Lager Borkum
Encyclopedia
Lager Borkum was a Nazi concentration camp
on Alderney
, in the Channel Islands
, named after the East Frisian Island
of Borkum
.
The Germans built four concentration camps
on the island, subcamps of the Neuengamme concentration camp (located in Hamburg
, Germany
). Each subcamp was named after one of the Frisian Islands
: Lager Norderney
located at Saye, Lager Borkum at Platte Saline, Lager Sylt
near the old telegraph tower at La Foulère and Lager Helgoland
, situated in the northwest corner of the island. Over 700 people died in the Alderney concentration camps
(out of a total inmate population of about 6,000). These were the only Nazi concentration camps on British
soil.
It was organised by the Schutzstaffel - SS-Baubrigade I
—which was first under supervision of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp
; and since mid-February 1943 ran under the Neuengamme camp in northern Germany
. It was used by the Nazi Organisation Todt
, a forced labour programme, to build bunker
s, gun emplacements, air-raid shelter
s, and concrete fortifications.
Lager Borkum was located near the centre of Alderney and was the smallest of the four camps. The Borkum and Helgoland camps were "volunteer" (Hilfswillige) labour camps and the labourers in those camps were treated harshly but marginally better than the inmates at the Sylt and Norderney camps. The prisoners in Lager Sylt and Lager Norderney were slave labourers forced to build the many military fortifications and installations throughout Alderney. Sylt camp held Jewish enforced labourers and was a death camp. Norderney camp housed Europe
an (usually Eastern but including Spaniard) and Russia
n enforced labourers. Lager Borkum was used for German technicians and volunteers from different countries of Europe
. Lager Helgoland was filled with Russia
n Organisation Todt
workers. (For further information on Alderney concentration camps
, see Appendix F: Concentration Camps: Endlösung – The Final Solution; Alderney, a Nazi concentration camp on an island Anglo-Norman; for further information on Nazi treatment of Jews and other people, see ).
, a court-martial case was prepared against ex-SS Hauptsturmführer Max List (the former commendant of Lagers Norderney
and Sylt
), citing atrocities on Alderney. However, he did not stand trial, and is believed to have lived near Hamburg
until his death in the 1980s.
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...
on Alderney
Alderney
Alderney is the most northerly of the Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown dependency. It is long and wide. The area is , making it the third-largest island of the Channel Islands, and the second largest in the Bailiwick...
, in the Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
, named after the East Frisian Island
East Frisian Islands
The East Frisian Islands are a chain of islands in the North Sea, off the coast of East Frisia in Lower Saxony, Germany. The islands extend for some from west to east between the mouths of the Ems and Jade / Weser rivers and lie about 3.5 to 10 km offshore...
of Borkum
Borkum
Borkum is an island and a municipality in the Leer District in Lower Saxony, northwestern Germany.-Geography:Borkum is bordered to the west by the Westerems strait , to the east by the Osterems strait, to the north by the North Sea, and to the south by the Wadden Sea...
.
The Germans built four concentration camps
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...
on the island, subcamps of the Neuengamme concentration camp (located in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
). Each subcamp was named after one of the Frisian Islands
Frisian Islands
The Frisian Islands, also known as the Wadden Islands or Wadden Sea Islands, form an archipelago at the eastern edge of the North Sea in northwestern Europe, stretching from the north-west of the Netherlands through Germany to the west of Denmark...
: Lager Norderney
Lager Norderney
Lager Norderney was a Nazi concentration camp on Alderney, in the Channel Islands, named after the East Frisian island of Norderney.The Germans built four concentration camps on the island, subcamps of the Neuengamme concentration camp...
located at Saye, Lager Borkum at Platte Saline, Lager Sylt
Lager Sylt
Lager Sylt was a Nazi concentration camp on Alderney in the British Crown Dependency, the Channel Islands, in operation between March 1943 and June 1944. The Germans built one concentration camp and three Labour camps on the island, subcamps of the Neuengamme concentration camp...
near the old telegraph tower at La Foulère and Lager Helgoland
Lager Helgoland
Lager Helgoland was a Nazi concentration camp on Alderney in the Channel Islands, named after the Frisian Island of Heligoland , formerly a Danish and then British possession located off the German North Sea coastline and belonging to Germany since 1890.The Germans built four concentration camps...
