Hinzert concentration camp
Encyclopedia
Hinzert was a Nazi concentration camp located in Rhineland-Palatinate
, Germany
, 30 km from the Luxembourg
border.
Between 1939 and 1945, 13,600 political prisoners between the ages of 13 and 80 were imprisoned at Hinzert. Many were in transit towards larger concentration camps where most would be killed. However, a significant number of prisoners were executed at Hinzert. The camp was administered, run, and guarded mainly by the SS
, who, according to Hinzert survivors, were notorious for their brutality and viciousness.
, and overlooking the Hunsrück
mountain range, the Hinzert concentration camp was named after the nearest village, now called Hinzert-Pölert
. At an altitude
of 550m, the plateau is exposed to much humidity, wind, strong precipitation, fog and glacial temperatures in winter. The camp was surrounded by a coniferous forest that provided lumber
for the camp's construction and maintenance.
An access road that first bordered the prisoners' cemetery led to a first area guarded by the SS. This area contained seven huts, a guard post, the camp's Kommandantur or command post, a garage, workshops, the officers' mess
and two SS housing huts. This area was decorated with floral and garden arrangements. Prisoners were kept in another area measuring approximately 200m by 200m, bordered by a 3m high barbed wire fence with watchtowers. The prisoners' area also contained de camp commander's quarters, the clothing workshop, the carpenter's area, the quarantine
area, the morgue
, a disinfection area and the "cloakroom" where the prisoners' belongings were kept.
Prisoners were housed in four huts, each hut containing two rooms that in turn contained 26 bunk beds for a total theoretical capacity of 208 prisoners. Later, straw mattresses were added to increase the total capacity to 560. Certain rooms were reserved for a particular category of prisoner, such as the Night and Fog
prisoners.
Three other buildings in the camp contained the local Gestapo
offices, the adminsitrative offices and the kitchen.
The different areas were located around one central roll call
area, the size of which was later reduced as the SS created a neighbouring vegetable garden. A mast stood in the centre of the roll call area bearing loudspeakers through which orders were delivered. Prisoners sometimes had to stand still for hours facing the mast as punishment. The roll call area was also used as a drill and exercise area, where prisoners had to jump and down at 4.30 am to the sound of a drum.
. However, it burnt down on August 16, 1939, and rebuilt in October 1939 as a police detention and re-education camp, or Polizeihaft- und Erziehungslager des Reichsarbeitsdienst
es (RAD), for prisoners condemned to light sentences (under 14 days) and for those workers that had demonstrated what the Nazi regime would call antisocial behavior. These workers, many of whom had been brought in by the Bremen
Gestapo
worked not only on the West Wall, but also on other military infrastructure projects such as air bases in Mannheim
and in Mainz
.
On July 1, 1940, the camp was placed under the jurisdiction of the Inspector of Concentration Camps. After the invasion of the Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and France in 1940, Hinzert also became a prison camp for political prisoners from those countries who needed to be "re-germanised
" or who were placed under "Schutzhaft
". On February 7, 1942, command over the camp was transferred to the SS Central Office for Economics and Administration (WVHA
). It also then became a camp for the Gestapo
of the Luxembourg and Trier area. Until the first Night and Fog prisoners arrived, the camp operated following the organisational structure of other camps, and namely contained a Kommandantur, a Politische Abteilung
or political section, a "detention and security" camp, a medical unit and the guard units. Following the arrival of Night and Fog prisoners, the political section and "detention and security" camp were closed down.
Hinzert remained mainly autonomous until November 21, 1944, when it was administratively linked to the Buchenwald concentration camp
. The camp was partially destroyed by an air raid on February 22, 1945, but remained in operation until March 3 of the same year when many of the surviving prisoners were sent on a death march
to upper Hessen, others having been transferred to the Buchenwald concentration camp
.
Hermann Pister
assumed command over the camp, a position he held until December 1941 when he took over the command of the Buchenwald concentration camp
, and was replaced by SS Hauptsturmführer
Egon Zill
. Zill, who had previously served in the Dachau, Buchenwald
and Ravensbrück
concentration camps, was transferred to the Natzweiler concentration camp
in Alsace
in April 1942 as the camp's Deputy Commandant. He was replaced by the third and last commander of Hinzert, SS Hauptsturmführer Paul Sporrenberg.
where they would eventually "disappear".
