Internment camp Büren an der Aare

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The Büren an der Aare internment camp was the largest internment camp in Switzerland during the Second World War . It was near the town of Büren on the Aare . It existed from the beginning of the internment of foreign military personnel in Switzerland from summer 1940 until the last internees were expelled from Switzerland in 1946, making it the longest continuously operated internment camp in the country. During this time, the camp was used in a wide variety of ways, so that, using the example of the Büren an der Aare internment camp, Switzerland's refugee policy during World War IIcan be shown as an example. The best known is the internment phase of Polish troops of the 45th French Army Corps , in which the camp was the only “concentration camp” in Switzerland.

prehistory

In June 1940 around 43,000 members of the 45th French Army Corps - including around 12,000 Poles from two Polish divisions - crossed the Doubs near Goumois , were granted asylum by a Federal Council decision and were interned .

The Swiss authorities and the army were completely unprepared for the border crossing, and the organization of the internment was characterized by a great deal of improvisation, especially in this first phase. Initially, the members of the 45th French Army Corps were interned in camps near the border and later taken to provisional camps in the Swiss Plateau. The camp organization and its geographical distribution during the war were shaped by multiple reorganizations and redistributions.

Location and location

The Büren concentration camp on the Aare was planned from July 1940. At that time, the armed forces and the federal administration were of the opinion that camps should be set up as large as possible in order to keep costs and troop requirements for guarding as low as possible. Because it was not clear who would pay for the costs of the internment, especially the Polish internees, as it was uncertain whether Poland and France would continue to exist as states after the war. Because the army also had to react completely unprepared to the internment, not many troops were available to guard the internees. Another important criterion when planning the internment camps was minimizing contact with the civilian population. Finally, two camps were set up for the Poles - one in the Bernese Seeland and one on the Thur.

As a location for the Büren an der Aare internment camp, an area away from the town in the “Häftli” was chosen - an area that was surrounded by water on all four sides. The location in this moated castle should make escape more difficult and thus simplify guarding. With the location of the internment camp, contact with the civilian population could be minimized. The location of the camp resulted not least from the fact that it was planned to use the Polish internees to correct the waters of the Jura. In addition to the location in the Häftli, a hospital warehouse for around 150 people was built in Oberbüren, which is affiliated to the “concentration camp”. A prison camp for internees was also set up.

The «concentration camp» during the internment of the Poles

From July to September 1940, a barracks village - the so-called "Poland camp", which was designed for 6,000 internees, and the "Swiss camp" for the Swiss army guarding force, estimated at around 600 men, were built in the prison. In total, over 120 barracks and buildings with various functions were created. In the middle of the "Poland Camp" there was an observation tower, which was supposed to make guarding even easier. In addition, the area was guarded by police dogs. Important buildings of the camp administration, such as the command post or the post office, were located in the “Swiss camp”, which was also spatially separated from the “Poland camp”. In addition, there was a laundry, several kitchens and sanitary buildings. An area designed for around 1,000 “suspects”, which had been designed as a prison camp for internees, was also separated from the “Poland camp” by barbed wire.

It should be emphasized that there were never 6,000 internees in the camp at once. The first Poles reached the camp in September 1940. At that time it was still under construction and the first internees were deployed to further expand the camp. By mid-October there were already around 1,500 Poles in the camp. The camp was not officially inaugurated until December 26, 1940. In March 1941, the concentration camp reached its peak with 3,500 internees. The camp was organized militarily and the internees were subject to strict camp regulations and strict daily orders. Despite the security measures, many Poles managed to escape from the camp. The Poles quickly made contact with the civilian population of Büren, whom they met with great sympathy.

As the number of internees increased, more and more conceptual and planning errors became apparent. The sanitary facilities were no longer sufficient shortly after the opening. In addition to the lack of hygiene, the internees had problems with space and were bored. At that time there was still no adequate employment program: work assignments with farmers did not arise until after 1941 and the planned work in the Jura water correction was not carried out. In any case, no work assignments were planned for the internees in this first phase of internment and compulsory work was only introduced later. In addition, there were limited opportunities to contact civilians, which meant that for some internees, the post was the only connection to the outside world. The bad mood in the camp was also noticeable due to conflicts among the internees and, above all, to errors in the guards. In addition, many internees could not cope with the camp atmosphere, since after their internment - as the camps had not yet been built - they were initially housed with private individuals. When a guard wanted to enforce the camp rules, there was an uprising on December 28, 1940.

