Lenzing
Encyclopedia
Lenzing is a small town of approximately 5000 residents, three kilometers north of Lake Attersee
in Austria, It is located in the Upper Austria
n part of the Salzkammergut
.
Lenzing's economy is partly based on tourism
, but the town is much more known as an industrial site; it is the world headquarters of Lenzing AG
, which is the world leader in the production of cellulose
-based fiber such as viscose
and Lyocell
. , it manufactures one-fifth of the world's cellulose fiber.
In November 1944, the first transport of 500 women from Auschwitz came to Lenzing to work in the newly opened local subcamp of Mauthausen concentration camp. Eventually 600 female prisoners, mainly Jewish women came to Lenzing from Auschwitz, and a few others came from Ravensbrück
and the main camp at Mauthausen. The SS staff in the small subcamp included mainly SS men as well as a small contingent of SS women. Frau Schmidt served in her capacities as Lagerführerin, or female commandant. Her main boss was Mauthausen commandant Franz Ziereis who commanded all of the subcamps in Austria. Later Margarete Freinberger became an Oberaufseherin in the camp under Schmidt. Only one other female overseer is known today, Maria Kunik. Attitudes by the former guards was reported as arrogant and brutal, but not as horrible as in Mauthausen proper. The prisoners in the Lenzing camp worked for the Lenzing AG company making artificial wool. Many women in fact died from the work, and others perished in the Mauthausen gas chambers when they could no longer work. In the winter of January 1945, a group of prisoners were severely injured when a train carrying supplies to the camp derailed. The SS sent them, along with any other prisoners who could no longer work to Mauthausen where they were gassed. The women "cried and wailed all the way to the main camp." In May 1945 the American Army neared the Lenzing camp. The SS staff fled after Lagerführerin Schmidt gave a speech to the surviving women as to not "dishonor them." In early May 1945 the US Army liberated 566 women from the small Lenzing subcamp.
Attersee (lake)
Attersee is the largest lake of the Salzkammergut area of Austria. It extends for about 20 km from north to south and 4 km from east to west. Its water comes from the Seeache, which flows out of another lake, the Mondsee...
in Austria, It is located in the Upper Austria
Upper Austria
Upper Austria is one of the nine states or Bundesländer of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders on Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as on the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg...
n part of the Salzkammergut
Salzkammergut
The Salzkammergut is a resort area located in Austria. It stretches from City of Salzburg to the Dachstein mountain range, spanning the federal states of Upper Austria , Salzburg , and Styria . The main river of the region is the Traun, a tributary of the Danube...
.
Lenzing's economy is partly based on tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
, but the town is much more known as an industrial site; it is the world headquarters of Lenzing AG
Lenzing AG
Lenzing AG is a company based in Lenzing, Austria whose main business is textile and nonwovens cellulose fibers and also makes some polymer plastics...
, which is the world leader in the production of cellulose
Cellulose
Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to over ten thousand β linked D-glucose units....
-based fiber such as viscose
Viscose
Viscose is a viscous organic liquid used to make rayon and cellophane. Viscose is becoming synonymous with rayon, a soft material commonly used in shirts, shorts, coats, jackets, and other outer wear.-Manufacture:...
and Lyocell
Lyocell
Lyocell is a regenerated cellulose fiber made from dissolving pulp . It was first manufactured in 1987 by Courtaulds Fibres UK at their pilot plant S25...
. , it manufactures one-fifth of the world's cellulose fiber.
In November 1944, the first transport of 500 women from Auschwitz came to Lenzing to work in the newly opened local subcamp of Mauthausen concentration camp. Eventually 600 female prisoners, mainly Jewish women came to Lenzing from Auschwitz, and a few others came from 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 ....
and the main camp at Mauthausen. The SS staff in the small subcamp included mainly SS men as well as a small contingent of SS women. Frau Schmidt served in her capacities as Lagerführerin, or female commandant. Her main boss was Mauthausen commandant Franz Ziereis who commanded all of the subcamps in Austria. Later Margarete Freinberger became an Oberaufseherin in the camp under Schmidt. Only one other female overseer is known today, Maria Kunik. Attitudes by the former guards was reported as arrogant and brutal, but not as horrible as in Mauthausen proper. The prisoners in the Lenzing camp worked for the Lenzing AG company making artificial wool. Many women in fact died from the work, and others perished in the Mauthausen gas chambers when they could no longer work. In the winter of January 1945, a group of prisoners were severely injured when a train carrying supplies to the camp derailed. The SS sent them, along with any other prisoners who could no longer work to Mauthausen where they were gassed. The women "cried and wailed all the way to the main camp." In May 1945 the American Army neared the Lenzing camp. The SS staff fled after Lagerführerin Schmidt gave a speech to the surviving women as to not "dishonor them." In early May 1945 the US Army liberated 566 women from the small Lenzing subcamp.