Stalag VIII-A in Zgorzelec

On the freezing night of 15 January 1941, in theatre barrack 27 B, the prisoner Olivier Messiaen and three fellow inmates performed the "Quartet for the End of Time" for the first time. Around 400 prisoners and guards listened. It is now one of the most performed chamber works of the 20th century, and it was written in the German prisoner-of-war camp Stalag VIII-A in Görlitz – today the Zgorzelec-Ujazd district on the Polish side of the river Neisse. The European Centre for Remembrance, Education and Culture now operates on the former camp site.

History of the camp

The camp command was set up on 26 August 1939 in barracks in the eastern part of Görlitz. At first it was a transit camp with tents; in December 1939 it moved near a military training ground on the road to Bogatynia. The main camp was built partly by Polish soldiers captured in September 1939. It was planned for 3,000 prisoners, but at times nearly 50,000 were held here at once.

At first most prisoners were Polish; in summer 1940 20,000 Belgians and French arrived, later Yugoslavs, Soviet soldiers, British, Italians, insurgents from Warsaw and Slovakia, and in January 1945 Americans. According to the Saxony tourist board, about 120,000 prisoners passed through the camp in total. Soviet soldiers were treated worst – their death toll is estimated at 10,000–12,000. Around 80% of prisoners worked outside the camp, in industry and agriculture.

Quartet for the End of Time

Messiaen, a French composer captured in 1940, wrote the piece for clarinet, violin, cello and piano in the camp. At the premiere he played the piano, joined by Jean Le Boulaire (violin), Henri Akoka (clarinet) and Étienne Pasquier (cello). Every year around 15 January the Polish-German association Meetingpoint Memory Messiaen (formerly Meetingpoint Music Messiaen) holds the International Messiaen Days in Görlitz and Zgorzelec.

What to see

• The prisoners' memorial from 1976, on the site of the former camp gate by the road to Bogatynia.
• The European Centre for Remembrance, Education and Culture with a permanent exhibition on the camp and the German POW camp system.
• The cemetery of Soviet prisoners near the former camp.

Tripto tip

The centre's address is Koźlice 1, 59-900 Zgorzelec – use it in your satnav. Allow 1–1.5 hours for the exhibition and a walk around the site. Guided tours in Polish, German or English must be arranged in advance with the foundation that runs the centre, and check opening hours before you go. This is a place of remembrance, not entertainment – come with time to reflect.