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15th November 1941 Stalag 302 Kriegsgefangenenpost sent from Stalag 302 (Gross Born) to a correspondent in Cherbourg. Reverse Kriegsgefangenenpost sent from Stalag 302 (Gross Born) to a correspondent in Cherbourg. Reverse 1/1 Kriegsgefangenenpost letter-sheet from Stalag 302 (Gross Born), with postal parcel instructions, sent to a correspondent in Cherbourg, France. Ref: 15.11.1941 Stalag 302 The history of the prisoner of war camps in Barkniewko is closely linked to the establishment of the German Groß Born training ground, which was built in 1935-1936. The name of the training ground referred to the village of Gross Born, which was located in the center of the training ground. The beginnings of using the poorly fertile, sandy areas for military purposes date back to 1912 and are closely related to the existing military training ground in the town of Hammerstein (Polish: Czarne) in the district of Schlochau (Polish: Człuchów). Initially, when the training ground plan was created in 1934, the area of the village of Barkenbrügge (Polish: Barkniewko) was not within the training ground, this happened in the second stage of the development of the training ground infrastructure, when the entire village of Barkenbrügge and part of the village of Marienwalde (Polish: Marianowo, Czersk) were included in the training ground area. After this change, the Gross Born training ground had 18,659 ha and included 6 villages, from which the inhabitants were gradually evicted and the entire area became a military area. The forested areas (8,546 ha) were administered by 7 forest districts and subordinated to the management of military forests based in Marienwalde. On the Gross Born training ground, the Germans built two barracks complexes: Gross Born lager Linde (currently Borne Sulinowo) for 15,000 soldiers and Gross Born lager Westfalenhof (currently Kłomino) for approx. 6,000 soldiers. Before the barracks were built, two large wooden barracks complexes were built in their immediate vicinity for the needs of German workers, in which a total of approx. 4,000 of them lived. Before the outbreak of war with Poland on 26th August 1939, a transit camp for Polish prisoners of war, Dulag E (Durchgangslager E – transit camp E), was established in the barracks, to which most Polish prisoners of war taken prisoner by soldiers of the German 4th Army from POW collective camps (German Sammellager), including from Wejherowo, Terespol Pomorski, Starogard Gdański, Boże Pole, Karolew near Bydgoszcz, Grupa near Grudziądz and others. According to data from the International Red Cross, on 18th September 1939, there were 8,298 Polish prisoners of war in Dulag E . On 3rd September 1939, the first Polish prisoners of war died on the Gross Born training ground and were buried in a temporary cemetery near the German Evangelical cemetery near the town of Linde (currently ul. Orła Białego in Borne Sulinowo). On 10th October, the Dulag E POW camp was transformed into a camp for privates and non-commissioned officers Stalag II E (Stammlager II E). In order to compensate for the shortage of workers, the Germans used Polish prisoners of war in field work in agriculture. On 30th October 1939, there were 7,300 prisoners in Stalag II E , including 2,229 civilians and 1,985 soldiers, and 1,882 civilians were used for work. The prisoners sent to work formed work teams (from 20 to 50 prisoners) outside the main camp and worked on estates and farms in the Pomeranian Province, including 90 work teams in Szczecinek County, 69 in Wałcz County, and 73 work teams in Drawsko County. The few preserved fragments of accounts by Polish prisoners of war collected in the documents of the Main Commission for the Investigation of Nazi Crimes in Poland, Koszalin branch, indicate that Polish prisoners of war were also deployed near Barkenbrügge. From the spring of 1940, the German authorities began a mass campaign to deprive Polish prisoners of war of their prisoner of war status, simultaneously transferring them to civilian worker status. On 11th May 1940, out of a total of 7,548 prisoners in Stalag II E , only 295 were in a prisoner of war camp, while the rest were employed outside the main camp. On 1st June 1940, Stalag II E was transformed into Oflag II D Gross Born Westfalenhof (wooden barracks near Kłomin, the so-called Camp on Psia Górka), to which French prisoners of war began to be brought from 11th June 1940, in the number of over 5.5 thousand, later the number of French prisoners of war in this camp was about 3 thousand officers and orderlies. The Germans, preparing a