Camps
A brief description of the camps of the Third Reich and Fascist Italy where prisoners from Magnesia were held between 1941 and 1945, and for which information has been found. The camps are divided into four categories:
- Prisoner-of-war camps
- Concentration/labor camps
- Concentration and extermination camps
- Camps in fascist Italy
L
Lamsdorf (STALAG VIII B)
Category: POW camp
The camp was established in late 1939 in Upper Silesia (now part of Poland) and grew to become the Third Reich’s largest prisoner-of-war camp, with 97,646 prisoners and 600–700 associated labour camps. The prisoners were mainly British and Italian. While conditions were initially relatively good, they deteriorated sharply toward the end of the war due to overcrowding.
USHMΜ, Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, vol. IV (2022), 446–448.
The camp was established in late 1939 in Upper Silesia (now part of Poland) and grew to become the Third Reich’s largest prisoner-of-war camp, with 97,646 prisoners and 600–700 associated labour camps. The prisoners were mainly British and Italian. While conditions were initially relatively good, they deteriorated sharply toward the end of the war due to overcrowding.
USHMΜ, Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, vol. IV (2022), 446–448.
Leipzig Schönefeld
Subcamp of: Buchenwald
Category: Concentration/labour camp
The Schönefeld suburb of Leipzig was the headquarters of the HASAG munitions factory, one of the largest employers of concentration camp labour. By the end of 1944, it employed a total of over 16,000 prisoners. In 1944, two subcamps were opened in the neighbourhood, one for men and the other for women. In the summer of 1944, 2,000 women arrived from Ravensbrück, including 60 Greek women. Katina Kakasi from Almyros was one of them. In late April 1945, the camp was evacuated, and the prisoners were forced on a death march until, half-dead, they were met by American troops in the town of Wurzen.
USHMΜ, Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, vol. I A (2009), 378–380.
Category: Concentration/labour camp
The Schönefeld suburb of Leipzig was the headquarters of the HASAG munitions factory, one of the largest employers of concentration camp labour. By the end of 1944, it employed a total of over 16,000 prisoners. In 1944, two subcamps were opened in the neighbourhood, one for men and the other for women. In the summer of 1944, 2,000 women arrived from Ravensbrück, including 60 Greek women. Katina Kakasi from Almyros was one of them. In late April 1945, the camp was evacuated, and the prisoners were forced on a death march until, half-dead, they were met by American troops in the town of Wurzen.
USHMΜ, Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, vol. I A (2009), 378–380.
Linz
Subcamp of: Mauthausen
Category: Concentration/labour camp
Three subcamps were established in the city of Linz, where prisoners from Mauthausen worked for the Hermann Göring industrial complex and other companies to produce building materials and armaments and to construct air-raid shelters.
USHMM, Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, vol. I B (2009), 927–932.
Category: Concentration/labour camp
Three subcamps were established in the city of Linz, where prisoners from Mauthausen worked for the Hermann Göring industrial complex and other companies to produce building materials and armaments and to construct air-raid shelters.
USHMM, Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, vol. I B (2009), 927–932.
Lublin (or Majdanek)
Category: Concentration /extermination camp
A death and concentration camp established in 1941 in the city of Lublin, south of Warsaw. A total of approximately 250,000 prisoners passed through this camp, initially mainly Jews destined for the gas chambers or other methods of execution. From late 1943 onward, it functioned primarily as a forced-labour and extermination camp for non-Jewish prisoners. Majdanek was the first camp to be liberated, in late July 1944.
USHMΜ, Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, vol. I B, 875–880.
A death and concentration camp established in 1941 in the city of Lublin, south of Warsaw. A total of approximately 250,000 prisoners passed through this camp, initially mainly Jews destined for the gas chambers or other methods of execution. From late 1943 onward, it functioned primarily as a forced-labour and extermination camp for non-Jewish prisoners. Majdanek was the first camp to be liberated, in late July 1944.
USHMΜ, Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, vol. I B, 875–880.