Many Hinzert prisoners were also used as slave labourers in the surrounding region. 23 Kommando
s were attached to Hinzert: Farschweiler
, Finthen, Fluwig, Gelnhausen
, Gusterath
, Hermeskeil
, Konz
, Langendiebach, Mainz
, Mariahute 1 and 2, Neubrucke, Hoppstaden, Nahe
, Nonnweiler
, Pollert, Primstal
, Rheinsfeld 1 and 2, Wachtersbach
and Waechtersbach. These Kommandos performed mainly maintenance work in air bases as well as marsh drainage and forestry work.
Other internal Kommandos existed within camp grounds:
Because of the secrecy concerning their condition, many Night and Fog prisoners were attached to these internal Kommandos.
The camp had initially been built to house 560 prisoners but housed an average of 800 prisoners. This number reached 1600 at times.
Prisoners of the Hinzert concentration camp were kept under very harsh conditions; beatings were delivered on a regular basis and torture and execution sessions took place in public in order to establish a climate of constant terror and fear.
Although the majority of the Hinzert prisoners were transferred to other camps or were kept imprisoned until their liberation, an important number of prisoners were tortured and murdered at Hinzert. Despite being "only" a transit camp, 321 prisoners were killed at Hinzert. The victimes were often shot, drowned or were killed by lethal injection. Furthermore, according to trial records, SS guards also tortured prisoners, left them to die of sickness or hunger, or fed them to dogs.
Murder of Soviet POWs:
In 1941, two trucks transported 70 Soviet POWs to Hinzert. The prisoners were told that they would undergo a medical examination, but were injected with potassium cyanide
, a deadly poison, and died shortly thereafter. They were buried in the neighboring forest.
Murder of Luxembourg strikers:
Following the Luxembourgian general strike of 1942 directed against the German occupier and a new directive that enrolled the Luxembourg youth into the Wehrmacht
, 20 strikers were arrested by the Gestapo
, sentenced to death and shot between September 2 and 5, 1942. They were also buried nearby.
Murder of Luxembourg resistants:
In the subsequent years, over 350 Luxembourg resistance fighters were arrested by the Gestapo; 50 resistants were sentenced to death. Of these 50 sentences, 25 were carried out. However, of the remaining 25, 23 were subsequently executed as a response to acts of resistance in Luxembourg.
The exact number of victims murdered at Hinzert remains unknown. Between 1600 and 1800 Luxembourgers had been sent to Hinzert. The Luxembourg Conseil National de la Resistance has confirmed 321 deaths, including 82 Luxembourgers, but not all remains of murdered victims have been found. In 1946, following the liberation of the camp by the Allies
, the remains of many of the aforementioned victims were found and transferred to their respective homelands with full national honors. Those not repatriated were buried on site in a memorial cemetery.
The bodies of the Luxembourgian victims were transferred back to Luxembourg on March 9–10, 1946. All along the way, citizens lined the roads, some wearing the striped uniform of camp prisoners, to pay tribute. The bodies were first laid temporarily at the Place d'Armes, in the center of the city of Luxembourg
, where dignitaries paid their respects, and were then buried in the Notre-Dame cemetery
.
The French Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Déportation
also estimates that approximately 1500 Night and Fog prisoners were sent to Hinzert; 390 survived and returned to France and at least 804 died.
ish sculptor Lucien Wercollier
honors the prisoners and those murdered at the camp.
On December 10, 2005, a memorial and documentation center was opened on the site of the former concentration camp. Designed by the architect firm Wandel Hoefer Lorch & Hirsch, the steel modern building houses a permanent exhibition of camp artefacts, photos and explanation notes.
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
, 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...
, 30 km from the Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
border.
Between 1939 and 1945, 13,600 political prisoners between the ages of 13 and 80 were imprisoned at Hinzert. Many were in transit towards larger concentration camps where most would be killed. However, a significant number of prisoners were executed at Hinzert. The camp was administered, run, and guarded mainly by the SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
, who, according to Hinzert survivors, were notorious for their brutality and viciousness.