plan for the attack on the USSR, were preparing to accept a huge number of prisoners of war, planning POW camps for them also in the area of the II Military District Pomerania. The first information about the planned locations of new POW camps for Red Army soldiers on the Gross Born training ground appeared on 30th April 1941 during a meeting of the Wehrmacht High Command, on that day the numbers of the planned camps for Red Army prisoners of war, including those on the Gross Born training ground, were determined. Two camps were to be located here, the numbering of which was determined as 302 and 323 . On that day, the numbers of the planned camps for Red Army prisoners of war were determined, including those at the Gross Born training ground. On 15th April 1941 , Frontstalag 302 was created with its headquarters in Arnswalde (Choszczno). It was assigned to II Military District Inf. ERs. Batl. 4 Kolberg WK II. On 15th May 1941, it was subordinated to the Prisoners of War Command in II Military District. On 16th June 1941, the Supreme Command of the German Wehrmacht determined the maximum number of prisoners of war who were to be ultimately held in two camps on the Gross Born training ground: 302 – 50 thousand, 323 – 30 thousand. The letter-sheet sent from Stalag 302 (ref: 15.11.1941) contains a printed instruction page regarding the posting of packages to prisoners of war (written in French). This indicates that such parcels should be sent to Stalag III-D. It would appear that the French POWs were to be transferred to Stalag III-D in order to accommodate the prisoners arriving from actions during the Russian campaign started on 22nd June 1941. Stalag III-D contained over 17,000 French POWs at this time. Note that Mattiello (2003) records Stalag II-H (302) as only housing Polish and Russian POWs from November 1941. On 15th July 1941, Stalag 302 was subordinated to Landesschutzen Ers. Batl 2 Stettin WKII. After the outbreak of war with the Soviet Union on 22nd July 1941, the first information about a POW camp organised on the Gross Born training ground appeared on 23rd June 1941and concerned Russenlager Gross Born 323 Gross Born Rederitz. The next information about a camp on the Gross Born training ground comes from 14th August 1941 and concerns an organisational order for Stalag II G (323) Gross Born Rederitz. Information from August 1941 about Stalag II G (323) and the number of prisoners – 4,381 has been preserved. The Central Archives of the Ministry of Defence in Russia has preserved a German document from the end of 1941 concerning the number of POW identity marks issued in individual POW camps. Information on the camps from the Gross Born military training ground: - II G (323) Gross Born – Rederitz – from number 1 –11,694 - II H (302) Gross Born – Barkenbrűgge – from number 1 – 18,200. From 1st February 1942 Stalag 302 (II H) was moved from Barkenbrügge to the Gross Born Rederitz camp, and in place of the POW camp in Barkenbrügge a branch camp Stalag II H (302) was established. Stalag 323 (II G) was formally liquidated and crossed out from the register of existing POW camps. Most likely June 1942. Source: okonek.pila.lasy.gov.pl (2025) Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page
30th May 1941 Churchill - 'Give us the tools' 1/1 Postcard depicting Winston Churchill (photographed by Cecil Beaton in 1940) at his desk in the Cabinet Room of 10 Downing Street. The image is accompanied by part of Churchill's speech, broadcast from London on 9th February 1941. The rather innocuous correspondence is given a certain levity with the addition of 'Sorry I cannot get views'. Ref: 30.05.1941 Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965) 'GIVE US THE TOOLS' Speech broadcast from London on 9th February 1941. This was in reply to President Roosevelts letter of introduction. Five months have passed since I spoke to the British nation and the Empire on the broadcast. In wartime there is a lot to be said for the motto: 'Deeds, not words.' All the same, it is a good thing to look around from time to time and take stock, and certainly our affairs have prospered in several directions during these last four or five months, far better than most of us would have ventured to hope. We stood our ground and faced the two Dictators in the hour of what seemed their overwhelming triumph, and we have shown ourselves capable, so far, of standing up against them alone. After the heavy defeats of the German air force by our fighters in August and September, Herr Hitler did not dare attempt the invasion of this Island, although he had every need to do so and although