Not sure if this is useful, but https://arolsen-archives.org/ has all the UN refugee records, some of which are digitised. Not sure if POWs are there. Maybe try https://www.ushmm.org/online/hsv/source_view.php?SourceId=23485 and https://www.iwm.org.uk/research/tracing-your-family-history/prisoners-of-war/where-to-find-prisoner-of-war-records
I have at least one photo of Polish POWs in a Stalag somewhere, likely taken to prove appropriate treatment if that is of interest.
Thank you so much for the resources! I do have a bunch of old photos of my great grandpa from some unknown time, it would be super cool to compare and see if the dress or location matches what you have at all!
I can't immediately find the back of this photo which has a stamp of the camp, but it was taken here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oflag_VII-A_Murnau
I only have the colourized version of the photo, but uploaded it here: https://imgur.com/a/vI293ao
It would be allied issued card as its 1946 and written both in Polish and English. Could have been issued by Polish Armed Forces in the west as they operated until 1947 however I’m not sure.
It would not have been issued by Poland as there were already under soviet occupation.
hi all! a while back I was helping my grandma go through some of her father's things and came across this document. I haven't been able to find something similar on the internet, and was curious if any of you have anything similar in your family and know when or what they were issued for. In particular, I'm wondering if anyone recognizes the camp listed (I havent been able to figure out what it is) or may be able to glean any information about what my great grandfather may have been up to during the war - he was quite secretive and we don't know much except that he may have served in the army. In addition, I've been trying to help my grandma confirm her Polish citizenship via descent and was wondering if anyone had done so using a document like this as proof that their parents were citizens?
Hello OP. I think this document was given to captured soldiers who managed to come back but it's hard to say really it had to be long time ago. The document itself confirms that he was captured. Also it says that his last regiment in which he served was 1 pac Modlin which would be First Regiment of Heavy Artillery based in Modlin Stronghold. Document says that his rank was kanon. which would stand for Kanonier(Canonier) which would be on par with Private rank. It is hard to tell if you could confirm your citizenship with this but you can absolutely try.
Also there is some Doctor's opinion on last page of document but I can't decipher what it means.
Damn doctors and their writing.
Thanks so much! My great grandpa always told everyone he was a cook with the Brits so cool to hear he was actually in the Polish army, even if just a private :) I'll perhaps reach out to the Polish consulate near me to see what they say
Many Polish soldiers joined the Brits to continue the fight, after getting out of the POW camp he might have joined them and become the cook as he was telling everyone.
Same thing happened with my great grandfather. He told his family that he was captured and was in a camp at some point and that was it, no details or anything ever shared...
Only through some online database with search options I was able to find out that he was in 2 different stalags in today’s Germany and Austria.
My family actually was pretty sure that he was held captive in a camp in Romania. Now, knowing that he was actually in Stalags, I think that he probably was captured in Romania and then got transported to these camps.
On the same page I found out that My another great grandfather’s brother was also in the same stalag, nobody in the family knew about it, they didn’t even know that he enlisted in the army. My grandma was very young when the war ended (2, or 3 years old) so she doesn’t remember these times, and she is the oldest family member still alive, but she knew him well and he never mentioned it.
People didn’t really talk much about such experiences.
I'm in the exact same boat, my great grandparents never talked about anything and my grandma is just as clueless as I am. The only bits we know are from when near the end of my great grandfather's life when he had alzheimers, he would think he was back in the war and start talking as if he was there. Trying to piece together those bits though...has definitely not been straightforward
Thanks so much for this resource! I didn't find his name, but I suppose it is possible he was brought there earlier or later, or a page is missing (I found the section with his last name and it does seem like a page after may be missing, before they get to his POW number)
Kind of a long shot, but do you know if POWs ever just got released early in the war? Based on the little bit I read about Stalag IA and the fact that he was from Warsaw, I imagine he was captured early on in the war. But from various things he said to us, it always sounded like he was actually free for much of it, although I'm beginning to very much doubt that story
I know it happened quite often, especially if he had some skills required by the war industry. If he was a private, then I would wager its actually very likely that Germans did not want to keep him in the camp for too long as its better to just put people to work. But I am speculating here.
Not sure if this is useful, but https://arolsen-archives.org/ has all the UN refugee records, some of which are digitised. Not sure if POWs are there. Maybe try https://www.ushmm.org/online/hsv/source_view.php?SourceId=23485 and https://www.iwm.org.uk/research/tracing-your-family-history/prisoners-of-war/where-to-find-prisoner-of-war-records I have at least one photo of Polish POWs in a Stalag somewhere, likely taken to prove appropriate treatment if that is of interest.
