
Site history | |
In use | 1939–1945 |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Garrison information | |
Occupants | Polish prisoners of war and civilians, French, British, Soviet, American, Norwegian, Dutch and Italian prisoners of war |
It was one of four main German POW camps in the Military District XXI, alongside the Stalag XXI-A in Ostrzeszów, Stalag XXI-B in Szubin and Stalag XXI-D in Poznań.[1]
History
The camp was established in September 1939, shortly after the invasion of Poland which started World War II, as a Kriegsgefangenenlager camp for Polish POWs.[2] It was located at the former estate of the Mycielski family in the district of Komorowo.[2] In December 1939, it was converted into a transit camp for expelled Poles from the region.[2]
In 1940 it was converted into the Stalag XXI-C POW camp and expanded, and the Stalag XXI-C/Z subcamp was established in Grodzisk Wielkopolski.[2][3] French and British POWs were brought to the camp in 1940, and Soviet POWs were brought in 1941.[2]
In June 1941, the Stalag XXI-C/Z subcamp in Grodzisk Wielkopolski was converted into the separate Stalag XXI-E camp for British, Polish and Serbian POWs.[4]
In 1943, Stalag XXI-C still housed Soviet POWs as well as British, French, American, Norwegian and Dutch soldiers treated in the POW hospital.[2] The medical staff of the hospital consisted of Polish POWs and some other POWs.[2] In September 1943, Italians were brought to the camp, and in 1944, Polish soldiers and American airmen, who helped the Polish Warsaw Uprising also arrived.[2]
Dissolution
In January 1945, the healthy POWs were transported west to the Stalag III-A POW camp.[5] Polish medics and some 500 sick soldiers remained.[2] On 26 January 1945, the Soviets captured the town and liberated the camp.[2]
After the war, the former POW camp served as a temporary shelter for Poles displaced from former eastern Poland annexed by the Soviet Union.[2]
References
- Encyklopedia konspiracji Wielkopolskiej 1939–1945 (in Polish). Poznań: Instytut Zachodni. 1998. p. 393. ISBN 83-85003-97-5.
- "Historia obozu jenieckiego w Wolsztynie". Muzeum Regionalne w Wolsztynie (in Polish, English, French, German, and Russian). Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- Daniluk, Jan; Winiecki, Mariusz (2020). Stalag XXI B/H Thure. Jeńcy wojenni w Turze w latach II wojny światowej (in Polish and English). Translated by Parsons, Alan. Szubin: Polsko-Amerykańska Fundacja Upamiętnienia Obozów Jenieckich w Szubinie. pp. 12, 46. ISBN 978-83-958269-0-0.
- Megargee, Geoffrey P.; Overmans, Rüdiger; Vogt, Wolfgang (2022). The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume IV. Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. p. 502. ISBN 978-0-253-06089-1.
- Toczewski, Andrzej (1986). "Obozy jenieckie na terenie III Okręgu Wojskowego Wehrmachtu w końcowej fazie wojny". Rocznik Lubuski (in Polish). Zielona Góra. XIV: 348.