Stalag Luft IV Stalag Luft IV was a German World War II prisoner - of - war camp in Gross Tychow , Pomerania ( now Tychowo , Poland ) . Camp history . The camp was opened in May 1944 . In July of that year a military report was released which described such problems as inadequate shower facilities , unfit distribution of Red Cross parcel s , and that prisoners complained about the food situation often . Two letters and four postcards were permitted per month . These letters were harshly censored forcing prisoners to tell families that they were being treated well and that there were no problems whatsoever . A report by the International Red Cross in October 1944 described camp conditions as generally bad . The camp was divided into five compounds ( A - E ) separated by barbed wire fences , with the POWs housed in 40 wooden barrack huts , each containing 200 men . Prisoners in compounds A and B had triple - tiered bunks , but there were no bunks at all in compounds C and D , and POWs slept on the floor . None of the huts were heated , with only five small iron stoves in the whole camp . Latrines were open - air , and there were no proper washing facilities . Medical facilities , and supplies of food and clothing were also inadequate . At this point there were 7 , 089 American and 886 British POWs ( of these 606 were from the British Isles , and included 147 Canadians , 37 Australians , 58 Poles , 22 New Zealanders , 8 South Africans , 5 Czechs , 2 French and 1 Norwegian ) . Another International Red Cross inspection in January 1945 , reported that the camp held : The Black March . On February 6 , 1945 some 8 , 000 men of the camp set out on a march that would be called the " Black March " . The prisoners were given the remaining Red Cross parcels ; you could carry as much as you could . The march from Gross Tychow lasted approximately 86 days . They were forced to march under guard about per day . There was much zigzagging , to escape the encroaching Soviet Red Army from the east . At one time , they traveled 40 miles , only advancing a few . The treatment was very bad . The sick were mistreated when dysentery and diarrhea set in . The Germans could not be collaborated with . Some prisoners were bayoneted ; others kicked and hit . Shelter was either a barn or under the stars , in the rain , snow , or whatever happened to be . As for the food , a bushel or two of steamed potatoes for a barn full of men was the best ever received at the end of a day . Often , the food was placed in the barn in the dark of night for the men to get what they could . Clothing was misfit being the most dominant , gathered from what they could ; the German government provided no clothing . They carried two blankets , and an overcoat for bedding . At this point , the average POW lost 1 / 3 of his body weight since capture . Water ( often contaminated ) POW ' s drank from ditches beside the road or ate snow when available . Using cigarettes , watches , rings or whatever they had to trade with the farmers along the way , for food . However in doing so risking the farmers and the POW ' s lives . The POW ' s ate charcoal to help stop dysentery and every POW became infected with lice . Pneumonia , diphtheria , pellagra , typhus , trench foot , tuberculosis and other diseases ran rampant among the POW ' s . Acts of heroism were virtually universal . The stronger helped the weaker . Those fortunate enough to have a coat shared it with others . The Germans sometimes provided a wagon for the sick . However there seldom were horses available , so teams of POWs pulled the wagons through the snow . When a wagon was not available and a POW fell out along the road , a German guard would drop back and a shot would be heard . The guard would then come back into formation alone . However , not all Germans were hated - the guard Shorty was carried by several prisoners after he couldn ' t go on . They reached Stalag 357 ( Stalag XI - B ) , near Fallingbostel around April 3 , 1945 . Many camps on the eastern edge of Germany were combined into one large camp there . The treatment was a repetition of previous camps , with the exception of food , of which there was virtually none . The treatment was a little worse . No beds or bedding in the buildings . The prisoners , and the Germans as well , knew liberation was close at hand . The sounds of the encroaching American artillery could be heard getting louder and louder at this camp . When the sound of Allied artillery grew closer , the German guards were less harsh in their treatment of POWs , because the prisoner roles may soon be reversed . The POWs were only in this camp for about a week ; when lagers A and B from Stalag Luft IV were taken out on their final march , this time east . This last march lasted approximately three weeks ; but was just as harsh as the previous march except for the treatment by the Germans , which was somewhat better . There was still little or no food available , and the pace was much slower , advancing 4 – 5 miles a day . On the morning of May 2 , 1945 the POWs were all sitting in a ditch next to the River Elbe near Lauenburg , Germany , when the British arrived and liberated the " camp " . Soldiers were given virtually nothing and told to march west . Thus Stalag Luft IV ended .