Polish POW in Forced Labour in German Stalag 1939-1945

[Henry1949]

My uncle served in the Polish Army (76th Lidzki Infantry Regiment). He was captured by the invading German Army on 7 September 1939 and sent to Germany for forced labour. He spent the remaining war years in various Stalags in Germany. I would be most grateful for any information (photographs, location maps, Stalag layout, history etc.) about the following:
1. Stalag 17 Kaizersteinbruck, Austria. September 1939.
2. Stalag 6B Versen, Germany. April 1940.
3. Meppen, Germany. August 1941. Uncle was 'employed' from August 1940 until December 1940 and again from March 1944 until July 1945 in Lahde, rural district of Meppen. He was 'employed' by Wilhelm Ostermann.
4. Oberlagen, Germany. May 1945.
Uncle did not return back to Poland having migrated to Australia where he died in 2013 aged 97 years.
Appreciate your assistance in this matter.
Regards, Henry

[andrzejku98]

Hello Henry,

Many thanks for your post and may I welcome you to the Forum, although not my area of interest, hopefully some of the other Forum Members will be able to help you with your questions.

Once again Welcome

Best wishes

Andrzej

[andrzejku98]

Hello Henry

Just did a quick search on the web and found the following information for you on Stalag VI-B at Versen :

Stalag VI-B was a German World War II prisoner-of-war camp (Stammlager), located about 3 km (1.9 mi) east of the village of Versen in the Emsland district of Lower Saxony, in north-western Germany, close to the border with the Netherlands.

Camp history
The camp was established in 1938 as Lager IX Versen, one of the Emslandlager group of labour camps. It was designed to hold up to 1,500 political prisoners, who worked under the direction of the Reichsarbeitsdienst ("State Labor Service") in the local peat bogs. After the outbreak of World War II in September 1939 the camp was taken over by Military District VI, and designated Stalag VI-B, with sub-camps (Zweiglager) — designated Stalag VI-B/Z — a few kilometres away at Oberlangen, Wesuwe and Fullen. On 13 May 1942 Stalag VI-B and its sub-camps all came under the administrative control of Stalag VI-C at Bathorn, and were renamed Stalag VI-C/Z.

The camps of Stalag VI-B were first occupied by prisoners-of-war taken during the invasion of Poland. In early 1940 these were replaced by POW from France and Belgium. In addition, there were Dutch, Polish, and later Russians in the camps. After the armistice of 1943 Italian prisoners arrived.

From November 1944 prisoners from the Neuengamme concentration camp in Hamburg were housed at Versen to work on the Friesenwall, part of the Atlantic Wall between the Netherlands and Denmark.

The camps were abandoned in March 1945, and the prisoners were moved by train or marched east to other camps.

The camp at Versen was used after the war as a prison under the control of the Lower Saxony Ministry of Justice. After a fire in 1972, much of the camp was rebuilt. It currently operates as Justizvollzugsanstalt Meppen ("Meppen Correctional Institution").

Also listed was the following photograph of one of the huts still used to this day.



Hope this helps you Henry, if you already know this information apologies

Best wishes

Andrzej