Stalag VIII-A Görlitz

Stalag VIII-A stood on the southern edge of Görlitz in Lower Silesia and held a shifting population of Polish, French, Belgian, Soviet, British and other Allied prisoners. It is best remembered in cultural history as the place where the French composer Olivier Messiaen, a prisoner there, wrote and first performed his Quartet for the End of Time in January 1941. British and Commonwealth prisoners, including captured aircrew, were among those held before the camp was evacuated westward ahead of the Soviet advance in February 1945.