Location and description of the camp
Located on the Hochwald plateauPlateau
In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...
, and overlooking the Hunsrück
Hunsrück
The Hunsrück is a low mountain range in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the river valleys of the Moselle , the Nahe , and the Rhine . The Hunsrück is continued by the Taunus mountains on the eastern side of the Rhine. In the north behind the Moselle it is continued by the Eifel...
mountain range, the Hinzert concentration camp was named after the nearest village, now called Hinzert-Pölert
Hinzert-Pölert
Hinzert-Pölert is a municipality in the Trier-Saarburg district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany....
. At an altitude
Altitude
Altitude or height is defined based on the context in which it is used . As a general definition, altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The reference datum also often varies according to the context...
of 550m, the plateau is exposed to much humidity, wind, strong precipitation, fog and glacial temperatures in winter. The camp was surrounded by a coniferous forest that provided lumber
Lumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
for the camp's construction and maintenance.
An access road that first bordered the prisoners' cemetery led to a first area guarded by the SS. This area contained seven huts, a guard post, the camp's Kommandantur or command post, a garage, workshops, the officers' mess
Mess
A mess is the place where military personnel socialise, eat, and live. In some societies this military usage has extended to other disciplined services eateries such as civilian fire fighting and police forces. The root of mess is the Old French mes, "portion of food" A mess (also called a...
and two SS housing huts. This area was decorated with floral and garden arrangements. Prisoners were kept in another area measuring approximately 200m by 200m, bordered by a 3m high barbed wire fence with watchtowers. The prisoners' area also contained de camp commander's quarters, the clothing workshop, the carpenter's area, the quarantine
Quarantine
Quarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....
area, the morgue
Morgue
A morgue or mortuary is used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification, or removal for autopsy or disposal by burial, cremation or otherwise...
, a disinfection area and the "cloakroom" where the prisoners' belongings were kept.
Prisoners were housed in four huts, each hut containing two rooms that in turn contained 26 bunk beds for a total theoretical capacity of 208 prisoners. Later, straw mattresses were added to increase the total capacity to 560. Certain rooms were reserved for a particular category of prisoner, such as the Night and Fog
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...
prisoners.
Three other buildings in the camp contained the local Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
offices, the adminsitrative offices and the kitchen.
The different areas were located around one central roll call
Roll call
Roll call is the calling of the names of people from a list to determine the presence or absence of the listed people . The term applies to the calling itself, to the time moment of this procedure, and to a military signal that announces it Roll call is the calling of the names of people from a...
area, the size of which was later reduced as the SS created a neighbouring vegetable garden. A mast stood in the centre of the roll call area bearing loudspeakers through which orders were delivered. Prisoners sometimes had to stand still for hours facing the mast as punishment. The roll call area was also used as a drill and exercise area, where prisoners had to jump and down at 4.30 am to the sound of a drum.
History of the camp
The Hinzert concentration camp was first established in 1938 to house workers who were building the West WallSiegfried Line
The original Siegfried line was a line of defensive forts and tank defences built by Germany as a section of the Hindenburg Line 1916–1917 in northern France during World War I...
. However, it burnt down on August 16, 1939, and rebuilt in October 1939 as a police detention and re-education camp, or Polizeihaft- und Erziehungslager des Reichsarbeitsdienst
Reichsarbeitsdienst
The Reichsarbeitsdienst was an institution established by Nazi Germany as an agency to reduce unemployment, similar to the relief programs in other countries. During the Second World War it was an auxiliary formation which provided support for the Wehrmacht.The RAD was formed during July 1934 as...
es (RAD), for prisoners condemned to light sentences (under 14 days) and for those workers that had demonstrated what the Nazi regime would call antisocial behavior. These workers, many of whom had been brought in by the Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
worked not only on the West Wall, but also on other military infrastructure projects such as air bases in Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
and in Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
.
