Oflag II-B at Arnswalde opened in 1939 to hold officers of the Polish army. On 30 June 1940, a group of 345 French officers and 140 enlisted men were held there. These first French prisoners were then transferred to other camps between 8 and 10 November 1940. The Arnswalde camp saw several escape attempts, the Polish border not being far away. From 14 May 1942, the Polish officers of Oflag II-B were exchanged with the French officers of Oflag II-D at Grossborn. On 29 January 1945, faced with the Soviet offensive, the prisoners were evacuated on foot to the west. The camp and the fifty or so sick officers who remained there were liberated by Soviet troops a few days later.
Abbé Pierre Flament, a prisoner at Grossborn and then at Arnswalde, wrote a thesis on the subject: La vie à l'Oflag II-D II-B 1940-1945 (Amicale IID-IIB and CNRS). There is a veterans' association of former prisoners, still active today (Amicale des OFLAGS IIB-IID-XXIB (official site) (onlinehome.fr)). Trips to the sites are regularly organised.
Today, the 2nd Polish troop regiment occupies the former premises of the Oflag. It cannot be entered without authorisation. Inside the barracks stands a monument inaugurated in 2005 in memory of the camp's prisoners. There is also, in the new church of Queen Saint Jadwiga located not far from the camp, a commemorative plaque dating from 2001.