Standing cell
Encyclopedia
A standing cell was a special cell used in Nazi concentration camps
during the Third Reich. It was used as extra and severe punishment within the concentration camp system, being constructed so as to prevent the prisoner from doing anything but standing while held there. In addition, prisoners in the standing cell were denied normal meal rations. Some were large enough for only one person, others held as many as four people.
camp kommandant Werner Schäfer had two cells built in the basement of the Oranienburg concentration camp
in 1933. The dimensions of the cell were such that a person could only stand there. A prisoner surnamed Neumann was held there for 192 hours and was allegedly driven mad as a result of his confinement there. At times, prisoners were held in small coffin-sized closet in which they could only stand.
in the camp. There were also standing cells at the Allach subcamp
, where the cells were smaller than at Dachau. Some at other camps were bigger, about 90 x 90 cm.
For example, the prisoner K. A. Gross and the Polish
prisoner, Max Hoffmann spent days in the standing cell. Hoffmann described it thusly:
According to Johannes Neuhäusler, an inmate in the standing cell received a single piece of bread in three days time.Neuhäusler refers here to two clergymen, Theissig from Aachen, and Johann Lenz. On the fourth day, the prisoner was removed from the standing cell, given a normal camp meal ration and allowed to sleep on a wooden cot. On the next day, the three-day confinement in the standing cell began anew.
The SS
didn't always adhere to the interruption after the third day. The Czech prisoner, Radovan Drazan, spent eight days without a break in a standing cell. Sometimes, prisoners were not even allowed a brief break from the cell, so that they had burns on their bodies from feces and urine.
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...
during the Third Reich. It was used as extra and severe punishment within the concentration camp system, being constructed so as to prevent the prisoner from doing anything but standing while held there. In addition, prisoners in the standing cell were denied normal meal rations. Some were large enough for only one person, others held as many as four people.
Oranienburg
SASturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
camp kommandant Werner Schäfer had two cells built in the basement of the Oranienburg concentration camp
Oranienburg concentration camp
Oranienburg concentration camp was one of the first detention facilities established by the Nazis when they gained power in 1933. It held the Nazis' political opponents from the Berlin region, mostly members of the Communist Party of Germany and social-democrats, as well as a number of homosexual...
in 1933. The dimensions of the cell were such that a person could only stand there. A prisoner surnamed Neumann was held there for 192 hours and was allegedly driven mad as a result of his confinement there. At times, prisoners were held in small coffin-sized closet in which they could only stand.
Dachau
The number of prisoners in Dachau concentration camp increased dramatically in the last years of the Second World War. The concentration camp was overcrowded. In the autumn of 1944, the camp command erected standing cells. The stone chambers were similar to chimneys and measured 75 x 80 cm (29.5 x 31.5 inches).The surfaces were measured after camps had been liberated, using foundation ruins. There was a small hatch on top for air, and a narrow door with an iron bar bolted to the cell. The intensified punitive measure saved room and reinforced the punitive agony. Prisoners were thereby deprived shorter time of the forced laborForced labor in Germany during World War II
The use of forced labour in Nazi Germany and throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II took place on an unprecedented scale. It was a vital part of the German economic exploitation of conquered territories. It also contributed to the mass extermination of populations in German-occupied...
in the camp. There were also standing cells at the Allach subcamp
Allach (concentration camp)
-History:Allach was opened on March 19th, 1943 as the largest subcamp of Dachau concentration camp because of the shortage of workforce in the armament and building industry...
, where the cells were smaller than at Dachau. Some at other camps were bigger, about 90 x 90 cm.
For example, the prisoner K. A. Gross and the Polish
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...
prisoner, Max Hoffmann spent days in the standing cell. Hoffmann described it thusly:
It was a terrible state, as I thought that it was over for me, everything was so callous and distant for me. I couldn't lie down, couldn't crouch, the best was to stand, stand, six days and six nights long. [...] You touch the walls on both sides with your elbows, your back touches the wall behind you, your knees the wall in front of you. [...] This is no punishment or pre-trial detention, it is tortureTortureTorture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
, straight forward, Middle Ages torture. I had bloodshot eyes, numb from bad air, I was just waiting for the end.
According to Johannes Neuhäusler, an inmate in the standing cell received a single piece of bread in three days time.Neuhäusler refers here to two clergymen, Theissig from Aachen, and Johann Lenz. On the fourth day, the prisoner was removed from the standing cell, given a normal camp meal ration and allowed to sleep on a wooden cot. On the next day, the three-day confinement in the standing cell began anew.
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...
didn't always adhere to the interruption after the third day. The Czech prisoner, Radovan Drazan, spent eight days without a break in a standing cell. Sometimes, prisoners were not even allowed a brief break from the cell, so that they had burns on their bodies from feces and urine.
Auschwitz
There were also standing cells at Auschwitz (see photo). Auschwitz survivor Josef Kral testified at the Auschwitz Trials about the standing cells and about how one prisoner was so hungry, he ate his shoe and others drank their own urine.Sources
- Stanislav Zámečník, Das war Dachau. Comité International de DachauInternational concentration camp committeesInternational concentration camp committees are organizations composed of former inmates of the various Nazi concentration camps, formed at various times, primarily after the Second World War...
, Luxemburg (2002) pp. 348-350
External links
- Photo of vent of a standing cell at Auschwitz Retrieved June 6, 2010
- Photo of standing cell at Mittelbau-Dora Memorial Site Retrieved June 6, 2010
- "Interrogation in Block 11" Prisoner drawing of men in the prison block at Auschwitz. (Note: Click on drawing to toggle to a recent photo of the same site.) Retrieved June 6, 2010
- "Natzweiler-Struthof camp prison" Photos and brief description of various cells, including the stehbunker. Retrieved June 6, 2010