The uprising exposed the problems and eventually forced the authorities to change their overall concept. In January 1941 the work assignments were regulated and the number of internees was reduced. However, the number of internees initially increased significantly before it steadily decreased from March 1941. In March 1942 there were still around 100 Poles in the camp and it was decided to break up the camp. The first demolition work began shortly afterwards.

Use as a refugee camp after 1942

When the flow of refugees to Switzerland increased in the summer of 1942, it was decided in September 1942 to reopen the camp in Büren and to accommodate civilian refugees - initially mainly Jews, later also Alsatians. In the following years the inventory in the Büren camp fluctuated strongly and several times the camp was close to being closed and demolished. The events of the war made it necessary to continue operating again and again.

The reopening of the camp in 1942 led to numerous grievances, as the camp was built for military internees and not for civilians who expressed difficulties with military manners and order. In addition, there were problems with hygiene and some people in the camp management. The refugees were constantly being redistributed to other camps, so that the population steadily decreased and the camp was almost empty in the summer of 1943. At that time, some barracks were already showing considerable damage, as the camp was not planned for such a long period of operation. In addition, the farmers who owned the land of the camp demanded its return. As a result, it was decided to close the camp again and the dismantling of some barracks began. More barracks were moved to other camps.

As a result of the war events in Italy, the flow of refugees to Switzerland increased again. Many Italian civilian refugees and former Italian soldiers came to Büren temporarily. Within a short time, the remaining 16 residential barracks in the camp were completely overcrowded with over 800 refugees. For this reason, their distribution was organized as quickly as possible. In the course of 1944 the number of people decreased to around 200 and in October 1944 there was only a so-called "reserve camp" of around 30 refugees.

When the flow of refugees from Germany increased in the course of the Allied advance in Germany, the “reserve camp” was reactivated and converted into a “quarantine camp” for German war refugees. Within a short time, over 1000 refugees went through the quarantine in the prison.

After the end of the war, the camp in Büren served as a waiting station for former refugees before they returned home. Ultimately, until mid-1946, those internees - mainly Poles - who resisted deportation were still housed in the prison.

Demolition and culture of remembrance

Shortly after the end of the war, the landowners asked for their land back again. Finally, in 1946/47 the last remaining barracks were removed or demolished. A few buildings of the camp remained at the request of the landowners who wanted to continue using them as agricultural buildings.

There is no active culture of remembrance of the internment camp in Büren. The local tourism administration only indirectly indicates the existence of the Büren camp. At the suggestion of a historian, commemorative stones were only erected for the hospital camp and the internment camp in 2000. Before that there was no memory of the former internment camp and the few camp buildings that had not been demolished were not maintained and some were left to decay. In 2017, only the former laundry is left of the former Büren internment camp. Only the regional newspaper Bieler Tagblatt reported regularly in memory of the internment camp. In addition, a theater production was performed in memory of the internment camp in 2017.