On July 1, 1940, the camp was placed under the jurisdiction of the Inspector of Concentration Camps. After the invasion of the Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and France in 1940, Hinzert also became a prison camp for political prisoners from those countries who needed to be "re-germanised
Germanisation
Germanisation is both the spread of the German language, people and culture either by force or assimilation, and the adaptation of a foreign word to the German language in linguistics, much like the Romanisation of many languages which do not use the Latin alphabet...
" or who were placed under "Schutzhaft
Protective custody
Protective custody is a type of imprisonment to protect a prisoner from harm, either from outside sources or other prisoners. Many administrators believe the level of violence, or the underlying threat of violence within prisoners, is a chief factor causing the need for PC units...
". On February 7, 1942, command over the camp was transferred to the SS Central Office for Economics and Administration (WVHA
SS-Wirtschafts-Verwaltungshauptamt
The SS-Wirtschafts-Verwaltungshauptamt was responsible for managing the finances, supply systems and business projects for the Allgemeine-SS...
). It also then became a camp for the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
of the Luxembourg and Trier area. Until the first Night and Fog prisoners arrived, the camp operated following the organisational structure of other camps, and namely contained a Kommandantur, a Politische Abteilung
Politische Abteilung
The Politische Abteilung , also called the "concentration camp Gestapo", was one of the five departments of a Nazi concentration camp set up by the Concentration Camps Inspectorate to operate the camps...
or political section, a "detention and security" camp, a medical unit and the guard units. Following the arrival of Night and Fog prisoners, the political section and "detention and security" camp were closed down.
Hinzert remained mainly autonomous until November 21, 1944, when it was administratively linked to the Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp was a German Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937, one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps on German soil.Camp prisoners from all over Europe and Russia—Jews, non-Jewish Poles and Slovenes,...
. The camp was partially destroyed by an air raid on February 22, 1945, but remained in operation until March 3 of the same year when many of the surviving prisoners were sent on a death march
Death march
A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war or other captives or deportees. Those marching must walk over long distances for an extremely long period of time and are not supplied with food or water...
to upper Hessen, others having been transferred to the Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp was a German Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937, one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps on German soil.Camp prisoners from all over Europe and Russia—Jews, non-Jewish Poles and Slovenes,...
.
Camp commanders
On October 9, 1939, SS StandartenführerStandartenführer
Standartenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in the so-called Nazi combat-organisations: SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK...
Hermann Pister
Hermann Pister
Hermann Pister was an SS Oberführer and commandant of Buchenwald concentration camp from 21 January 1942 until April 1945....
assumed command over the camp, a position he held until December 1941 when he took over the command of the Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp was a German Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937, one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps on German soil.Camp prisoners from all over Europe and Russia—Jews, non-Jewish Poles and Slovenes,...
, and was replaced by SS Hauptsturmführer
Hauptsturmführer
Hauptsturmführer was a Nazi rank of the SS which was used between the years of 1934 and 1945. The rank of Hauptsturmführer was a mid-grade company level officer and was the equivalent of a Captain in the German Army and also the equivalent of captain in foreign armies...
Egon Zill
Egon Zill
Egon Zill was a German Schutzstaffel Sturmbannführer and concentration camp commandant....
. Zill, who had previously served in the Dachau, Buchenwald
Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp was a German Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937, one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps on German soil.Camp prisoners from all over Europe and Russia—Jews, non-Jewish Poles and Slovenes,...
and Ravensbrück
Ravensbrück concentration camp
Ravensbrück was a notorious women's concentration camp during World War II, located in northern Germany, 90 km north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück ....
concentration camps, was transferred to the Natzweiler concentration camp
Natzweiler-Struthof
Natzweiler-Struthof was a German concentration camp located in the Vosges Mountains close to the Alsatian village of Natzwiller in France, and the town of Schirmeck, about 50 km south west from the city of Strasbourg....
in Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
in April 1942 as the camp's Deputy Commandant. He was replaced by the third and last commander of Hinzert, SS Hauptsturmführer Paul Sporrenberg.
