Bunker Tragedy
Encyclopedia
The incident known as the Bunker Tragedy or the Bunker Drama was an atrocity committed by the staff at the Herzogenbusch
concentration camp (also known as Kamp Vught) in the Netherlands
, on January 1944 during World War II
.
, as a punishment, threw as many women as possible into one cell. Eventually, 74 women were pressed together in cell 115, which had a surface of 9m2 and hardly any ventilation. After 14 hours on a Sunday morning, the cell door opens. Ten women did not survive the night.
Soon this dramatic event was known outside the camp and written about in all the resistance
newspapers. The occupying power was not pleased with the fact that the news had leaked. The commander was degraded down to the rank of soldier and was sent to the Russia
n front. There, he was killed.
Tineke Wibaut, one of the bunker victims, wrote:
'When the lights went off, a great panic rose among the women. It was a strange swelling sound, which sometimes would diminish, but soon swell up again. It was caused by praying, screaming and yelling women. Some tried to yell over it to calm the women down, so they could save oxygen. Sometimes it would help a bit, but then it would start again. It would not stop, it continued the whole night. It diminished, though, because the heat was suffocating.'
This event is being remembered annually in closed circle.
Herzogenbusch
Herzogenbusch concentration camp was a Nazi concentration camp located in Vught near the city of 's-Hertogenbosch, in the Netherlands. Herzogenbusch was the only concentration camp run directly by the SS in western Europe outside of Germany. The camp was first used in 1943 and held 31,000 prisoners...
concentration camp (also known as Kamp Vught) in 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...
, on January 1944 during World War II
World 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...
.
Events
When one woman from barrack 23B was locked up in the camp prison (the 'bunker'), other women protested against it. Commander GrünewaldAdam Grünewald
Adam Grünewald was a German Schutzstaffel officer and Nazi concentration camp commandant....
, as a punishment, threw as many women as possible into one cell. Eventually, 74 women were pressed together in cell 115, which had a surface of 9m2 and hardly any ventilation. After 14 hours on a Sunday morning, the cell door opens. Ten women did not survive the night.
Soon this dramatic event was known outside the camp and written about in all the resistance
Resistance during World War II
Resistance movements during World War II occurred in every occupied country by a variety of means, ranging from non-cooperation, disinformation and propaganda to hiding crashed pilots and even to outright warfare and the recapturing of towns...
newspapers. The occupying power was not pleased with the fact that the news had leaked. The commander was degraded down to the rank of soldier and was sent to the 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 front. There, he was killed.
Tineke Wibaut, one of the bunker victims, wrote:
'When the lights went off, a great panic rose among the women. It was a strange swelling sound, which sometimes would diminish, but soon swell up again. It was caused by praying, screaming and yelling women. Some tried to yell over it to calm the women down, so they could save oxygen. Sometimes it would help a bit, but then it would start again. It would not stop, it continued the whole night. It diminished, though, because the heat was suffocating.'
This event is being remembered annually in closed circle.