Mühlberg - Stalag IV B Prisoner of War Camp Memorial
Address
L671
04931 Bad Liebenwerda
This provider is located in the region Elbe-Elster-Land

Mühlberg - Stalag IV B Prisoner of War Camp Memorial

Memorials of recent German history
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“Mühlberg, a name that has been etched in my memory […]. A huge sandy plain, a dreadful, sad, gloomy sight, without any vegetation.” this is how the French Nobel Laureate in Literature Claude Simon described his first impression of Camp Mühlberg, where he was taken after his capture in France at the end of May 1940. A large prisoner of war camp (Stalag IV B) was built after the beginning of the Second World War near the small town on the River Elbe, which then belonged to the province of Saxony. After nearly 30,000 Poles had been crammed into tents in the First World War, a shanty town was established from 1940, in which an average of 20,000 prisoners of war were imprisoned. The number of British and American prisoners of war rose sharply from 1943 onwards. While the camp leaders treated these and other Western Europeans according to international standards for prisoners of war, the mass death of Soviet soldiers was knowingly accepted due to epidemics and malnutrition.
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  • Mahnmal Neubruxdorf, Foto: Archivbestand Initiativgruppe Lager Mühlberg e.V.
  • Gräberfeld, Foto: Archivbestand Initiativgruppe Lager Mühlberg e.V.
  • Stelen, Foto: Archivbestand Initiativgruppe Lager Mühlberg e.V.
  • Gedenktafeln, Foto: Archivbestand Initiativgruppe Lager Mühlberg e.V.
Unlike Claude Simon, who was able to flee at the end of 1940, many of his countrymen only returned home after five years in captivity as prisoners of war. After the liberated camp was used by the Soviet intelligence service in 1945 for several months to intercept repatriated prisoners of war and forced labourers, it served as Special Camp No. 1 from September 1945. Around 22,000 Germans were imprisoned, who were accused not only of Nazi crimes but also of resistance to the occupying power, were imprisoned there by 1948. Due to the catastrophic conditions of imprisonment, one third of those interned in Mühlberg died.

Those who died in the prisoner of war camp are remembered by a memorial that was built back in November 1944 by French prisoners in the cemetery at Neuburxdorf. After the special burial ground at the Special Camp was deliberately concealed from 1948, a memorial site was created after 1990 with the names of the dead. The Museum Mühlberg focuses on the history of the site.

Literature:
  • Achim Kilian, Mühlberg 1939-1948. Ein Gefangenenlager mitten in Deutschland, Köln 2001.
  • Elisabeth Schuster (Hg.), Reite Schritt, Schnitter Tod! Leben und Sterben im Speziallager Nr. 1 des NKWD Mühlberg/Elbe, Kassel 2005

Continue readingcollapse
“Mühlberg, a name that has been etched in my memory […]. A huge sandy plain, a dreadful, sad, gloomy sight, without any vegetation.” this is how the French Nobel Laureate in Literature Claude Simon described his first impression of Camp Mühlberg, where he was taken after his capture in France at the end of May 1940. A large prisoner of war camp (Stalag IV B) was built after the beginning of the Second World War near the small town on the River Elbe, which then belonged to the province of Saxony. After nearly 30,000 Poles had been crammed into tents in the First World War, a shanty town was established from 1940, in which an average of 20,000 prisoners of war were imprisoned. The number of British and American prisoners of war rose sharply from 1943 onwards. While the camp leaders treated these and other Western Europeans according to international standards for prisoners of war, the mass death of Soviet soldiers was knowingly accepted due to epidemics and malnutrition.
Continue readingcollapse
  • Mahnmal Neubruxdorf, Foto: Archivbestand Initiativgruppe Lager Mühlberg e.V.
  • Gräberfeld, Foto: Archivbestand Initiativgruppe Lager Mühlberg e.V.
  • Stelen, Foto: Archivbestand Initiativgruppe Lager Mühlberg e.V.
  • Gedenktafeln, Foto: Archivbestand Initiativgruppe Lager Mühlberg e.V.
Unlike Claude Simon, who was able to flee at the end of 1940, many of his countrymen only returned home after five years in captivity as prisoners of war. After the liberated camp was used by the Soviet intelligence service in 1945 for several months to intercept repatriated prisoners of war and forced labourers, it served as Special Camp No. 1 from September 1945. Around 22,000 Germans were imprisoned, who were accused not only of Nazi crimes but also of resistance to the occupying power, were imprisoned there by 1948. Due to the catastrophic conditions of imprisonment, one third of those interned in Mühlberg died.

Those who died in the prisoner of war camp are remembered by a memorial that was built back in November 1944 by French prisoners in the cemetery at Neuburxdorf. After the special burial ground at the Special Camp was deliberately concealed from 1948, a memorial site was created after 1990 with the names of the dead. The Museum Mühlberg focuses on the history of the site.

Literature:
  • Achim Kilian, Mühlberg 1939-1948. Ein Gefangenenlager mitten in Deutschland, Köln 2001.
  • Elisabeth Schuster (Hg.), Reite Schritt, Schnitter Tod! Leben und Sterben im Speziallager Nr. 1 des NKWD Mühlberg/Elbe, Kassel 2005

Continue readingcollapse

Opening hours
The memorial site is accessible at all times.
Address
L671
04931 Bad Liebenwerda
This provider is located in the region Elbe-Elster-Land
Mühlberg - Stalag IV B Prisoner of War Camp Memorial

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L671

04931 Bad Liebenwerda

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Weather Today, 16. 9.

13 16
light rain
  • Wednesday
    11 18
  • Thursday
    13 24

Tourist information

Tourismusverband Elbe-Elster-Land e.V.

Schlossplatz 1
03253 Doberlug-Kirchhain

Tel.: +49 (0) 35322-6888516
Fax: +49 (0) 35322-6888518

Weather Today, 16. 9.

13 16
light rain
  • Wednesday
    11 18
  • Thursday
    13 24

All information, times and prices are regularly checked and updated. Nevertheless, we can not guarantee the accuracy of the data. We recommend that you inquire about the current status by phone / e-mail or via the provider's website before your visit.