he had made vast preparations. Baffled in this mighty project, he sought to break the spirit of the British nation by the bombing, first of London, and afterwards of our great cities. It has now been proved, to the admiration of the world, and of our friends in the United States, that this form of blackmail by murder and terrorism, so far from weakening the spirit of the British nation, has only roused it to a more intense and universal flame than was ever seen before in any modern community. The whole British Empire has been proud of the Mother Country, and they long to be with us over here in even larger numbers. We have been deeply conscious of the love for us which has flowed from the Dominions of the Crown across the broad ocean spaces. There is the first of our war aims: to be worthy of that love, and to preserve it. All through these dark winter months the enemy has had the power to drop three or four tons of bombs upon us for every ton we could send to Germany in return. We are arranging so that presently this will be rather the other way round; but, meanwhile, London and our big cities have had to stand their pounding. They remind me of the British squares at Waterloo. They are not squares of soldiers; they do not wear scarlet coats. They are just ordinary English, Scottish, and Welsh folk—men, women, and children—standing steadfastly together. But their spirit is the same, their glory is the same; and, in the end, their victory will be greater than far-famed Waterloo. More than two-thirds of the winter has now gone, and so far we have had no serious epidemic; indeed, there is no increase of illness in spite of the improvised conditions of the shelters. That is most creditable to our local, medical, and sanitary authorities, to our devoted nursing staff, and to the Ministry of Health, whose head, Mr. Malcolm MacDonald, is now going to Canada in the important office of High Commissioner. There is another thing which surprised me when I asked about it. In spite of all these new war-time offenses and prosecutions of all kinds; in spite of all the opportunities for looting and disorder, there has been less crime this winter and there are now fewer prisoners in our jails than in the years of peace. We have broken the back of the winter. The daylight grows. The Royal Air Force grows, and is already certainly master of the daylight air. The attacks may be sharper, but they will be shorter; there will be more opportunities for work and service of all kinds; more opportunities for life. So, if our first victory was the repulse of the invader, our second was the frustration of his acts of terror and torture against our people at home. Meanwhile, abroad, in October, a wonderful thing happened. One of the two Dictators—the crafty, cold-blooded, black-hearted Italian, who had thought to gain an Empire on the cheap by stabbing fallen France in the back—got into trouble. Without the slightest provocation, spurred on by lust of power and brutish greed, Mussolini attacked and invaded Greece, only to be hurled back ignominiously by the heroic Greek Army; who, I will say, with your consent, have revived before our eyes the glories which, from the classic age, gild their native land. While Signor Mussolini was writhing and smarting under the Greek lash in Albania, Generals Wavell and Wilson, who were charged with the defense of Egypt and of the Suez Canal in accordance with our treaty obligations, whose task seemed at one time so difficult, had received very powerful reinforcements of men, cannon, equipment and, above all, tanks, which we had sent from our island in spite of the invasion threat. Large numbers of troops from India, Australia, and New Zealand had also reached them. Forthwith began that series of victories in Libya which have broken irretrievably the Italian military power on the African Continent. Here then, in Libya, is the third considerable event upon which we may dwell with some satisfaction. It is just exactly two months ago, to a day, that I was waiting anxiously, but also eagerly, for the news of the great counter-stroke which had been planned against the Italian invaders of Egypt. The secret had been well kept. The preparations had been well made. But to leap across those seventy miles of desert, and attack an army of ten or eleven divisions, equipped with all the appliances of modern war, who had been fortifying themselves for three months—that was a most hazardous adventure. When the brilliant decisive victory at Sidi Barrani, with its tens of thousands of prisoners, proved that we had quality, maneuvering power and weapons superior to the