Stalag VIII-F
Encyclopedia
Stalag VIII-F was a German prisoner of war camp set up to handle exclusively Soviet Red Army
prisoners. It was located at the northern end of the huge Germany Army training area at Lamsdorf Silesia
and just north of Stalag VIII-B
. It was built in June 1941 and existed until the advancing Soviet forces liberated it 17 March 1945. The camp was renumbered Stalag 318 in 1943.
Physical and sanitary conditions were terrible and of the estimated 300,000 Soviet prisones who passed through this camp, about one third died of starvation, mistreatment and disease. The Germans did not apply the provisions of the Third Geneva Convention
to Soviet prisoners because the Soviet Union was not a signatory.
On October 11, 1944, after a five days train trip, about 5,000 imprisoned after the Warsaw Uprising Polish soldiers of the Armia Krajowa arrived in the STALAG 318, aka VIII F, aka Stammlager 344, from the assembly point at Ozarow. Several days later the German Army, Wehrmacht brought about 400 Armia Krajowa women soldiers. They were held in a compound adjacent to the men,s compound, but in a few days they were transported to a concentration camp in the north.
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
prisoners. It was located at the northern end of the huge Germany Army training area at Lamsdorf Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
and just north of Stalag VIII-B
Stalag VIII-B
Stalag VIII-B Lamsdorf was a notorious German Army prisoner of war camp, later renumbered Stalag-344, located near the small town of Lamsdorf in Silesia. The camp initially occupied barracks built to house British and French prisoners in World War I...
. It was built in June 1941 and existed until the advancing Soviet forces liberated it 17 March 1945. The camp was renumbered Stalag 318 in 1943.
Physical and sanitary conditions were terrible and of the estimated 300,000 Soviet prisones who passed through this camp, about one third died of starvation, mistreatment and disease. The Germans did not apply the provisions of the Third Geneva Convention
Third Geneva Convention
The Third Geneva Convention, relative to the treatment of prisoners of war, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It was first adopted in 1929, but was significantly updated in 1949...
to Soviet prisoners because the Soviet Union was not a signatory.
On October 11, 1944, after a five days train trip, about 5,000 imprisoned after the Warsaw Uprising Polish soldiers of the Armia Krajowa arrived in the STALAG 318, aka VIII F, aka Stammlager 344, from the assembly point at Ozarow. Several days later the German Army, Wehrmacht brought about 400 Armia Krajowa women soldiers. They were held in a compound adjacent to the men,s compound, but in a few days they were transported to a concentration camp in the north.
Sources
- Camps in Silesia (in Polish)
- German documentation (in German)