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grandfather

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catherine

catherine Report 18 Dec 2016 03:43

My grandfather came over to the uk after world war 2. He came from Poland. I know he was a POW. Is there anyway I can find out what he POW number was. I believe he was in a camp in Germany.Thanks

+++DetEcTive+++

+++DetEcTive+++ Report 18 Dec 2016 11:53

Welcome to the boards.

You might not be able to find his POW number if this is anything to go by

https://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/misc/57jnwv.htm

In September 1939, Poland was invaded by German and Soviet troops.
A large proportion of the Polish army was captured: around 400,000 men by the German forces and over 200,000 by Soviet troops. Until February 1940, the German authorities gave the ICRC lists of the Polish prisoners of war they held, but after that date they stopped.

In 1943, they again began to send these lists, but now only officers were mentioned. What had happened was that most of the Polish soldiers who became prisoners of war were turned i nto " civilian workers " by the German authorities.
.......

Records, if they survive, might be with the German archives.
It's possible the ICRC might have some record. It's worth contacting them

Was he later naturalised? Any clue on those records? They'd be with the UK National Archives. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

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catherine

catherine Report 21 Dec 2016 19:20

Thank you for your reply Cynthia. The information you have provided will be really helpful. He was naturalised as far as I know to the UK but I have never had a clue where to look so thank you for telling me about the UK National Archives. I will also try the ICRC as well. Thanks