Editing Wałbrzych (section)

===World War II===
During the German [[invasion of Poland]] at the start of [[World War II]] in September 1939, some 2,000 young men from the city were conscripted to the ''[[Wehrmacht]]''.<ref name=mb289>{{cite magazine|last=Babińska|first=Małgorzata|year=2019|title=Przerwane historie. Ludność Wałbrzycha po II wojnie światowej|magazine=Nowa Kronika Wałbrzyska|publisher=Fundacja MUSEION|location=Wałbrzych|language=pl|volume=7|page=289|issn=2353-4354}}</ref>

The first [[Forced labour under German rule during World War II|forced labourers]], Poles, were probably brought to the city in early 1940, whereas [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] prisoners of war were brought to forced labour in the city probably since 1941.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Sula|first=Dorota|year=2016|title=Robotnicy przymusowi, jeńcy wojenni i więźniowie KL Gross-Rosen w Waldenburgu (Wałbrzychu) w latach 1940–1945|magazine=Nowa Kronika Wałbrzyska|publisher=Fundacja MUSEION|location=Wałbrzych|language=pl|volume=4|page=19|issn=2353-4354}}</ref> Several thousands POWs, Serbian, British, [[Italian Military Internees|Italian]], Belgian, Soviet, Polish, [[French prisoners of war in World War II|French]] and others, were held in various labour camps in the city,<ref>Sula (2016), pp. 19, 20, 23, 28</ref> including subcamps of the [[Stalag VIII-A]] and [[Stalag VIII-B|Stalag VIII-B/344]] [[German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II|POW camps]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Sula|first=Dorota|year=2010|title=Jeńcy włoscy na Dolnym Śląsku w czasie II wojny światowej|journal=Łambinowicki rocznik muzealny|location=[[Opole]]|language=pl|volume=33|page=66}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lamsdorf.com/working-parties.html|title=Working Parties|website=Lamsdorf.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029103834/https://www.lamsdorf.com/working-parties.html|access-date=7 November 2021|archive-date=29 October 2020}}</ref> There were also several other forced labour camps, for Poles, [[Jews]], Ukrainians, including camps solely for women,<ref>Sula (2016), pp. 21–23</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=100000976|title=Zwangsarbeitslager für Juden Waldenburg|website=Bundesarchiv.de|access-date=7 November 2021|language=de}}</ref> two [[List of subcamps of Gross-Rosen|subcamps]] of the [[Gross-Rosen concentration camp]], intended for Jews, located in the present Gaj and Książ districts,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.gross-rosen.eu/historia-kl-gross-rosen/filie-obozu-gross-rosen/|title=Subcamps of KL Gross- Rosen|website=Gross-Rosen Museum in Rogoźnica|access-date=7 March 2020}}</ref><ref>Sula (2016), pp. 28, 31</ref> and a Nazi prison.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=100000975|title=Gerichtsgefängnis Waldenburg|website=Bundesarchiv.de|access-date=7 November 2021|language=de}}</ref> There are known cases when Polish civilian workers gave food to starving Soviet prisoners of war.<ref>Sula (2016), p. 26</ref> The forced laborers made several attempts to escape, and those caught were either beaten by the [[Gestapo]], sent to the Gross-Rosen camp or murdered.<ref>Sula (2016), pp. 27, 31</ref> The camp in Książ was dissolved in February 1945, and its prisoners were sent on a [[Death marches during the Holocaust|death march]] towards [[Trutnov]] in [[Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–1945)|German-occupied Czechoslovakia]].<ref>Sula (2016), p. 31</ref>

It was conquered by the Soviet [[Red Army]] on 8 May 1945, a few hours before the [[German Instrument of Surrender|German surrender]] and the [[Victory in Europe Day|end of World War II in Europe]].<ref name=mb289/> Some 600 prisoners of the subcamp of Gross-Rosen in Gaj were liberated, and some stayed in the city after the war.<ref>Sula (2016), p. 30</ref>