It is estimated that between 1914 and 1918 approx. 12 thousand people lost their lives in the camp and were buried in mass graves. There was also a concentration camp in Czarne before the beginning of World War II, whose prisoners were the enemies of the Hitler regime. The first 50 prisoners were brought to the camp on 28 June 1933. Among the people incarcerated in the LAGER III camp were the members of the Pomeranian anti-Hitler resistance. The camp was liquidated 2 months after its creation due to the short distance from the Polish border.
During World War II another prison camp, STALAG IIB – Hammerstein Langer NORD, was created in the area belonging to the military unit in Czarne. In September 1939 it held approx. 9 thousand Polish soldiers. The prisoners were treated exceptionally well. Their main task was to cultivate the soil in the area of the Pilsko and Koszalin regencies and after working they were allowed to engage in prison cultural life. Besides the agricultural work, some of the prisoners were building barracks for the camp. Besides Polish prisoners there were French, Belgian, Dutch, English and American citizens, approx. 20 thousand people in total. In 1941 the camp was expanded and the new part bore the name Hammerstein Lager Ost. It was a place intended for Soviet prisoners, a large number of which were Poles forcefully drafted into the Red Army between 1939 and 1941.
In 1968, 24 mass graves were found as a result of the search conducted on the prisoner burial area. Personal belongings of Soviet soldiers were found there. According to initial estimates, as not every grave was uncovered, between 40 and 70 thousand Soviet prisoners died in Czarne.
Autor: LOT “Ziemia Człuchowska”
