Stalag I-A was a German prisoner-of-war camp during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, located in the village of Stablack (now divided between Kamińsk, Poland, and Dolgorukovo, Russia). It housed mainly

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

, Belgian, French,

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

prisoners of war, but also

Britons British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs modern British citizenship and nationality, w ...

and

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

. The camp was divided into two sections, the northern located at modern Dolgorukovo and southern at modern Kamińsk.

History

The camp was established on 6 September 1939, during the German

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

, which started

. It was built in late 1939 by Polish POWs. In 1940 the Poles were joined by Belgian and French prisoners following the

Fall of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Net ...

, and by Russians in 1941 following the

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

. From 1943, also Italian POWs were held in the camp. Some British and Serbian prisoners were also there. In January 1945, the prisoners were sent on a

death march A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war, other captives, or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinct from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Convention requires tha ...

westwards, whereas some 240 Soviet, Polish and French POWs who could not walk were left in the camp.

Kommandos of Stalag I-A

Few of the men registered at Stalag I-A were housed at the main camp, as most were assigned to ''

Kommando A ''Kommando'' (, "unit" or "command") is a general term for special police and military forces in German, Dutch, and Afrikaans speaking nations. It was also the term in the World War II era ''Luftwaffe'' for special units used to test new a ...

s'' (sub-camps) spread over the entire district. * E1, Central camp * E2, Stablack hospital * E3,

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

* E4,

Heinrichswalde Heinrichswalde is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. History From 1648 to 1720, Heinrichswalde was part of Swedish Pomerania. From 1720 to 1945, it was part of the ...

* E5, around Königsberg * E6, Königsberg * E7,

Wehlau Znamensk (; ; ; ) is a rural locality (a settlement) in Gvardeysky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Pregolya River at its confluence with the Lava River east of Kaliningrad. Population figures: Histo ...

* E8, Preußisch Eylau * E9, Heilsberg (Lidzbark Warmiński) * E10,

Gerdauen Zheleznodorozhny (, lit. ''railway (town)''; until 1946 ; ; ) is an types of inhabited localities in Russia, urban locality (an urban-type settlement) in Pravdinsky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia. It is located 69 km (43 miles) south ...

* E11,

Heiligenbeil The term Heiligenbeil can refer to: *The German name of Mamonovo, Russia * Heiligenbeil concentration camp built near Mamonovo *Heiligenbeil Pocket The Heiligenbeil Pocket or Heiligenbeil Cauldron () was the site of a major encirclement battle o ...

, sub-divided into five ''

Zug Zug (Standard German: , Alemannic German: ; ; ; ; )Named in the 16th century. is the largest List of cities in Switzerland, town and capital of the Swiss canton of Zug. Zug is renowned as a hub for some of the wealthiest individuals in the wor ...

'';

, Bladiau, Ludwigsort, Zinten and Lichtenfeld * E12, Memel (Klaipėda) * E13, Unknown * E14, Labiau * E16,

Insterburg Chernyakhovsk (; German language, German: Insterburg) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, and the administrative center of Chernyakhovsky District. Located at the confluence of the Instruch and Angrap ...

* E17,

Schlossberg Schlossberg or Schloßberg (German for ''Castle Mountain''; usually a hill or mountain with a "castle" on it) may refer to: Places *Schlossberg (Bavaria), a part of the municipality of Stephanskirchen in Bavaria, Germany *Schloßberg (Bopfingen), a ...

* E18,

Gumbinnen Gusev (; ; ; ) is a town and the administrative center of Gusevsky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Pissa and Krasnaya Rivers, near the border with Poland and Lithuania, east of Chernyakhovsk. It is p ...

* E19,

Ebenrode Nesterov (), until 1938 known by its German language, German name (; ) and in 1938-1946 as Ebenrode, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Nesterovsky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, locate ...

* E20,

Bartenstein Bartoszyce (pronounced ; , ) is a town on the Łyna River in northern Poland, with 22,597 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the capital of Bartoszyce County within the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. Geographical location Bartoszyce lies on ...

(Bartoszyce) * E34,

Tilsit Sovetsk (; ) is a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the south bank of the Neman River which forms the border with Lithuania. History Early history Tilsit, which received civic rights from Albert, Duke of Prussia in 1552,''Sło ...

Ragnit Neman (; ; ), is a town and the administrative center of Nemansky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located in the historic region of Lithuania Minor, on the steep southern bank of the Neman River, where it forms the Russian border with ...

* E44, Union Giesserei locomotive plant, Königsberg * E45, Angerapp

Commemoration

There is an international cemetery of prisoners of Stalag I-A in Dolgorukovo.

References

External links

Pegasus Archive photographs
{{Authority control World War II prisoner-of-war camps in Germany World War II sites in Poland World War II sites in Russia 1939 establishments in Germany

History

Kommandos of Stalag I-A

Commemoration

See also

References

External links