History of the Barracks
| 1938 | Start of construction of the barracks for infantrymen as a consequence of |
| 1939, Nov. 15th | The not yet completed barracks are transformed in a camp for prisoners of |
| 1940, June 5th | Renamed in Oflag VI A (camp for officers) |
| 1940, July 31st | Arrival of about 1300 French officers. |
| 1945, April 6th | Freeing of meanwhile more than 5000 prisoners of war by allied troops. The |
| 1945 | Accommodation of displaced persons of different nationalities. |
| 1946 | Arrival of expellees from the Eastern part of Germany. |
| 1951 | Clearing of the camp and takeover by the Belgian army and renamed in |
| 1994 | The Belgian army leaves Soest. |
| 1995 | The barracks are entered in the list of memorials. |
| since 1997 | The buildings are used by different cultural initiatives. |
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History of the French Prisoners of War
When defending their eastern borders French troops were captured by the Germans in Lorraine. From Nancy French officers were deported by train to Soest where the first big group arrived on July 31st, 1940.
According to the Geneva Convention officers must not be committed to work. So they had to arrange their daily routine themselves. Creative heads among them initiate an intense cultural and religious life in captivity.
Most of the officers stay in the Soest camp for five years. Allied troops free them on April 6th, 1945. This date is also the end of the war for the city of Soest. Only two weeks later the repatriation of the prisoners of war starts.
History of the Expellees
The refugees and expellees arrive at Soest in May 1946 via Siegen-Wellersberg a main transit camp. He who cannot find lodging in the destroyed town gets a place in the camp for refugees and expellees - the former Oflag VI A - a camp for prisoners of war which is in a very bad condition. Partly doors and windows are missing and there is no furniture. The people spend the night on the floor on a layer of straw. The single living sections are separated temporarily from each other by means of cloth and blankets.
The majority of the expellees stay in the camp for 5 years. The conditions of living and accommodation are improved only slowly and the integration into the population of Soest is progressing very poorly.
In the course of Germany’s re-militarizing the camp is cleared to then accommodate Belgian troops. Within the record time of 100 days the Süd-Ost-Siedlung – a housing estate in the south-east of Soest – is produced out of thin air where the former Silesians find a new home.
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Gedenkstätte
Französische Kapelle Soest
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