Stalag IV-A

Stalag IV-A Elsterhorst was a World War II German Army Prisoner-of-war camp located near Hoyerswerda in Saxony, 44 km north-east of Dresden.

Spring 1938 the building of the camp was started to house about 350 Czech prisoners who originally lived in tents during construction.
October 1939 Polish prisoners arrrived from the September 1939 invasion of Poland. Finally 40 huts were built^[1].
June 1940 the camp was divided, part of it became Oflag IV-D for Belgian. British, and French officers. Also a separate part of the cazmp was set aside as hospital for prisoners Reserve Lazarett 742.
May-June 1941 the Polish prisoners were transferred to other camps. In their place came Greek and Yugoslavian prisoners from the Balkans Campaign.
June-September 1941 Soviet prisoners from Operation Barbarossa were placed in another separated camp.. Conditions were appalling, starvation, epidemics and ill-treatment took a heavy toll of lives. The dead Soviet prisoners were buried in mass graves at the cemetery in neighboring Nardt.
May 1945 the camp was liberated by the Red Army. Before that many prisoners had been marched south-west.