Beginning in 1939, the camp initially housed about 15,000 Polish prisoners and was intended as a Dulag (short for Durchgangslager, or transit camp) where prisoners were housed short-term. These Dulags had notoriously terrible living conditions and therefore a high mortality rate. Later on, the camp was used as a Stalag (short for Stammlager, or main camp). The camp is named VIII-A because it was located in District 8 (Breslau) and was the first camp in the district.
By 1940 the camp began to see Belgian and French prisoners after the German invasion of France. At one time over 30,000 prisoners were crammed into the facilities, which were intended to house 15,000.
By 1940 the camp began to see Belgian and French prisoners after the German invasion of France. In 1941 a separate compound was created to house Soviet and Italian prisoners. Kept apart from other prisoners, they were subject to much harsher conditions. At one time over 30,000 prisoners were crammed into the facilities, which were intended to house 15,000. In 1943 2,500 British soldiers came from battles in Italy and later that year 6,000 Italian soldiers from Albania. Americans captured at the Battle of the Bulge were also imprisoned in Stalag VII-A. The highest number of prisoners registered at one time inside the camp was 47,328 in September 1944. In total, it is estimated that 120,000 POW soldiers passed through the main camp.
Prisoners who had a rank below corporal were assigned to work details around Görlitz and the surrounding areas. They worked on farms and in factories, like at the glass factory in Pieńsk and or for Bombardier and the Waggonbau in Görlitz.
The French composer Olivier Messiaen was a prisoner in the camp.
One of the most notable of the prisoners in Stalag VII-A was a French prisoner named Olivier Messiaen. He was a French composer who was drafted into the French army and then captured at Verdun in 1940. After meeting other musicians among his fellow prisoners, Messiaen was able to form a musical quartet. It may sound unbelievable, but life in the camp could vary drastically depending on where you were from. For some groups of prisoners there were theater groups and sports clubs, even newspapers that they wrote and distributed.
It was in the camp that Messiaen finished one of his greatest works, an eight-movement piece of chamber music called “Quatuor pour la fin du temps”. (Quartet for the End of Time) The 50-minute quartet was first performed in January 1941 for a shivering audience of prisoners and guards. It’s said that the instruments were decrepit and the audience freezing. Listen to Messiaen’s “Quartet for the End of Time” on YouTube.
In February 1945 the Americans and British were marched out of the camp and westward on foot. The last of the prisoners were liberated in May 1945 by the Soviet army. After the war, many of the graves of western soldiers that could be identified were exhumed and sent back home for burial in their home countries.
Every year Messiaen's "Quartet for the End of Time" is performed at the site
Every year in January the center holds an event called International Messiaen Days to remember all those who suffered at the camp and to remind us that music does not divide but connects. The event includes a performance of Messiaen’s “Quartet for the End of Time” on the site where it was written.
YOUNION, an international youth exchange, takes place each summer. Young people from Germany, Poland, Ukraine and Italy spend 15 days together in Görlitz-Zgorzelec to learn about the history of the site, work together and learn the importance of democratic values.
Public tours of the former POW camp occur regularly in German and Polish. English tours are available on request.
Further reading
