This is an original wooden panel from a prisoner of war hut, likely used as either a floorboard or wall panel. The wood remains in excellent condition solid, well-preserved, and carefully cleaned making it ideal for display or as part of a collection. The piece measures approximately 10 inches by 4 inches.
The panel was recovered from the German prisoner of war camp Stalag 344, located in the village of Lamsdorf, Silesia (southwestern Poland). The item is accompanied by two A5 laminated information cards with photographs.
Historical background:
The Lamsdorf site was first used as a POW camp in World War I and closed after the armistice.Reopened in 1939, it initially housed Polish soldiers captured during the German invasion of Poland. Over the course of World War II, around 100,000 prisoners from 16 Allied nations including Great Britain, France, Russia, and the USA passed through the camp. In 1941, a nearby sub-camp (Stalag 344-F) was established for Soviet prisoners. By 1943, the camp was reorganised: many prisoners and work detachments (Arbeitskommando) were transferred to new base camps at Sagan (Stalag VIII-C) and Teschen (Stalag VIII-D), while the Lamsdorf base was renumbered Stalag 344.
On 17 March 1945, the Soviet Army liberated the camp. During overcrowding at Stalag Luft III (famous for the Great Escape), about 1,000 Allied airmen mainly non-commissioned officers were transferred to Lamsdorf, where a section of the camp was fenced off and designated Stalag Luft VIII-B, effectively creating a camp within a camp.
This is an original wooden panel from a prisoner of war hut, likely used as either a floorboard or wall panel. The wood remains in excellent condition solid, well-preserved, and carefully cleaned making it ideal for display or as part of a collection. The piece measures approximately 10 inches by 4 inches.
The panel was recovered from the German prisoner of war camp Stalag 344, located in the village of Lamsdorf, Silesia (southwestern Poland). The item is accompanied by two A5 laminated information cards with photographs.
Historical background:
The Lamsdorf site was first used as a POW camp in World War I and closed after the armistice.Reopened in 1939, it initially housed Polish soldiers captured during the German invasion of Poland. Over the course of World War II, around 100,000 prisoners from 16 Allied nations including Great Britain, France, Russia, and the USA passed through the camp. In 1941, a nearby sub-camp (Stalag 344-F) was established for Soviet prisoners. By 1943, the camp was reorganised: many prisoners and work detachments (Arbeitskommando) were transferred to new base camps at Sagan (Stalag VIII-C) and Teschen (Stalag VIII-D), while the Lamsdorf base was renumbered Stalag 344.
On 17 March 1945, the Soviet Army liberated the camp. During overcrowding at Stalag Luft III (famous for the Great Escape), about 1,000 Allied airmen mainly non-commissioned officers were transferred to Lamsdorf, where a section of the camp was fenced off and designated Stalag Luft VIII-B, effectively creating a camp within a camp.
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