Memorial and Museum Trutzhain (Stalag IX-A)

Stalag IX‑A, near Ziegenhain in Hesse, opened in 1939 and became one of Germany’s largest POW camps. It held tens of thousands of prisoners from across Europe and later the United States, many forced into labor under harsh conditions. Soviet prisoners suffered especially high mortality. The camp is remembered for Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds’ defiance in 1945, when he refused to identify Jewish POWs to the Germans. Liberated by U.S. forces in March 1945, the site was later used for internment, displaced persons, and refugee housing. In 1951 it became the village of Trutzhain, where parts of the camp survive and a memorial museum now preserves its history.

The Memorial and Museum Trutzhain opened its doors in 2003 as the fourth memorial of this kind about the Nazi period in Hesse. The new permanent exhibition is housed in the former guard barrack of the STALAG IX A Ziegenhain POW Cam. Apart from the museum itself, the old historical town centre – the former camp’s main street and the POW camp barracks – which is protected as a group of listed buildings since 1985, are part of the memorial’s concept, as well as two cemeteries.

For current visiting hours, please visit the website of the museum.

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Source

• Text: TracesofWar & Gedenkstätte und Museum Trutzhain
• Photos: Gedenkstätte und Museum Trutzhain