First mentioned under the name of Lambinowicz in 1273, when it was part of fragmented Piast-ruled Poland, the settlement shared the fate of Upper Silesia and the land of Opole throughout the ages.

Closed down following the Treaty of Versailles, the camp was reopened on 26 August 1939, shortly before the German invasion of Poland and start of World War II.

Among them were Poles, Belgians, Frenchmen, Britons, Yugoslavs, Greeks, Soviets, Americans, Romanians, Italians, Australians, Canadians, New Zealanders, Dutchmen and South Africans.

[citation needed] In October 1944, soldiers and officers were brought here from the Warsaw Rising, including over 1,000 women.

[3] After the Soviet takeover of the area, on 17 March 1945 the Red Army took the camp over and continued to operate it, this time the institution housed German prisoners of war.