Niederhagen concentration camp
Encyclopedia
The Niederhagen concentration camp was a German concentration camp on the outskirts of Büren
-Wewelsburg
which existed from September 1941.
, existed on the site. The inmates were used as slave laborers for the development of Wewelsburg Castle
, which - according to Himmler's plans - was to be the "center of the world" after the "Final Victory". The first 100 prisoners came from the Sachsenhausen concentration camp
. At first the inmates were housed in a tent at the foot of the hill on which the castle stands, later in huts on the hill opposite Wewelsburg castle(the Kuhkampsberg).
A move to a newly-built camp in the Niederhagen suburb of Wewelsburg followed. In September 1941, when the camp became an independent concentration camp under the name Niederhagen concentration camp, 480 prisoners were interned there. From 1941, more and more prisoners from outside Germany were imprisoned in the camp. The approximately 3,900 prisoners included Jehovah's Witnesses
, political prisoner
s, Sinti
and Romani people, Yeniche, homosexuals
, Jews
, prisoners of war
and forced laborers from Poland
, the Soviet Union
(also prisoners of war), Czechoslovakia
, France
, the Netherlands
and Belgium
. Almost a third of them did not survive their imprisonment. The deaths of 1,285 prisoners are recorded. They died of hunger, cold, disease and the consequences of ill-treatment. In 1942, a crematorium was built specifically for the camp. The Gestapo
also used the camp as a place for executions. A total of 56 people,from Westphalia-Lippe, including women and children, were executed there on the orders of Heinrich Himmler
. In the period from 1 September 1941 to 1 May 1943, the camp was an independent concentration camp. Before, it had been a satellite camp first of the Sachsenhausen and then of the Buchenwald concentration camp
. From 1943, only 50 people were imprisoned at Niederhagen, and on 2 April 1945, the prisoners were liberated by the American army. Very little is left of the camp. Today, the former camp kitchen houses the local fire station of the volunteer fire department and some apartments, the gatehouse is now a two-family house, while a residential estate was built over the rest of the former camp.
Büren
There are several municipalities and communities that have the name Büren.Pronunciation: . It originates from the word buri meaning house and settlement in Old High German.-In Germany:*Büren, Westphalia, a town near Paderborn, North Rhine-Westphalia...
-Wewelsburg
Wewelsburg (village)
For the Castle of Wewelsburg see WewelsburgThe German town Wewelsburg is part of the city Büren in the district of Paderborn since the local government reform of the year 1975. The village is placed above the brook Alme and surrounds the castle "Wewelsburg" from north, east and south.-External...
which existed from September 1941.
The camp
From May 1939, a small camp, the Wewelsburg satellite camp of Sachsenhausen concentration campSachsenhausen 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...
, existed on the site. The inmates were used as slave laborers for the development of Wewelsburg Castle
Wewelsburg
For the village of Wewelsburg see Village of WewelsburgWewelsburg is a Renaissance castle located in the northeast of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, in the village of Wewelsburg which is a quarter of the city Büren, Westphalia, in district of Paderborn in the Alme Valley. The castle has the...
, which - according to Himmler's plans - was to be the "center of the world" after the "Final Victory". The first 100 prisoners came from 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...
. At first the inmates were housed in a tent at the foot of the hill on which the castle stands, later in huts on the hill opposite Wewelsburg castle(the Kuhkampsberg).
A move to a newly-built camp in the Niederhagen suburb of Wewelsburg followed. In September 1941, when the camp became an independent concentration camp under the name Niederhagen concentration camp, 480 prisoners were interned there. From 1941, more and more prisoners from outside Germany were imprisoned in the camp. The approximately 3,900 prisoners included Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
, political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
s, Sinti
Sinti
Sinti or Sinta or Sinte is the name of a Romani or Gypsy population in Europe. Traditionally nomadic, today only a small percentage of the group remains unsettled...
and Romani people, Yeniche, homosexuals
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
, Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
, prisoners of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
and forced laborers from Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
(also prisoners of war), Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. Almost a third of them did not survive their imprisonment. The deaths of 1,285 prisoners are recorded. They died of hunger, cold, disease and the consequences of ill-treatment. In 1942, a crematorium was built specifically for the camp. 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...
also used the camp as a place for executions. A total of 56 people,from Westphalia-Lippe, including women and children, were executed there on the orders of Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
. In the period from 1 September 1941 to 1 May 1943, the camp was an independent concentration camp. Before, it had been a satellite camp first of the Sachsenhausen and then 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,...
. From 1943, only 50 people were imprisoned at Niederhagen, and on 2 April 1945, the prisoners were liberated by the American army. Very little is left of the camp. Today, the former camp kitchen houses the local fire station of the volunteer fire department and some apartments, the gatehouse is now a two-family house, while a residential estate was built over the rest of the former camp.
Camp commanders
During the period as a labor camp the following SS-officers served as Lagerführer:- Wolfgang Paul
- SS Hauptsturmführer Adolf Haas, July 1941 - September 1941
- SS Hauptsturmführer Adolf Haas served as commandant of the independent Niederhagen concentration camp from September 1941 until 1943, when the camp was disbanded and he was transferred to Bergen-Belsen.
Literature
- Karl Hüser, Wulff E. Brebeck: Wewelsburg 1933-1945. Das Konzentrationslager. Revision: Kirsten John-Stucke. 4th edition. Münster: Westfälisches Landesmedienzentrum 2002. (= Reihe: Dokumente der Zeitgeschichte, Heft 5).
- Andreas Pflock, Gerrit Visser (1894-1942) - Von Hengelo nach Wewelsburg - Van Hengelo naar Wewelsburg, Lebensstationen und Briefe des niederländischen Gewerkschafters aus nationalsozialistischer Gefangenschaft - Levensloop en brieven van de Nederlandse vakbondsman uit het nationaal-socialistische gevangenschap. Niederländisch-Deutsch (2005). 279 Seiten, 67 Photos, fester Einband. ISBN 3-932610-35-0