enemy, who had boasted so much of his virility and his military virtues, it was evident that all the other Italian forces in eastern Libya were in great danger. They could not easily beat a retreat along the coastal road without running the risk of being caught in the open of our armored divisions and brigades ranging far out into the desert in tremendous swoops and scoops. They had to expose themselves to being attacked piecemeal. General Wavell—nay, all our leaders, and all their lithe, active, ardent men, British, Australian, Indian, in the Imperial Army—saw their opportunity. At that time I ventured to draw General Wavell's attention to the seventh chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew, at the seventh verse, where, as you all know—or ought to know—it is written: 'Ask, and it shall be given; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.' The Army of the Nile has asked, and it was given; they sought, and they have found; they knocked, and it has been opened unto them. In barely eight weeks, by a campaign which will long be studied as a model of the military art, an advance of over 400 miles has been made. The whole Italian Army in the east of Libya, which was reputed to exceed 150,000 men, has been captured or destroyed. The entire province of Cyrenaica—nearly as big as England and Wales—has been conquered. The unhappy Arab tribes, who have for thirty years suffered from the cruelty of Italian rule, carried in some cases to the point of methodical extermination, these Bedouin survivors have at last seen their oppressors in disorderly flight, or led off in endless droves as prisoners of war. Egypt and the Suez Canal are safe, and the port, the base and the airfields of Benghazi constitute a strategic point of high consequence to the whole of the war in the Eastern Mediterranean. Distinguished Americans have come over to see things here at the front, and to find out how the United States can help us best and soonest. In Mr. Hopkins who has been my frequent companion during the last three weeks, we have the Envoy of the President, a President who has been newly re-elected to his august office. In Mr. Wendell Willkie, we have welcomed the champion of the great Republican Party. We may be sure that they will both tell the truth about what they have seen over here, and more than that we do not ask. The rest we leave with good confidence to the judgment of the President the Congress and the people of the United States. I have been so very careful, since I have been Prime Minister, not to encourage false hopes or prophesy smooth and easy things, and yet the tale that I have to tell today is one which must justly and rightly give us cause for deep thankfulness, and also, I think, for strong comfort and even rejoicing. But now I must dwell upon the more serious, darker and more dangerous aspects of the vast scene of the war. We must all of us have been asking ourselves: What has that wicked man whose crime-stained regime and system are at bay and in the toils what has he been preparing during these winter months? What new devilry is he planning? What new small country will he overrun or strike down? What fresh form of assault will he make upon our island home and fortress; which, let there be no mistake about it, is all that stands between him and the dominion of the world? We may be sure that the war is soon going to enter upon a phase of greater Violence... We saw what happened last May in the Low Countries, how they hoped for the best: how they clung to their neutrality: how woefully they were deceived, overwhelmed, plundered, enslaved and since starved. We know how we and the French suffered when, at the last moment, at the urgent belated appeal of the King of the Belgians, we went to his aid. Of course, if all the Balkan people stood together and acted together, aided by Britain and Turkey, it would be many months before a German army and air force of sufficient strength to overcome them could be assembled in the southeast of Europe. And in those months much might happen. Much will certainly happen as American aid becomes effective, as our air power grows, as we become a well-armed nation, and as our armies in the East increase in strength. But nothing is more certain than that, if the countries of southeastern Europe allow themselves to be pulled to pieces one by one, they will share the fate of Denmark, Holland, and Belgium. And none can tell how long it will be before the hour of their deliverance strikes. One of our difficulties is to convince some of these neutral countries in Europe that we are going to win. We think it astonishing