Chub recounted their arrival in his diary ...
We arrived at camp about 4:30 PM and were given some cabbage soup. After that, we were given our first Red Cross parcel, one parcel between four men - "were they good." We were just like a bunch of kids opening their parcels on Xmas morn. From then on we got a parcel on Mon. & Friday with bulk issues on Wed., Thurs., and Sat
He went on to describe the worsening conditions in the months after their arrival:
There was an epidemic of dysentry broke out (I had it for 5 weeks). After a couple of weeks we were marched to another compound where things were a little better ... Things went fairly good till the 8th of October when they took us back to our first compound, tied our hands and cut off our Red Cross issues. They said it was in retaliation for the treatment of German prisoners at Dieppe and the Channel Islands.
It has been pretty tough going ever since. There is not nearly enough to eat, just the German issue with some of the Red Cross stuff in the soup. It is now the 24th of Oct. and we are still tied + no end in sight. The weather has been wet and cold with no fires. We were lucky to be issued with a great coat which we have to wear all day to keep warm.
Jan. 7, 1943 - the first week of the New Year gone by. Three letters this week - two from Becky and one from Annie (Chub's sister). They hadn't heard from me yet. What a hell hole this is now. It's snowed every day all week + the snow tracks in + lays in puddles all over the floor. Your feet are damp all the time + you can't keep warm. I have all the clothes I own on now. More than I ever wore in my life before. Most days I have to wear my great coat all day and have to walk around inside to try and keep warm.
Jan. 16, 1943 - one letter from Becky this week. it was pretty cold the first part of the week. We darn near froze. the last part has been better. The snow is melting again. I hope it stays nice. We had a shower this week. The first in over three weeks. The rations seem to be getting smaller every week, if they get much smaller we will be a hungry bunch before too long.
April 11, 1943 - what a difference from a year ago. Becky and I were in Stirling on our honeymoon then + and were having a glorious time. I wish this damn war was over so I could get back to her. She is starting to feel the pinch now + by her letters it has nearly gotten her down.
August 8, 1943 - It's a year ago yesterday that I last talked to Becky on the phone. I'd give everything I own to just hear her voice again for a few min.
Sept. 3, 1943 - the mail is sure getting pretty scarce. We were moved again this week after a big row with the air force back to Block 3 + what a dirty place it is. Bed bugs and filth ankle deep + flies galore.
Jan. 9, 1944 - The weather has been hellish, rain, snow, frost + more rain and snow + its muddier than ever. I wish this was was over. I'm starting to get fed up with things + I want to get home to Becky.
Jan. 16, 1944 - The last letter from Becky she was in Stirling. How I wished I could have been there with her. We had such a happy time there together when on our honeymoon. I think as soon as I get back I'll just pack her off up there again for a few days. Just lock the door + put a note on it to say were away + would be back when we get there.
As the New Year broke, Chub and many of the other Canadians were relocated to another stalag near Stargard in northern Germany. Much of their time there was spent labouring on nearby farms.
Jan. 23, 1944 - all the Canadian privates are being moved away from here to another camp the next couple of weeks.
Feb 6, 1944 - We got moved OK. Left VIIIB Wed. p.m. + got here to Stargard Sat. morn. 40 in a boxcar. It was pretty crowded. It's a nicer camp, more sanitary. The boys are all being sent out to work on farms.
Feb. 13, 1944 - we were told this morning that orders had been given by the Supreme Command that owing to the good treatment of German POWs in Canada, we were to be given good jobs and treated as well as possible.
June 6, 1944 - the word is going around that the Second Front started this morning. Hope it's true this time.
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Murray's writes ...
Poland is a beautiful country - rolling farmland with lush, thick forests. It also has a great air of prosperity today, with only an occasional glimpse of the old Stalinist architecture evident. First rate infrastructure etc. The weather is gorgeous.
We found our way to the little village where the POW camp had been and were given a nice tour of the museum. They've done a good job of it, and we were glad to have been here. We then drove down various back roads to see where the camp had actually been (it was destroyed after the war, but there are a few remains of buildings still standing).
Today, it's all the most wonderful forest. On this warm, sunny day, you should have heard the birds singing as we drove and walked through it. It just felt so beautiful, perhaps the most pleasant woods I've ever enjoyed. Doesn't that tell us something about nature's ultimate victory over men's folly and cruelty (and I do mean "men")? It felt to me like the area was being healed by those birds, and by the beauty of the woods that had grown up from this very earth which had borne such sadness and death.
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