literature

  • Jürg Stadelmann / Selina Krause: “Concentrationslager” Büren on the Aare 1940–1946. The largest refugee camp in Switzerland during the Second World War. Baden 1999.
  • Martin Stotzer: ... and there was war outside. Of everyday life and all night in Büren an der Aare during the Second World War. Zurich 2016.
  • Eduard Lomabrd: Guard duty in the internment camp Büren. In: Horner Blätter of the Büren Association for Home Care, born in 1996. New printing Büren an der Aare 1999.
  • Werner Stotzer: Internment in Büren an der Aare 1940–1946 . in: Horner Blätter of the Association for Home Care Büren, born in 1946. pp. 9–16.
  • May B. Broda: Forbidden Relationships. Polish military internees and the Swiss civilian population during the Second World War using the example of the interned university camp in Herisau / St. Gallen. In: Appenzellian yearbooks. 1991.
  • Bettina Volland: Poles, Swiss people. Military internees and civilians 1940–1945. In: Yearbook of the Historical-Antiquarian Society of Graubünden. 1993.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Hervé de Weck: Internments. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . November 1, 2007 , accessed June 6, 2017 .
  2. ↑ a b c d Jürg Stadelmann: Swiss camps in World War II. (PDF) Retrieved June 6, 2017 .
  3. ↑ Jürg Stadelmann / Selina Krause: “Concentrationslager” Büren on the Aare 1940–1946. The largest refugee camp in Switzerland during the Second World War . Baden 1999, p. 18-24 .
  4. ↑ Jürg Stadelmann / Selina Krause: “Concentrationslager” Büren on the Aare 1940–1946. The largest refugee camp in Switzerland during the Second World War . Baden 1999, p. 24-26 .
  5. ↑ Jürg Stadelmann / Selina Krause: “Concentrationslager” Büren on the Aare 1940–1946. The largest refugee camp in Switzerland during the Second World War . Baden 1999, p. 22-24 .
  6. ↑ a b Bettina Volland: Poles, Swiss people. Military internees and civilians 1940–1945 . In: Yearbook of the Historical-Antiquarian Society of Graubünden . 1993, p. 231-232 .
  7. ↑ Martin Stotzer: ... and outside there was war. Everyday life and all night in Büren an der Aare during the Second World War . Zurich 2016, p. 19-22 .
  8. ↑ a b Jürg Stadelmann / Selina Krause: “Concentrationslager” Büren on the Aare 1940–1946. The largest refugee camp in Switzerland during the Second World War . Baden 1999, p. 46-47 .
  9. ↑ May B. Broda: Forbidden Relationships. Polish military internees and the Swiss civilian population during the Second World War using the example of the interned university camp in Herisau / St. Gallen . In: Appenzellian yearbooks . 1991, p. 13 .
  10. ^ Bettina Volland: Poles, Swiss people. Military internees and civilians 1940–1945 . In: Yearbook of the Historical-Antiquarian Society of Graubünden . 1993, p. 232 .
  11. ↑ Martin Stotzer: ... and outside there was war. Everyday life and all night in Büren an der Aare during the Second World War . Zurich 2016, p. 22-28 .
  12. ↑ a b Jürg Stadelmann / Selina Krause: “Concentrationslager” Büren on the Aare 1940–1946. The largest refugee camp in Switzerland during the Second World War . Baden 1999, p. 39-49 .
  13. ↑ May B. Broda: Forbidden Relationships. Polish military internees and the Swiss civilian population during the Second World War using the example of the interned university camp in Herisau / St. Gallen . In: Appenzellian yearbooks . 1991, p. 13-14 .
  14. ↑ Jürg Stadelmann / Selina Krause: “Concentrationslager” Büren on the Aare 1940–1946. The largest refugee camp in Switzerland during the Second World War . Baden 1999, p. 70-71 .
  15. ↑ Jürg Stadelmann / Selina Krause: “Concentrationslager” Büren on the Aare 1940–1946. The largest refugee camp in Switzerland during the Second World War . Baden 1999, p. 74-85; 93-94 .
  16. ↑ Jürg Stadelmann / Selina Krause: “Concentrationslager” Büren on the Aare 1940–1946. The largest refugee camp in Switzerland during the Second World War . Baden 1999, p. 96-102 .
  17. ↑ Jürg Stadelmann / Selina Krause: “Concentrationslager” Büren on the Aare 1940–1946. The largest refugee camp in Switzerland during the Second World War . Baden 1999, p. 103-105 .
  18. ↑ Jürg Stadelmann / Selina Krause: “Concentrationslager” Büren on the Aare 1940–1946. The largest refugee camp in Switzerland during the Second World War . Baden 1999, p. 109-117 .
  19. ↑ Jürg Stadelmann / Selina Krause: “Concentrationslager” Büren on the Aare 1940–1946. The largest refugee camp in Switzerland during the Second World War . Baden 1999, p. 117 .
  20. ↑ Powepoint presentation on the Poland camp as the only reference to the internment camp. A note under sights is missing. Retrieved June 6, 2017 .
  21. ↑ Jürg Stadelmann: Refugee camp in Büren an der Aare 1940–1946. (PDF) Retrieved June 6, 2017 .
  22. ↑ Jürg Stadelmann: The decay of the large Büren ad Aare camp. Retrieved June 6, 2017 .
  23. ↑ Elisa Häni: The "Poland Camp" from Büren a. A. lives on as a theater. Regional journal Bern Friborg Wallis, accessed on June 6, 2017 .