• Memorial Complex Stalag I A
Near the Russian town of Bagrationovsk, formerly the East Prussian Preußisch-Eylau, the Stalag I A was located, where mainly Polish, Belgian and French prisoners of war were held captive. Decades later a memorial complex was erected on the former camp cemetery.
Image: Stablack, undated, Group of Polish POWs in Stalag I A, Janusz Kaminski
Stablack, undated, Group of Polish POWs in Stalag I A, Janusz Kaminski

Image: Dolgorukovo, 2013, Memorial plaque at the cemetery entrance, Andrey Levtchenkov
Dolgorukovo, 2013, Memorial plaque at the cemetery entrance, Andrey Levtchenkov
The Stablack is a rolling woodland area in the former province of East Prussia near the border between Poland and the Kaliningrad Oblast of the Russian Federation. In summer of 1934 the German army, reinvigorated by the National Socialist accession to power, started to establish a 25,000 acres big military training area 10 km west of Preußisch Eylau (today Russian: Bagrationovsk). In the 1930s an estate developed called Gartenstadt Stablack (Stablack garden city), mainly inhabited by members of the Wehrmacht. In the weeks following the German attack on Poland the Wehrmacht placed Polish POWs on the site. Subsequently they had to build barracks for a camp, the Stalag IA. After 1940 Belgian and French prisoners were brought here. The number of prisoners reached tens of thousands. They were employed at fatigue duty all over the North of East Prussia. Beginning of 1945 the Red Army attacked East Prussia. Many POWs employed in satellite camps were suddenly located behind Soviet lines; they later had a very hard time getting back to their native countries. The POWs left in the Stalag I A were transferred westwards, together with the chaotic flight and evacuation of hundreds of thousands of East Prussians. Many of the POWs perished in the course of this.
Image: Stablack, undated, Group of Polish POWs in Stalag I A, Janusz Kaminski
Stablack, undated, Group of Polish POWs in Stalag I A, Janusz Kaminski

Image: Dolgorukovo, 2013, Memorial plaque at the cemetery entrance, Andrey Levtchenkov
Dolgorukovo, 2013, Memorial plaque at the cemetery entrance, Andrey Levtchenkov
Almost 50,000 Polish POWs passed through the camp from 1939 to 1941, many of them were released by the end of 1941 or their status changed to civilian labourer. In 1940/41 they were joined by 23,000 Belgian and 37,000 French POWs. After the attack on the Soviet Union the Wehrmacht placed about 1,000 Soviet POWs there. The number of deaths in the camp is not known.
Image: Stablack, undated, Camp cemetery, Janusz Kaminsky
Stablack, undated, Camp cemetery, Janusz Kaminsky

Image: Dolgorukovo, 2013, Memorial crosses, Andrey Levtchenkov
Dolgorukovo, 2013, Memorial crosses, Andrey Levtchenkov
Immediately after the war German civilians are said to have been interned in the barracks. The Wehrmacht's military training area was taken over by the Red Army and was in military use for decades. The former Stalag I A – its site partly located on Polish, partly on Russian territory – fell into oblivion. In 1971 the human remains of POWs buried on the camp's cemetery were exhumed. Later a memorial complex was set up, in its centre a huge stone sculpture. Commemorative services for the former prisoners of Stalag I A are also held in the Polish village of Kamińsk (former Stablack-South).
Image: Dolgorukovo, 2013, Detailed view of memorial, Andrey Levtchenkov
Dolgorukovo, 2013, Detailed view of memorial, Andrey Levtchenkov

Image: Dolgorukovo, 2013, View of memorial complex, Andrey Levtchenkov
Dolgorukovo, 2013, View of memorial complex, Andrey Levtchenkov
Name
Memorialnyj kompleks Stalag I A
Address
At the A195
238430 Dolgorukowo
Open
The memorial complex is accessible at all times. However, at present visitors need a special permit by the Russian authorities since the former camp site is located in the border area.