that they should be so dense as not to see it as clearly as we do ourselves. But after all, the fate of this war is going to be settled by what happens on the oceans, in the air. and above all-in this Island. It seems now to be certain that the Government and people of the United States intend to supply us with all that is necessary for victory. In the last war the United States sent two million men across the Atlantic. But this is not a war of vast armies, firing immense masses of shells at one another. We do not need the gallant armies which are forming throughout the American Union. We do not need them this year, nor next year; nor any year that I can foresee. But we do need most urgently an immense and continuous supply of war materials and technical apparatus of all kinds. We need them here and we need to bring them here. We shall need a great mass of shipping in 1942, far more than we can build ourselves, if we are to maintain and augment our war effort in the West and in the East. These facts are, of course, all well known to the enemy, and we must therefore expect that Herr Hitler will do his utmost to prey upon our shipping and to reduce the volume of American supplies entering these Islands. Having conquered France and Norway, his clutching fingers reach out on both sides of us into the ocean. I have never underrated this danger, and you know I have never concealed it from you. Therefore. I hope you will believe me when I say that 1 have complete confidence in the Royal Navy, aided by the Air Force of the Coastal Command, and that in one way or another I am sure they will be able to meet every changing phase of this truly mortal struggle, and that sustained by the courage of our merchant seamen, and of the dockers and workmen of all our ports, we shall outwit, outmaneuver, outfight and outlast the worst that the enemy's malice and ingenuity can contrive. I have left the greatest issue to the end. You will have seen that Sir John Dill, our principal military adviser, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, has warned us all that Hitler may be forced, by the strategic, economic and political stresses in Europe, to try to invade these Islands in the near future. That is a warning which no one should disregard. Naturally, we are working night and day to have everything ready. Of course, we are far stronger than we ever were before, incomparably stronger than we were in July, August and September. But most of all I put my faith in the simple unaffected resolve to conquer or die which will animate and inspire nearly four million Britons with serviceable weapons in their hands. It is not an easy military operation to invade an island like Great Britain, without the command of the sea and without the command of the air, and then to face what will be waiting for the invader here. But I must drop one word of caution; for, next to cowardice and treachery, overconfidence, leading to neglect or slothfulness, is the worst of martial crimes. Therefore, I drop one word of caution. A Nazi invasion of Great Britain last autumn would have been a more or less improvised affair. Hitler took it for granted that when France gave in we should give in; but we did not give in. And he had to think again. An invasion now will be supported by a much more carefully prepared tackle and equipment of landing craft and other apparatus, all of which will have been planned and manufactured in the winter months. We must all be prepared to meet gas attacks, parachute attacks, and glider attacks, with constancy, forethought, and practiced skill. In order to win the war Hitler must destroy Great Britain. He may carry havoc into the Balkan States; he may tear great provinces out of Russia, he may march to the Caspian; he may march to the gates of India. All this will avail him nothing. It may spend his curse more widely throughout Europe and Asia, but it will not avert his doom. With every month that passes the many proud and once happy countries he is now holding down by brute force and vile intrigue are learning to hate the Prussian yoke and the Nazi name as nothing has ever been hated so fiercely and so widely among men before. And all the time, masters of the sea and air, the British Empire—nay, in a certain sense, the whole English-speaking world—will be on his track, bearing with them the swords of justice. The other day, President Roosevelt gave his opponent in the late Presidential Election [Mr. Wendell Willkie] a letter of introduction to me, and in it he wrote out a verse, in his own handwriting, from Longfellow, which he said, "applies to you people as it does to