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296:, the size of which was later reduced as the SS created a neighbouring vegetable patch. A mast stood in the centre of the roll-call area bearing loudspeakers through which orders were delivered. Prisoners sometimes had to stand still for hours facing the mast as punishment. The roll call area was also used as a drill and exercise area, where prisoners had to jump up and down at 4.30 am to the sound of a drum.
610:
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Approximately 13,600 prisoners transited through
Hinzert. The first prisoners were German workers who had worked on the Siegfried Line and had demonstrated "anti-social behavior". Shortly afterwards, the camp was used to host forced laborers from occupied countries. Beginning in 1941, large groups of
280:
Prisoners were housed in four barracks, each containing two spaces that in turn contained 26 bunk beds for the projected capacity of 208 prisoners. Later, straw mattresses were added to increase the total capacity to 560. Certain rooms were reserved for a particular category of prisoners, such as the
221:. Between 1939 and 1945, 13,600 political prisoners between the ages of 13 and 80 were imprisoned at Hinzert. Many were in transit towards larger concentration camps where most would be killed. However, many prisoners were executed at Hinzert. The camp was administered, run, and guarded mainly by the
625:
Although the majority of the
Hinzert prisoners were transferred to other camps or were kept imprisoned until their liberation, many were tortured and murdered at Hinzert. Despite its being "only" a transit camp, 321 prisoners were killed at Hinzert. The victims were often shot, drowned or killed by
268:
housing huts. This area was decorated with floral and garden arrangements. Prisoners were kept in another area measuring approximately 200m by 200m, bordered by a 3m high barbed wire fence with watchtowers. The prisoners' area also contained the camp commander's quarters, the clothing workshop, the
680:
In the subsequent years, over 350 Luxembourgish resistance fighters were arrested by the
Gestapo; 50 resistants were sentenced to death. Of these 50 sentences, 25 were carried out. However, of the remaining 25, 23 were subsequently executed as a response to acts of resistance in Luxembourg.
742:
On
December 10, 2005, a memorial and documentation center was opened on the site of the former concentration camp. Designed by the architect firm Wandel Hoefer Lorch & Hirsch, the steel modern building houses a permanent exhibition of camp artifacts, photos and explanation notes.
600:
Because of the secrecy concerning their condition, many Night and Fog prisoners were attached to these internal
Kommandos. The camp had been built initially to house 560 prisoners but an average number of prisoners was 800. This number reached 1,600 at times.
695:
The bodies of the
Luxembourgish victims were transferred back to Luxembourg on March 9–10, 1946. All along the way, citizens lined the roads, some wearing the striped uniform of camp prisoners, to pay tribute. The bodies were first laid temporarily at the
454:
prisoners were sent to
Hinzert, mainly political prisoners from Luxembourg and France. Other prisoners, mainly forced laborers and POWs, were sent from Poland and the Soviet Union. Starting on December 7, 1941, when the Night and Fog directive was signed,
444:
and sentenced to death. He died of a heart attack before he could be executed. Zill was sentenced to life in prison by a West German court in the 1950s, which was reduced to 15 years on appeal. He was eventually released from prison, and died in 1974.
249:. At an altitude of 550m, the plateau was exposed to much humidity, wind, strong precipitation, fog and glacial temperatures in winter. The camp was surrounded by a coniferous forest that provided lumber for the camp's construction and maintenance.
621:
Prisoners of the
Hinzert concentration camp were kept under very harsh conditions; beatings were delivered on a regular basis and torture and execution sessions took place in public in order to establish a climate of constant terror and fear.
590:"Coal" Kommando transported every day the contents of a coal rail carriage from the neighbouring railway station to the camp over a distance of 4 km (2.5 mi). The four trips represented a total of 32 km (20 mi);
587:"Cart" Kommando consisting of eighteen prisoners pulling a cart transported the unearthed roots and other material (the SS sometimes released the brakes of the cart when travelling downhill in order to kill or wound the prisoners);
365:
or political section, a "detention and security" camp, a medical unit and the guard units. Following the arrival of Night and Fog prisoners, the political section and "detention and security" camp were closed down.
692:, the remains of many of the aforementioned victims were found and transferred to their respective homelands with full national honors. Those not repatriated were buried on site in a memorial cemetery.
