This
was dad's harrowing written account of the forced march from
Poland to Germany.
Forced
march by British PoWs from Poland to Germany 1945
Starting from Marienburg January 23rd at 2am |
From
|
To |
Distance
(KM) |
Food
Supplied (x/x = fraction) |
| Marienburg |
Dirschau |
26 |
1
loaf. 1 parcel. |
| NOTE:
Night in open field 25-30 below zero. 3 men died. |
| Dirschau |
Schoneck |
24 |
|
| Schoneck |
Tyldon |
18 |
1/2
loaf. |
| Tyldon |
Berent |
23 |
|
| NOTE:
This stage was through a snow blizzard. 4 men died. |
| Berent |
Butow |
35 |
3/8
loaf |
| NOTE:
4 days rest. 50 men badly frostbitten. |
| Butow |
Reinwasser |
30 |
|
| Reinwasser |
Baldenburgh |
32 |
|
| Baldenburgh |
Bublitz |
18 |
1/4
loaf. |
| Bublitz |
Tychow |
35 |
1/4
loaf. |
| Tychow |
Belgard |
28 |
1/2
loaf. |
| Belgard |
Gross
Pobloth |
16 |
|
| Gross
Pobloth |
Dargeslaff |
31 |
|
| Dargeslaff |
Zurkwitz |
24 |
|
| Zurkwitz |
Revenow |
22 |
|
| Revenow |
Durrencehof |
10 |
|
| Durrencehof |
Pritter |
34 |
|
| Pritter |
Zirchow |
20 |
|
| Zirchow |
Pinnow |
28 |
1/4
loaf |
| NOTE:
1 days rest. |
| Pinnow |
Posthow |
19 |
|
| Posthow |
Seltz |
28 |
|
| Seltz |
Grevenson |
28 |
1/4
loaf |
| Grevenson |
Gielow |
29 |
|
| NOTE:
8 days rest. 1 food parcel. 1/2 loaf. |
| Gielow |
Dahmen |
20 |
|
| Dahmen |
Jurgenshof |
29 |
|
| Jurgenshof |
Zarchlin |
15 |
|
| NOTE:
1 days rest. 1/2 loaf. |
| Zarchlin |
Brook |
12 |
|
| Broock |
Blievensdorf |
37 |
|
| Blievensdorf |
Neu-Lublow |
15 |
|
| NOTE:
7 days rest. 5 - 11 March. 1/18, 1/5 and 1/7
loaf. 1/4 and 1/5 food parcel. |
| Neu-Lublow |
Uelitz |
13 |
1/7
loaf |
| NOTE:
7 days rest until March 19th. 1/5, 1/5, 1/7, 1/7, 1/7,
1/7, 4/5 loaf. |
| Uelitz |
Warlow |
31
1/2 |
|
| NOTE:
2 days rest. |
| Warlow |
Garlin |
37
1/2 |
|
| Garlin |
Schilde |
28 |
3/4
loaf |
| Schilde |
Vielbaum |
24 |
|
| NOTE:
1 days rest. |
| Vielbaum |
Erxleben-Mockon |
24 |
|
| Erxleben-Mockon |
Dahlen |
25 |
|
| NOTE:
1 days rest. |
| Dahlen |
Stendal |
7 |
|
Into
cattle-trucks fromm Stendal to Halberstadt (via Magdeburg).
On arrival at Halberstadt 400 men placed in old barn,
600 in old bier-garten.
No bread issued.
10 men share one litre of carrot-soup per day, plus 2
small boiled potatoes per man.
All put to work coal loading and clearing up wreckage
at railway station. |
Marienburg
History
(Mäl´bôrk), Ger. Marienburg, town (1994 est.
pop. 40,100), N Poland, on the Nogat River. It is a rail junction
with sugar refineries and dairies. Originally a castle founded
(1274) by the Teutonic Knights, Malbork became the seat of
their grand master in 1309. It successfully withstood sieges
by the Poles in 1410 and 1454, but in 1457 Malbork was sold
to Poland by mercenaries whose pay was in arrears. The town
passed to Prussia in 1772. Germany took control of the town
in 1920, and it was returned to Poland in 1945. The castle
(rebuilt in the 14th and 19th cent.) is one of the finest
examples of German secular medieval architecture. (Extracted
from The
Columbia Encyclopedia)
|
|
Marienburg
- German Teutonic Fortress now located in Poland
(image found at the Galen
R Frysinger web page) |
Thorn
(Torun) map
(image from Expedia) |
|
|
Route
of forced march from Marienberg to Stendal in 1945.
This route is currently estimated at 602km and 7 1/2
hours to drive. Dad's estimate was around 800km.
(image from MapQuest) |
|
Thorn
History
(Tô´rny), Ger. Thorn, city (1993 est. pop. 201,700),
N central Poland, on the Vistula. It is a river port and a
railway junction. The major industries produce precision instruments,
electrical equipment, textiles, and fertilizers. The
city passed to Prussia in 1793 and again in 1815, after its
occupation by Napoleon I. It reverted to Poland in 1919. (Extracted
from The Columbia Encyclopadia)
Original
Typed Report
Please
be aware that information and images on this page are ©
Krista Salter. Please do not reproduce or download any information
or images without first seeking permission from Krista. |