Camp prisoners
Approximately 13,600 prisoners transited through Hinzert. The first prisoners were German workers who had worked on the Siegfried Line and had demonstrated "anti-social behavior". Shortly afterwards, the camp was used to host forced laborers from occupied countries. Beginning in 1941, large groups of prisoners were sent to Hinzert, mainly political prisoners from Luxembourg and France. Other prisoners, mainly forced laborers and POWs, were sent from Poland and the Soviet Union. Starting on December 7, 1941, when the Night and Fog directive was signed, NN prisoners transited through Hinzert on the way to larger concentration camps, such as Natzweiler, Dachau or BuchenwaldBuchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp was a German Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937, one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps on German soil.Camp prisoners from all over Europe and Russia—Jews, non-Jewish Poles and Slovenes,...
where they would eventually "disappear".
Many Hinzert prisoners were also used as slave labourers in the surrounding region. 23 Kommando
Kommando
Kommando is a generic German word meaning unit or command. During World War II it was also the basic unit of organisation of slave labourers in German concentration camps....
s were attached to Hinzert: Farschweiler
Farschweiler
Farschweiler is a municipality in the Trier-Saarburg district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany....
, Finthen, Fluwig, Gelnhausen
Gelnhausen
Gelnhausen is a town and the capital of the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located approx. 40 kilometers east of Frankfurt am Main, between the Vogelsberg mountains and the Spessart range at the river Kinzig...
, Gusterath
Gusterath
Gusterath is a municipality in the Trier-Saarburg district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany....
, Hermeskeil
Hermeskeil
Hermeskeil is a town in the Trier-Saarburg district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated in the Hunsrück, approx. 25 km southeast of Trier...
, Konz
Konz
Konz is a town in the Trier-Saarburg district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated at the confluence of the rivers Saar and Moselle, approx. 8 km southwest of Trier....
, Langendiebach, Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
, Mariahute 1 and 2, Neubrucke, Hoppstaden, Nahe
Nahe
The Nahe River is a river in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, Germany, a left tributary to the Rhine. It has also given name to the wine region Nahe situated around it....
, Nonnweiler
Nonnweiler
Nonnweiler is a municipality in the district of Sankt Wendel, in Saarland, Germany.-Overview:It is situated approx. 20 km northwest of Sankt Wendel, and 30 km southeast of Trier....
, Pollert, Primstal
Primštal
Primštal is a small village in the Trebnje municipality in eastern Slovenia. It lies in the traditional region of Lower Carniola, just to the northeast of Trebnje itself. The municipality is included in the Southeast Slovenia statistical region....
, Rheinsfeld 1 and 2, Wachtersbach
Wächtersbach
-Location:Wächtersbach lies between the Spessart and the Vogelsberg Mountains in the middle Kinzig valley at the edge of the Büdingen Forest, not far from the towns of Gelnhausen, Birstein, Bad Orb and Bad Soden-Salmünster.-Neighbouring communities:...
and Waechtersbach. These Kommandos performed mainly maintenance work in air bases as well as marsh drainage and forestry work.
Other internal Kommandos existed within camp grounds:
- from May to June 1942, "Swimming pool" Kommando dug a fish farming basin which was used as a fire extinguisher reserve;
- in July 1942, "Stone" Kommando was created to excavate a neighbouring stone mine;
- "Forest" Kommando worked in the forests surrounding the camps cutting down lumber for the camp and creating a road (due to high risk of prisoners escaping, this Kommando was disbanded in 1943);
- "Cart" Kommando consisting of eighteen prisoners pulling a cart transported the unearthed roots and other material (the SS sometimes released the breaks of the cart when travelling downhill in order to kill or wound the prisoners);
- "Coal" Kommando transported every day the contents of a coal rail carriage from the neighbouring train station to the camp over a distance of 4 km. The four trips represented a total of 32 km (19.9 mi);
- "Wood" Kommando cleaned and chopped the unearthed roots in order to provide fuel for the camp
- "Romika" and "Black" Kommandos worked in the camp workshops and produced rubber items and armament equipment from 1942 onwards.
Because of the secrecy concerning their condition, many Night and Fog prisoners were attached to these internal Kommandos.
The camp had initially been built to house 560 prisoners but housed an average of 800 prisoners. This number reached 1600 at times.
