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

The Wehrmacht established Stalag 359 on April 30, 1941, in Defense District (Wehrkreis) XIII.¹ The camp was initially deployed to Falkenau an der Eger (today Sokolov, Czech Republic) (map 4d).² From September 1941 to the spring of 1942, the camp was deployed to Poniatowa (5), in the Generalgouvernement, Poland. From the spring to the fall of 1942, the camp was deployed just to the south in Sandomierz (5). While deployed in Sandomierz, on June 1, 1942, the camp held 601 prisoners (including 207 officers) and, on August 1, 1,759 prisoners.³ In the spring of 1943, the camp was deployed to Znamenka (today Znamianka, Ukraine) (9f), and in July 1943 it was located in the village of Borisovka (today Borysivka, Bobrynets’kyi raion, Kirovohrads’ka oblast’, Ukraine) (9g).⁴ The camp was also briefly deployed in Russia, in the present-day Belgorodskaia oblast’. The Germans disbanded the camp on November 19, 1943.⁵

From April to September 1941, the camp was subordinate to the Commander of Prisoners of War in Defense District XIII (Kommandeur der Kriegsgefangenen im Wehrkreis XIII). From September 29, 1941, to October 10, 1942, it was subordinate to the Commander of Prisoners of War in the Generalgouvernement, Poland (Kommandeur der Kriegsgefangenen [End Page 362] im Generalgouvernement Polen), and from October 10, 1942 until its dissolution, it was subordinate to Army Group South (Heeresgruppe Süd) and the Commander of Prisoners of War in Operations Area II (Kommandeur der Kriegsgefangenen im Operationsgebiet II).⁶ While it was located in Poniatowa, the camp was guarded by the 709th Reserve Battalion (Landesschützenbataillon). Stalag 359 received field post number (Feldpostnummer) 12 552 between February 1 and July 11, 1941.

The first camp commandant was Oberstleutnant Richard von Gossmann (1876–1949). In May 1942, von Gossmann was discharged from military service as a result of heart disease and was replaced by Major Freyber, who committed suicide shortly thereafter. As of July 21, 1943, the camp personnel consisted of 126 Wehrmacht members (9 officers, 7 civil servants, 29 noncommissioned officers, and 81 enlisted men), as well as 80 nonmilitary personnel. The camp guards included 77 Germans and 149 Soviet Volunteers (Hilfswillige).⁷

During the deployment in Poniatowa, conditions in the camp were similar to those in other camps for Soviet prisoners of war. The camp was severely overcrowded and the prisoners did not receive adequate food or medical care, leading to widespread malnutrition and disease and a high mortality rate. The prisoners’ plight was exacerbated by deliberate abuse from the guards. Of the approximately 24,000 prisoners who were sent to the camp before the end of 1941, around 20,000 died and were buried in 32 mass graves.⁸

During the deployment in Sandomierz, the conditions were somewhat better. The camp commandant arranged for disinfection, medical aid, and regular food.⁹