, situated in the northwest corner of the island. Over 700 people died in the Alderney concentration camps
Alderney concentration camps
The Alderney concentration camps were prison camps built and operated by Nazi Germany during its World War II occupation of the Channel Islands. The Channel Islands were the only British Commonwealth soil to be occupied by the Nazis....
(out of a total inmate population of about 6,000). These were the only Nazi concentration camps on British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
soil.
It was organised by the Schutzstaffel - SS-Baubrigade I
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...
—which was first under supervision of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp
Sachsenhausen concentration camp
Sachsenhausen or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May, 1945. After World War II, when Oranienburg was in the Soviet Occupation Zone, the structure was used as an NKVD...
; and since mid-February 1943 ran under the Neuengamme camp in northern 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...
. It was used by the Nazi Organisation Todt
Organisation Todt
The Todt Organisation, was a Third Reich civil and military engineering group in Germany named after its founder, Fritz Todt, an engineer and senior Nazi figure...
, a forced labour programme, to build bunker
Bunker
A military bunker is a hardened shelter, often buried partly or fully underground, designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks...
s, gun emplacements, air-raid shelter
Air-raid shelter
Air-raid shelters, also known as bomb shelters, are structures for the protection of the civil population as well as military personnel against enemy attacks from the air...
s, and concrete fortifications.
Lager Borkum was located near the centre of Alderney and was the smallest of the four camps. The Borkum and Helgoland camps were "volunteer" (Hilfswillige) labour camps and the labourers in those camps were treated harshly but marginally better than the inmates at the Sylt and Norderney camps. The prisoners in Lager Sylt and Lager Norderney were slave labourers forced to build the many military fortifications and installations throughout Alderney. Sylt camp held Jewish enforced labourers and was a death camp. Norderney camp housed Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an (usually Eastern but including Spaniard) and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n enforced labourers. Lager Borkum was used for German technicians and volunteers from different countries of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Lager Helgoland was filled with Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Organisation Todt
Organisation Todt
The Todt Organisation, was a Third Reich civil and military engineering group in Germany named after its founder, Fritz Todt, an engineer and senior Nazi figure...
workers. (For further information on Alderney concentration camps
Alderney concentration camps
The Alderney concentration camps were prison camps built and operated by Nazi Germany during its World War II occupation of the Channel Islands. The Channel Islands were the only British Commonwealth soil to be occupied by the Nazis....
, see Appendix F: Concentration Camps: Endlösung – The Final Solution; Alderney, a Nazi concentration camp on an island Anglo-Norman; for further information on Nazi treatment of Jews and other people, see ).
War crime trials
After World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, a court-martial case was prepared against ex-SS Hauptsturmführer Max List (the former commendant of Lagers Norderney
Lager Norderney
Lager Norderney was a Nazi concentration camp on Alderney, in the Channel Islands, named after the East Frisian island of Norderney.The Germans built four concentration camps on the island, subcamps of the Neuengamme concentration camp...
and Sylt
Lager Sylt
Lager Sylt was a Nazi concentration camp on Alderney in the British Crown Dependency, the Channel Islands, in operation between March 1943 and June 1944. The Germans built one concentration camp and three Labour camps on the island, subcamps of the Neuengamme concentration camp...
), citing atrocities on Alderney. However, he did not stand trial, and is believed to have lived near Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
until his death in the 1980s.
See also
- Nazi concentration camp list
- Neuengamme concentration camp subcamp list
- The HolocaustThe HolocaustThe Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
External links
- The Edward F. Lyons, Jr. papers, ca. 1917-1959 are located in the Northeastern University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections Department, Boston, MA.