Welcome to the short English version of the website of “Förderverein Dokumentations- und Begegnungsstätte Barth e.V. which means: “Registered Sponsoring Association Documentation and Encounter Site Barth”.
Our NGO-association was founded In November 1998 by citizens from Barth and its surrounding.
We concentrate our work to the time during the National Socialism between 1933 and 1945. Special attention is given to the concentration camp in Barth, where slave workers had to build parts for German military aircrafts. Another focus lies on all aspects related to the prisoner of war camp, “Stalag Luft I”.
Our office is located in the Vineta citizens’ house of Barth, where a permanent multimedia exhibition illustrates the history of the town between 1933 and 1945 with special emphasis on:
- Individual fates of people who lived or were imprisoned in Barth from 1933 to1945
- Barth as a garrison and armaments town
- The prisoner of war camp for Allied airmen, “Stalag Luft I”
- The Barth Concentration Camp.
- Contact
Förderverein Dokumentations- und Begegnungsstätte Barth e.V.
Papenstr. 8
18356 Barth, Germany
phone: +49 38231 37450
email: dok-barth@web.de
Memorials and educational and memorial trail
Barth Concentration Camp Memorial Site
This memorial was inaugurated in 1966 to commemorate the incredible suffering of the inmates of the concentration camp. They were forced to work as slaves for the aircraft manufacturing company of ‘Ernst Heinkel’ from 1943 to 1945. They were beaten, starved and 180 of them died and were buried here due to this inhumane treatment. There are four relief plates by the sculpture Jo Jastram which illustrate scenes of everyday life in the concentration camp. From here an educational path leads you through the area of the former concentration camp.
Memorial stone for the prisoners of war (POW) camp “Stalag Luft I”
Thie camp existed from 1940 to 1945 for airmen of the US Army Air Force, the Royal Air Force, and the Soviet Air Forces. At its liberation by the Red Army in May 1945 there were nearly 10.000 POWs in the camp. The memorial stone was inaugurated in 1985 in the presence of former POWs, war veterans of the Soviet Army and citizens of Barth. Information on a stele complement the memory place.
The trail starts with a first stele directly at the memorial for the concentration camp and is then continued on a path through parts of the former grounds of the concentration camp.
- Links
For more information about Stalag Luft I and the concentration camp in English, see for example:
World War II – Prisoners of War – Stalag Luft I (merkki.com)
The Liberation of Stalag Luft I | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans (nationalww2museum.org)
Forced Labour & Subcamps. Women’s concentration camp Ravensbrück (universes.art)
Concentration Camp Barth – Barth – TracesOfWar.com
Barth concentration camp | Voices of the Holocaust (iit.edu)