The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933-1945

The Wehrmacht established Stalag 331 (map 4c) on August 5, 1941, in Fischborn-Turosel, in Defense District (Wehrkreis) I, from Frontstalag 331. On December 10, 1941, the camp was redesignated Stalag I C.¹ In August 1941, the camp was deployed to the village of Macikai, near Šilutė (German: Heydekrug) in Lithuania. Stalag 331 was disbanded on September 4, 1942. It was subordinate to the Commander of Prisoners of War in Defense District I (Kommandeur der Kriegsgefangenen in Wehrkreis I) and was guarded by personnel from the 337th Reserve Battalion (Landesschützenbataillon).

Stalag 331 (I C) held Soviet prisoners of war (POWs). No detailed information on conditions in the camp is available; however, in general, conditions in camps for Soviet POWs were poor, with inadequate housing, food supplies, and medical care, and mortality rates for Soviet prisoners were high. As in other camps for Soviet prisoners, the Germans probably performed selections of the prisoners to separate out “undesirables,” such as Jews and political commissars, who were executed near the camp by the guards or Security Service (Sicherheitsdienst).