Vaihingen an der Enz concentration camp
Encyclopedia
Vaihingen an der Enz concentration camp, near the city of Vaihingen an der Enz in the Neckar
region of Germany
, was a slave labor camp for armament manufacturing built by the Todt
organization, and then became an extermination camp.
The camp was built in late 1943 - early 1944 as part of a secret program known as Stoffel to relocate Messerschmidt
manufacturing plants underground, protected from Allied bombing raids. These underground facilities were constructed in conjunction with the quarries in the area. Originally an annex to the concentration camp at Natzweiler-Struthof
, it was inhabited by a group of 2,189 Jewish prisoners from the Radom Ghetto
in Poland
.
These and subsequent prisoners were put to work in the quarry, carrying stone, rubble, sand, and grit. The prisoners were worked 12 hours a day on starvation diets, and mortality rates were high. They were accommodated in four houses sharing one latrine. The camp was heavily guarded with double barbed wire, watchtowers, and SS troops.
By the fall of 1944 operation Stoffel was abandoned and most of the prisoners reassigned to other camps, notably Bisingen
, Hessental, Dautmergen
, or Unterriexingen. The Wiesengrund camp retained some slave laborers, but became a destination for sick prisoners who were effectively left there to die. A fifth structure was erected to serve as an infirmary. 2,442 seriously ill prisoners arrived between November 1944 and March 1945, and the mortality rate increased dramatically, to 33 deaths a day. An epidemic of typhus
made conditions considerably worse.
With the approach of the French army, on April 5th, 1945, the SS sent many prisoners on a forced march to the Dachau concentration camp. On April 7th, the camp was formally liberated by the 1st French army. Even so, another 92 prisoners died after liberation from lingering typhus and/or general ill health.
Corpses in large common graves were exhumed after the war and reinterred in a memorial gravesite near the camp, which was officially opened on November 2nd, 1958.
Camp officials were charged and put on trial by the French military tribunal. Ten were condemned to death, and eight were sentenced to terms of hard labor.
Neckar
The Neckar is a long river, mainly flowing through the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, but also a short section through Hesse, in Germany. The Neckar is a major right tributary of the River Rhine...
region of 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...
, was a slave labor camp for armament manufacturing built by the 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...
organization, and then became an extermination camp.
The camp was built in late 1943 - early 1944 as part of a secret program known as Stoffel to relocate Messerschmidt
Messerschmidt
*For the Danish politician - see Morten Messerschmidt*For the German physician and explorer of Siberia - see Daniel Gottlieb Messerschmidt*For the German aircraft designer and manufacturer - see Willy Messerschmitt...
manufacturing plants underground, protected from Allied bombing raids. These underground facilities were constructed in conjunction with the quarries in the area. Originally an annex to the concentration camp at Natzweiler-Struthof
Natzweiler-Struthof
Natzweiler-Struthof was a German concentration camp located in the Vosges Mountains close to the Alsatian village of Natzwiller in France, and the town of Schirmeck, about 50 km south west from the city of Strasbourg....
, it was inhabited by a group of 2,189 Jewish prisoners from the Radom Ghetto
Radom Ghetto
Radom Ghetto was a World War II ghetto set up in March 1941 by Nazi Germany in the city of Radom in occupied Poland, for the purpose of persecution and exploitation of the local Polish Jews...
in 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...
.
These and subsequent prisoners were put to work in the quarry, carrying stone, rubble, sand, and grit. The prisoners were worked 12 hours a day on starvation diets, and mortality rates were high. They were accommodated in four houses sharing one latrine. The camp was heavily guarded with double barbed wire, watchtowers, and SS troops.
By the fall of 1944 operation Stoffel was abandoned and most of the prisoners reassigned to other camps, notably Bisingen
Bisingen
Bisingen is a municipality in the Zollernalbkreis district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.- References :...
, Hessental, Dautmergen
Dautmergen
Dautmergen is a municipality in the Zollernalbkreis district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany....
, or Unterriexingen. The Wiesengrund camp retained some slave laborers, but became a destination for sick prisoners who were effectively left there to die. A fifth structure was erected to serve as an infirmary. 2,442 seriously ill prisoners arrived between November 1944 and March 1945, and the mortality rate increased dramatically, to 33 deaths a day. An epidemic of typhus
Typhus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
made conditions considerably worse.
With the approach of the French army, on April 5th, 1945, the SS sent many prisoners on a forced march to the Dachau concentration camp. On April 7th, the camp was formally liberated by the 1st French army. Even so, another 92 prisoners died after liberation from lingering typhus and/or general ill health.
Corpses in large common graves were exhumed after the war and reinterred in a memorial gravesite near the camp, which was officially opened on November 2nd, 1958.
Camp officials were charged and put on trial by the French military tribunal. Ten were condemned to death, and eight were sentenced to terms of hard labor.