Murders and war crimes
Although the majority of the Hinzert prisoners were transferred to other camps or were kept imprisoned until their liberation, an important number of prisoners were tortured and murdered at Hinzert. Despite being "only" a transit camp, 321 prisoners were killed at Hinzert. The victimes were often shot, drowned or were killed by lethal injection. Furthermore, according to trial records, SS guards also tortured prisoners, left them to die of sickness or hunger, or fed them to dogs.
Murder of Soviet POWs:
In 1941, two trucks transported 70 Soviet POWs to Hinzert. The prisoners were told that they would undergo a medical examination, but were injected with potassium cyanide
Potassium cyanide
Potassium cyanide is an inorganic compound with the formula KCN. This colorless crystalline compound, similar in appearance to sugar, is highly soluble in water. Most KCN is used in gold mining, organic synthesis, and electroplating. Smaller applications include jewelry for chemical gilding and...
, a deadly poison, and died shortly thereafter. They were buried in the neighboring forest.
Murder of Luxembourg strikers:
Following the Luxembourgian general strike of 1942 directed against the German occupier and a new directive that enrolled the Luxembourg youth into the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
, 20 strikers were arrested by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
, sentenced to death and shot between September 2 and 5, 1942. They were also buried nearby.
Murder of Luxembourg resistants:
In the subsequent years, over 350 Luxembourg resistance fighters were arrested by the Gestapo; 50 resistants were sentenced to death. Of these 50 sentences, 25 were carried out. However, of the remaining 25, 23 were subsequently executed as a response to acts of resistance in Luxembourg.
The exact number of victims murdered at Hinzert remains unknown. Between 1600 and 1800 Luxembourgers had been sent to Hinzert. The Luxembourg Conseil National de la Resistance has confirmed 321 deaths, including 82 Luxembourgers, but not all remains of murdered victims have been found. In 1946, following the liberation of the camp by the Allies
Allies
In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...
, the remains of many of the aforementioned victims were found and transferred to their respective homelands with full national honors. Those not repatriated were buried on site in a memorial cemetery.
The bodies of the Luxembourgian victims were transferred back to Luxembourg on March 9–10, 1946. All along the way, citizens lined the roads, some wearing the striped uniform of camp prisoners, to pay tribute. The bodies were first laid temporarily at the Place d'Armes, in the center of the city of Luxembourg
Luxembourg (city)
The city of Luxembourg , also known as Luxembourg City , is a commune with city status, and the capital of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is located at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse Rivers in southern Luxembourg...
, where dignitaries paid their respects, and were then buried in the Notre-Dame cemetery
Notre-Dame Cathedral, Luxembourg
Notre-Dame Cathedral is the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. It was originally a Jesuit church, and its cornerstone was laid in 1613....
.
The French Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Déportation
La Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Déportation
The Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Déportation was founded on 17 October 1990 on the initiative of former French prime minister Michel Rocard and the former minister of the Interior...
also estimates that approximately 1500 Night and Fog prisoners were sent to Hinzert; 390 survived and returned to France and at least 804 died.
Memorial
A bronze monument by the LuxembourgLuxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
ish sculptor Lucien Wercollier
Lucien Wercollier
Lucien Wercollier was a sculptor from Luxembourg.While he worked primarily in bronze and marble, some of his work is sculpted in wood, alabaster, stone and onyx. His public monuments in bronze and marble are of particular importance...
honors the prisoners and those murdered at the camp.
On December 10, 2005, a memorial and documentation center was opened on the site of the former concentration camp. Designed by the architect firm Wandel Hoefer Lorch & Hirsch, the steel modern building houses a permanent exhibition of camp artefacts, photos and explanation notes.
See also
- List of Nazi-German concentration camps
- German occupation of Luxembourg in World War IIGerman occupation of Luxembourg in World War IIThe German occupation of Luxembourg in World War II was the period in the history of Luxembourg after it was used as a transit territory to attack France by outflanking the Maginot Line. Plans for the attack had been prepared by 9 October 1939, but execution was postponed several times...
Additional References
- Vienne-Résistance-Internement-Déportation (VRID) http://www.vrid-memorial.com/recherche.php3?recherche=hinzert&x=18&y=11