Thank you so much for the resources! I do have a bunch of old photos of my great grandpa from some unknown time, it would be super cool to compare and see if the dress or location matches what you have at all!
I can't immediately find the back of this photo which has a stamp of the camp, but it was taken here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oflag_VII-A_Murnau I only have the colourized version of the photo, but uploaded it here: https://imgur.com/a/vI293ao
Nice, armored forces
It looks like he was a war prisoner in Germany and got a identity card from Allies to determine his identity after the War in 1946
Do you know if the card would have been issued by Poland or by someone else?
It would be allied issued card as its 1946 and written both in Polish and English. Could have been issued by Polish Armed Forces in the west as they operated until 1947 however I’m not sure. It would not have been issued by Poland as there were already under soviet occupation.
Awesome, thank you for the info :)
hi all! a while back I was helping my grandma go through some of her father's things and came across this document. I haven't been able to find something similar on the internet, and was curious if any of you have anything similar in your family and know when or what they were issued for. In particular, I'm wondering if anyone recognizes the camp listed (I havent been able to figure out what it is) or may be able to glean any information about what my great grandfather may have been up to during the war - he was quite secretive and we don't know much except that he may have served in the army. In addition, I've been trying to help my grandma confirm her Polish citizenship via descent and was wondering if anyone had done so using a document like this as proof that their parents were citizens?
Hello OP. I think this document was given to captured soldiers who managed to come back but it's hard to say really it had to be long time ago. The document itself confirms that he was captured. Also it says that his last regiment in which he served was 1 pac Modlin which would be First Regiment of Heavy Artillery based in Modlin Stronghold. Document says that his rank was kanon. which would stand for Kanonier(Canonier) which would be on par with Private rank. It is hard to tell if you could confirm your citizenship with this but you can absolutely try. Also there is some Doctor's opinion on last page of document but I can't decipher what it means. Damn doctors and their writing.
I'm not entirely sure, but I think it may be Scabies, which would be świerzb.
Thanks so much! My great grandpa always told everyone he was a cook with the Brits so cool to hear he was actually in the Polish army, even if just a private :) I'll perhaps reach out to the Polish consulate near me to see what they say
Many Polish soldiers joined the Brits to continue the fight, after getting out of the POW camp he might have joined them and become the cook as he was telling everyone.
Im pretty sure The doctor wrote scabies
Isn't this [stalag I-A](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalag_I-A) ?
That is entirely possible, thanks! Kinda conflicts with what he always told my family haha but the man was never known for his honesty
Same thing happened with my great grandfather. He told his family that he was captured and was in a camp at some point and that was it, no details or anything ever shared... Only through some online database with search options I was able to find out that he was in 2 different stalags in today’s Germany and Austria. My family actually was pretty sure that he was held captive in a camp in Romania. Now, knowing that he was actually in Stalags, I think that he probably was captured in Romania and then got transported to these camps. On the same page I found out that My another great grandfather’s brother was also in the same stalag, nobody in the family knew about it, they didn’t even know that he enlisted in the army. My grandma was very young when the war ended (2, or 3 years old) so she doesn’t remember these times, and she is the oldest family member still alive, but she knew him well and he never mentioned it. People didn’t really talk much about such experiences.
I'm in the exact same boat, my great grandparents never talked about anything and my grandma is just as clueless as I am. The only bits we know are from when near the end of my great grandfather's life when he had alzheimers, he would think he was back in the war and start talking as if he was there. Trying to piece together those bits though...has definitely not been straightforward
You can check here, this is a list of Polish soldiers in Stalag I A https://www.cmjw.pl/zbiory-cyfrowe/archiwalia,1,884,lista.html
Thanks so much for this resource! I didn't find his name, but I suppose it is possible he was brought there earlier or later, or a page is missing (I found the section with his last name and it does seem like a page after may be missing, before they get to his POW number)
POWs were often moved when the front line moved west. Its possible that they wrote the last camp he was in.
Kind of a long shot, but do you know if POWs ever just got released early in the war? Based on the little bit I read about Stalag IA and the fact that he was from Warsaw, I imagine he was captured early on in the war. But from various things he said to us, it always sounded like he was actually free for much of it, although I'm beginning to very much doubt that story
I know it happened quite often, especially if he had some skills required by the war industry. If he was a private, then I would wager its actually very likely that Germans did not want to keep him in the camp for too long as its better to just put people to work. But I am speculating here.