584:"Forest" Kommando worked in the forests surrounding the camps cutting down lumber for the camp and creating a road (due to high risk of prisoners escaping, this Kommando was disbanded in 1943);
373:. The camp was partially destroyed by an air raid on February 22, 1945, but remained in operation until March 3 of the same year when many of the surviving prisoners were sent on a
339:. After the invasion of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and France in 1940, Hinzert also became a prison camp for political prisoners from those countries who needed to be "re-
355:
of the
Luxembourg and Trier area. Until the first Night and Fog prisoners arrived, the camp operated following the organisational structure of other camps, and namely contained a
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has confirmed 321 deaths, including 82 Luxembourgers, but not all remains of murdered victims have been found. In 1946, following the liberation of the camp by the
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101:
634:
In 1941, two trucks transported 70 Soviet POWs to
Hinzert. The prisoners were told that they would undergo a medical examination, but were injected with
793:
926:
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715:
also estimates that approximately 1,500 Night and Fog prisoners were sent to Hinzert; 390 survived and returned to France and at least 804 died.
684:
The exact number of victims murdered at Hinzert remains unknown. Between 1,600 and 1,800 Luxembourgers had been sent to Hinzert. The Luxembourg
382:
626:
lethal injection. According to trial records, SS guards also tortured prisoners, left them to die of sickness or hunger, or fed them to dogs.
381:, others having been transferred to the Buchenwald concentration camp. The camp was discovered March 17, 1945, by reconnaissance units of the
1012:. Federal State Central Authority for Political Education Rhineland-Palatinate (Die Landeszentrale für politische Bildung Rheinland-Pfalz).
757:
316:, for prisoners condemned to light sentences (under 14 days) and for those workers that had demonstrated what the Nazi regime would call
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348:
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233:
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596:"Romika" and "Black" Kommandos worked in the camp workshops and produced rubber items and armament equipment from 1942 onwards.
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308:. However, it burnt down on August 16, 1939, and was rebuilt in October 1939 as a police detention and re-education camp, or
697:
467:
404:
370:
347:". On February 7, 1942, command over the camp was transferred to the SS Central Office for Economics and Administration (
94:
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from May to June 1942, "Swimming pool" Kommando dug a fish farming basin which was used as a fire extinguisher reserve;
218:
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324:
Gestapo worked not only on the West Wall, but also on other military infrastructure projects such as air bases in
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418:
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206:
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bearing the names of those killed at KZ Hinzert has been erected on the site of the former concentration camp.
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336:
38:
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in April 1942 as the camp's Deputy Commandant. He was replaced by the third and last commander of Hinzert,
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assumed command over the camp, a position he held until December 1941 when he took over the command of the
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1004:
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directed against the German occupier and a new directive that enrolled the Luxembourgish youth into the
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Hinzert remained mainly autonomous until November 21, 1944, when it was administratively linked to the
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performed mainly maintenance forced-labour in air bases as well as marsh drainage and forestry work.
361:
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offices, the administrative offices and the kitchen. Different zones were located around one central
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144:
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The Hinzert concentration camp was first established in 1938 to house workers who were building the
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mountain range, the Hinzert concentration camp was named after the nearest village, now called
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An access road that first bordered the prisoners' cemetery led to a first area guarded by the
246:
46:
593:"Wood" Kommando cleaned and chopped the unearthed roots in order to provide fuel for the camp
496:
656:
638:, a deadly poison, and died shortly thereafter. They were buried in the neighboring forest.
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282:
188:
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655:, sentenced to death and shot between September 2 and 5, 1942. Among them was the boxer
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Blaetter Zum Land: The Memorial Site of the SS Special Camp/Concentration Camp Hinzert
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prisoners transited through Hinzert on the way to larger concentration camps, such as
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560:
520:
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340:
277:, a disinfection area and the "cloakroom" where the prisoners' belongings were kept.
222:
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225:, who, according to survivors, were notorious for their brutality and viciousness.
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in July 1942, "Stone" Kommando was created to excavate a neighbouring stone mine;
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893:"Night and Fog Prisoners or Lost in the Night and Fog or the Unknown Prisoners"
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The Hinzert Cross at the Notre-Dame Cemetery in Luxembourg City. The sculpture
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Bronze monument by Lucien Wercollier at the Hinzert Concentration Camp
704:, where dignitaries paid their respects, and were then buried in the
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51:
SS officers at a construction site in the Hinzert concentration camp
385:. Only a handful of prisoners were still in the camp at that time.
