Esterwegen
Encyclopedia
Esterwegen is a municipality in the Emsland
district, in Lower Saxony
, Germany
.
In 1933 a concentration camp
was established in Esterwegen. In 1936 the camp was dissolved and used till 1945 as a prisoner camp, for political prisoners and later for prisoners of the decree Nacht und Nebel
.
Emsland
Landkreis Emsland is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany named after the river Ems. It is bounded by the districts of Leer, Cloppenburg and Osnabrück, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia , the district of Bentheim and the Netherlands .- History :For a long time the region of the Emsland was...
district, in Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
In 1933 a concentration camp
Nazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
was established in Esterwegen. In 1936 the camp was dissolved and used till 1945 as a prisoner camp, for political prisoners and later for prisoners of the decree Nacht und Nebel
Nacht und Nebel
Nacht und Nebel was a directive of Adolf Hitler on 7 December 1941 signed and implemented by Armed Forces High Command Chief Wilhelm Keitel, resulting in the kidnapping and forced disappearance of many political activists and resistance 'helpers' throughout Nazi Germany's occupied...
.
Well known inmates
- Julius LeberJulius LeberJulius Leber was a German politician of the SPD and a member of the German Resistance against the Nazi régime.-Early life:...
, politician - Carl von OssietzkyCarl von OssietzkyCarl von Ossietzky was a German pacifist and the recipient of the 1935 Nobel Peace Prize. He was convicted of high treason and espionage in 1931 after publishing details of Germany's alleged violation of the Treaty of Versailles by rebuilding an air force, the predecessor of the Luftwaffe, and...
, journalist and Nobel Peace PrizeNobel Peace PrizeThe Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
Laureate - Georg DiederichsGeorg DiederichsGeorg Diederichs was a German politician, a member of the SPD, who served as Prime Minister of Lower Saxony.He was born at Northeim and died in Hanover....
, later Minister-PresidentMinister-PresidentA minister-president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments, in which a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government prevails, who presides over the council of ministers...
of Lower SaxonyLower SaxonyLower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
External links
- memorial of Camp Esterwegen and the other 14 Emsland camps (in German, English, Dutch, French)
- :de:KZ Esterwegen
- homepage of the memorial (in German)
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum - Concentration Camps, 1933-1939