us." Here is the verse: ...Sail on, O Ship of State! Sail on, O Union, strong and great! Humanity with all its fears, With all the hopes of future years, Is hanging breathless on thy fate! What is the answer that I shall give, in your name, to this great man, the thrice-chosen head of a nation of a hundred and thirty millions? Here is the answer which I will give to President Roosevelt: Put your confidence in us. Give us your faith and your blessing, and, under Providence, all will be well. We shall not fail or falter; we shall not weaken or tire. Neither the sudden shock of battle, nor the long-drawn trials of vigilance and exertion will wear us down. Give us the tools, and we will finish the job. Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page
22nd November 1941 1/2 Feldpost card ref: 7.41 with slogan. Example of a postcard sent within a feldpost envelope. Sent from FPN 00227A in Russia. Ref: 22.11.1941 Quotation 7.41 - 'Aus der Note an die Sowjetregierung' 'Da s deutsche Volk ist sich bewußt, daß es dazu berufen ist, die gesamte Kulturwelt von den tödlichen Gefahren des Bolschewismus zu retten und den Weg für einen wahren sozialen Aufstieg in Europa frei zu machen.' The German people are aware that they are called to save the entire cultural world from the deadly dangers of Bolshevism and to clear the way for true social advancement in Europe.' Quotation 7.41 - imprint variations Left bracket of 'Aus' to right edge or 'r' in 'Europa'. Ref: 22.11.1941 Left bracket of 'Aus' to left edge or 'r' in 'Europa'. Ref: 19.10.1941
7th August 1941 'Adler' (4.41) 1/1 Propaganda postcard (imprint: 'Adler' (4.41)) with slogan, 'Wo wir England schlagen können, werden wir England schlagen./ Der führer am 30. Januar 1941.' (Wherever we can beat England, we will beat England). Top line 113mm length. Unaddressed and without cancel (possibly sent within an envelope). Ref: 07.08.1941 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page
4th August 1941 Death notice (B&M) 04.08.1941 B&M Funeral notice Viktoria reverse.jpeg 04.08.1941 B&M Funeral notice Viktoria reverse.jpeg 1/1 Folded letter-sheet containing a printed notice of the death of Robert Pecák. The red hand-stamp on the cover proclaims in both german and Czech, 'Victory!! Germany is winning on all fronts for Europe!'. Ref: 04.08.1941 The translation reads: 'By the will of the Most High, our dear and beloved husband, father, brother, brother-in-law and uncle, Mr. Robert Pecak tax inspector v.v. He passed away after a prolonged serious illness, surrendered to the will of God, on Friday, August 1, 1941 at 4:00 p.m. at the age of 68 years. The body of the dearly departed will taken in on Sunday, August 3, 1941 at 3:00 noon in the Old Town Church and after the church services in the local cemetery in the family tomb for a peaceful rest. The funeral mass will be celebrated on Monday, August 4, 1941 at half past 8 a.m. in the dean's church of St. Lawrence in Nachod. In Nachod on the 1st of August 1941'. Location of the church of St.Lawrence at Nachod. The Church of Saint Lawrence is located in the middle of Masarykovo Square in the historic town centre. It was first mentioned in 1350 and rebuilt in 1570–1578. Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page
10th October 1941 Leave Request 10.10.1941 Leave request reverse.jpeg 10.10.1941 Leave request reverse.jpeg 1/1 Feldpost cover, sent from FPN 34345 (3. Batterie Heeres-Küsten-Artillerie-Abteilung 910) to the parent of a serving soldier regarding leave of absence. The enclosed letter states, 'In response to your request of 5 March, the office replies that it is not yet clear whether it will be possible to grant your son leave of absence for your silver wedding anniversary. This will depend on the organisation of the department during the period in question. If it is possible, the department will consider your request.' Ref: 10.10.1941 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page
Mi.79-82 (26.10.1941) B&M Mozart 31.10.1941 Mozart reverse.jpeg 31.10.1941 Mozart reverse.jpeg 1/1 Registered cover (CTO) sent from the Prague Post Office to a collector in Chemnitz. Featuring the complete issue of postage stamps for the 150th anniversary of the death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Mi.79-82). Ref: 31.10.1941 Mi.75-82 150th anniversary of the death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Mi.79 W Zd 25 (79/Zf). Ref: 31.10.1941 Mi.80 W Zd 29 (80/Zf). Ref: 31.10.1941 Mi.81 W Zd 233 (81/Zf). Ref: 31.10.1941 Mi.82 W Zd 37 (82/Zf). Ref: 31.10.1941 Contact Brief History to inform us of additional information regarding this page