Old hammer concentration camp

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The concentration camp Althammer was one of many around the two main camp of the concentration camp Auschwitz erected outside or sub-camps . It was located in Stara Kuźnia near Halemba , about ten kilometers west of the Polish city of Katowice . Johann Mirbeth was the commandant of the camp.

The concentration camp was established by the SS in September 1944 . It should serve to provide cheap labor for the construction of a thermal power station . For this reason 486 Jewish prisoners were housed in the barracks of the camp. The majority came from the Lodz ghetto , but also prisoners from Hungary, France and Greece (Pol. Stara Kuźnia) to Althammer deported . German prisoners interned in the camp held a privileged position and were at a higher level in the prison hierarchy.

The treatment of the prisoners was extremely bad. They were mistreated and malnourished. Most of them were busy with construction and transport work. Their situation was made extremely difficult by the almost non-existent mechanization of work. In addition, the necessary protective clothing was missing. 30 percent of the prisoners became seriously ill. Typhus broke out in the camp. The murder of prisoners by guards went unpunished and even camp commandant Mirbeth tortured and killed prisoners himself.

On January 19, 1945, the camp was partially "evacuated". A death march towards Gleiwitz began for around 400 prisoners . The goal should be the Mittelbau concentration camp . Most of the prisoners who were too exhausted to begin the death march were shot. Many prisoners did not reach this concentration camp because the weakened people were shot by their guards on the way.

literature

  • Israel Gutman , Michael Berenbaum , Raul Hilberg (Eds.): Anatomy of the Auschwitz Death Camp: an overview. Indiana Univ. Print. Reprint 1998. 656 pages. ISBN 9780253208842 (Darin: Yisrael Gutman The system of prisoner exploitation / Franciszek Piper The satellite camps / Shmuel Krakowski The number of victims / Franciszek Piper Auschwitz and the "final solution" / Raul Hilberg A site in search of a mission and others).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Directory of the concentration camps and their external commandos in accordance with Section 42 (2) BEG No. 17, Althammer = Stara Kuznia (Kuznica), Pleß district, Auschwitz, from September 15, 1944.

Coordinates: 50 ° 18 ′ 3.6 ″  N , 18 ° 20 ′ 40.3 ″  E