German POW camp for Soviet POWs in Święty Krzyż

German POW camp for Soviet POWs in Święty Krzyż near Kielce (Poland), was in fact a real death camp...

The camp was created in 1941 - as one of four sub-camps of Stalag XII C.

I was there two years ago. It was a very sad place during WW II.

Between 1941 and 1943 over 6,000 Soviet prisoners died or were murdered there (the majority of them lost their lives during the first year)... It is said that only around 100 - 200 POWs survived until the liberation of the camp...

Three other sub-camps of Stalag XII C - in Bliżyn, Kielce and Końskie - were also sad places of suffering cruel agonies. Around 37,000 Soviet POWs lost their lives there between 1941 and 1944 (11,000 in camp "Kamienna" in Kielce, 20,000 in camp in Końskie, 6,000 in camp in Bliżyn).

They had not enough food and terrible conditions of life... what am I talking about - terrible conditions of death !!

When the Germans noticed that prisoners are eating each other and also parts of their own bodies, they made an inscription on the wall in Russian and in German:

"Cannibalism and self-cannibalism will be severely punished".

They weren't even allowed to eat themselves...

This terrible insciption is still there...

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Edit:

Massive grave of 6,000 Russian Soldiers cruelly murdered, starved to death, or forced to cannibalism or self-cannibalism by the Germans in Święty Krzyż between 1941 and 1943 (the majority during the first year)... :

Originally posted by Domen Germans haven't recognized those terrible crimes yet and they haven't admitted their guilt. Criminals and murderers who are responsible for them and participated in them, have not been punished yet:

church has nothing to do with what Beorna asked. the church was in fact a colaborator of Nazis and Ustashas in Croatia.

afaik, no individual camps have been identified but the mistreatment of PoW camps in general has been aknowledged.


Edited by Temujin - 14-Jan-2009 at 19:26

Originally posted by Husaria Asking a nation to apologize for every crime committed during every war is ridiculous. What the hell did decedents of  German soldiers who did atrocities, ever do to have to apologize.

Is not ridicuous. It helps people hate those crimes and form a conscience that will stop repeating them. Today most of Germans feel real sorry for those atrocities and this is due to actions of condemning them by officialities and other representatives.

Romanian authorities under the Antonescu regime too commited crimes during WW2, 420.000 Jews and lesser Roma people have been murdered, yet the Romanian people know little about these and there is not a strong feeling against this, on the contrary, there is contestation and support for general Antonescu who generally is perceived as a hero, when he was a monster. So, official apologize actions are necessary.

in fact that apology thing is more or less pointless. i mean who apologized? no nazi ever apologized for what they did, only the new German liberal government did who was in opposition to the Nazis anyways. to apologize would only make sense if those who actually comitted those crimes apologize.

But i guess its more of a gesture from the whole country to show that they are ashamed of those wrong doings.