Concentration camp subcamp SS riding school

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The concentration camp SS riding school was a satellite camp for women prisoners of the German concentration camp Neuengamme in Braunschweig . It existed for about three months, probably from November 1944 until its dissolution on February 25, 1945 and was located in the Viewegsgarten-Bebelhof district at Hans-Porner-Straße 20, at the corner of Schefflerstraße 2. Since the women's camp only existed for such a short time hardly received any information about it; it is Z. B. not known who was the camp leader .

history

After the bombing of Braunschweig on October 15 and 16, 1944, Gauleiter Hartmann Lauterbacher of the Gaus Süd-Hannover-Braunschweig applied to Reichsführer SS Himmler for the allocation of 2,000 female Polish prisoners from the Stalag XIB Fallingbostel who were interned there. You should be involved in the cleanup work. This was refused. Lauterbacher then turned to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp .

The riding school on Salzdahlumer Strasse was relocated to Owinka near Posen in mid-1944 , so these rooms were empty. The satellite camp was located on the grounds of this former SS - riding school , in turn, part of the SS Junker School Braunschweig was, and belonged to the Neuengamme concentration camp in Hamburg .

The first group of women probably came to Braunschweig in November 1944 from the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp . There were a total of around 800 prisoners here, mostly Jews , but also Jehovah's Witnesses , who came from Hungary, Yugoslavia , Poland , France , Yugoslavia and Romania and were housed in the stables and the riding arena. It is believed that the majority of the prisoners were transported from the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, which is just under 80 km away, to Braunschweig to do forced labor there. Some of the women had previously been brought from the Auschwitz concentration camp to Bergen-Belsen.

Life in the concentration camp

The living conditions in the camp were catastrophic; Nutrition, medical care and hygienic conditions were completely inadequate. The women were housed in the covered riding hall, the floor and walls of which were made of concrete. The hall was not heated, but it was windproof. The existing cesspool for the horses was probably used as a toilet at night, and two holes in the floor served as toilets during the day. The inmates had to sleep on thin straw on the concrete floor. At the beginning of January 1945, 50 prisoners were transported to an unknown destination. Bread and tea were handed out before work and soup was served in the evening. The women had no winter clothes and gloves in winter. An exact number of deaths could not be determined, there is evidence that 17 prisoners died between January 1945 and the liquidation of the camp. The guard was taken over by former Wehrmacht soldiers.

The women were mainly used to clear rubble and snow in the Braunschweig city center, which was already very badly damaged at that time.

Dissolution of the concentration camp

The front approaching Braunschweig in the final phase of World War II prompted the SS on February 25, 1945 to “dissolve” the camp and to distribute the remaining prisoners to other camps. Around 200 prisoners who were no longer able to work were transported to the Watenstedt / Leinde concentration camp 20 km to the south (now part of Salzgitter ). Those who were still “able to work” came to the Beendorf concentration camp located 50 km to the east , where they had to work in the Marie mine shaft there. The majority of the women came to the Hanover-Stöcken concentration camp (Continental) . In all cases, the inmates had to walk to the camps.

After the Second World War

There were no charges by the British or German judiciary against the crimes in the camp. In 1945 the riding arena was demolished, the outbuildings are in commercial use in 2008, a memorial plaque on site commemorates the external camp.

literature

  • Marc Buggeln: The satellite camp system of the Neuengamme concentration camp. In: The satellite camp system of the Neuengamme concentration camp. In: Sabine Moller, Miriam Rürup, Christel Trouvé (eds.): Completed chapters? On the history of the concentration camps and the Nazi trials (= studies on National Socialism in edition diskord. Vol. 5). Edition Diskord, Tübingen 2002, ISBN 3-89295-726-6 , pp. 15-47.
  • Karl Liedke: Braunschweig (SS riding school). In: Wolfgang Benz , Barbara Distel (eds.): The place of terror . History of the National Socialist Concentration Camps. Volume 5: Hinzert, Auschwitz, Neuengamme. CH Beck, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-406-52965-8 , p. 449 ff.
  • Bernhild Vögel: ... and in Braunschweig? Materials and tips for exploring the city 1930–1945 (= JURB materials. Vol. 2). 2nd updated edition. Published by the Braunschweig youth ring. JURB, Braunschweig 1996, ISBN 3-9801592-2-1 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Federal Ministry of Justice : Directory of the concentration camps and their external commands in accordance with Section 42 (2) BEG No. 167, Braunschweig, SS riding school
  2. ^ Karl Liedke: Braunschweig (SS riding school). 2007, p. 360 f.
  3. a b c Bernhild Vögel: … and in Braunschweig? Materials and tips for exploring the city 1930–1945. 2nd updated edition. 1996, p. 132 f.
  4. ^ A b Karl Liedke: Braunschweig (SS riding school). 2007, p. 361.
  5. Watenstedt / Leinde subcamp for men and women. ( Memento of September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) p. 3 ff. (PDF; 67 kB).
  6. Commemorative plaques for the SS riding school subcamp and camp Griegstrasse

Coordinates: 52 ° 14 ′ 36.3 "  N , 10 ° 32 ′ 11.1"  E