335:
On July 1, 1940, the camp was placed under the jurisdiction of the
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524:
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867:. Fondation pour la Me´moire de la Déportation. Archived from
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Many Hinzert prisoners were also used as slave labourers in
256:. This area contained seven huts, a guard post, the camp's
253:
477:
Hinzert commemorative plaque of the Night and Fog victims
440:
After the war, Pister was convicted of war crimes at the
320:. These workers, many of whom had been brought in by the
927:"Hinzert: rapatriement des morts luxembourgeois en 1946"
978:. Centre Regional Resistance et Liberte. Archived from
288:
Three other buildings in the camp contained the local
237:
Historical road sign at the Hinzert concentration camp
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honors the prisoners and those murdered at the camp.
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Located on the Hochwald plateau, and overlooking the
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or command post, a garage, workshops, the officers'
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162:
154:
140:
132:
93:
32:
929:. Centre National de l'Audiovisuel. Archived from
217:, 30 kilometres (19 mi) from the border with
1021:Vienne-Résistance-Internement-Déportation (VRID)
955:"European Killing & Atrocity Centers:Hinzert"
798:Stiftung Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas
787:
785:
770:German occupation of Luxembourg in World War II
485:spread out in the surrounding region. Some 23
8:
425:concentration camps, was transferred to the
198:
713:Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Déportation
29:
470:where they would eventually "disappear".
417:. Zill, who had previously served in the
862:"Mémoire Vivante n° 46: Dossier Hinzert"
661:
949:
947:
781:
765:List of Nazi-German concentration camps
574:existed directly within the main camp:
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351:). It also then became a camp for the
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854:
852:
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832:"Le camp de concentration de Hinzert"
825:
823:
821:
819:
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310:Polizeihaft- und Erziehungslager des
7:
491:were attached to Hinzert including:
1042:Nazi concentration camps in Germany
651:, 20 strikers were arrested by the
27:Concentration camp in Nazi Germany
25:
898:. Jersey Heritage. Archived from
686:Conseil National de la Resistance
643:1942 Luxembourgish general strike
751:
659:. They were also buried nearby.
337:Inspector of Concentration Camps
68:
61:
45:
800:. European Sites of Remembrance
700:, in the center of the city of
69:
1:
957:. The Shoah Education Project
427:Natzweiler concentration camp
405:Buchenwald concentration camp
371:Buchenwald concentration camp
794:"Concentration Camp Hinzert"
343:" or who were placed under "
672:is by Luxembourgish artist
201:Konzentrationslager Hinzert
136:Konzentrationslager Hinzert
82:Location of Hinzert within
1058:
1037:Hinzert concentration camp
758:Hinzert concentration camp
185:Hinzert concentration camp
731:A bronze monument by the
56:
44:
37:
669:Le prisonnier politique
39:Nazi concentration camp
1003:Welter, Beate (2006).
728:
677:
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383:94th Infantry Division
269:carpenter's area, the
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194:SS-Sonderlager Hinzert
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33:SS-Sonderlager Hinzert
760:at Wikimedia Commons
726:
665:
612:
570:A number of internal
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312:Reichsarbeitsdienstes
236:
792:Uwe Seemann (2015).
407:and was replaced by
393:On October 9, 1939,
362:Politische Abteilung
215:Rhineland-Palatinate
145:Rhineland-Palatinate
117:49.69889°N 6.89278°E
706:Notre-Dame Cemetery
435:SS Hauptsturmführer
318:antisocial behavior
300:Operational history
229:Location and layout
113: /
834:. B&S Editions
830:Peter D. Hassall.
729:
678:
619:
479:
437:Paul Sporrenberg.
239:
207:concentration camp
756:Media related to
737:Lucien Wercollier
674:Lucien Wercollier
636:potassium cyanide
630:Murder operations
421:, Buchenwald and
213:, in what is now
182:
181:
163:Number of inmates
122:49.69889; 6.89278
16:(Redirected from
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411:Hauptsturmführer
397:Standartenführer
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641:Following the
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401:Hermann Pister
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294:roll-call area
247:Hinzert-Pölert
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982:on 2007-07-04
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984:. Retrieved
980:the original
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959:. Retrieved
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931:the original
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900:the original
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869:the original
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802:. Retrieved
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493:Farschweiler
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357:Kommandantur
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258:Kommandantur
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211:Nazi Germany
200:
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149:Nazi Germany
711:The French
555:(1 and 2),
547:, Pollert,
531:(1 and 2),
483:SS subcamps
423:Ravensbrück
375:death march
285:prisoners.
178:over 1,000
155:Operational
133:Other names
120: /
95:Coordinates
1031:Categories
986:2007-04-24
961:2009-04-07
937:2007-04-25
909:2009-04-15
878:2009-04-09
838:2009-04-07
776:References
702:Luxembourg
615:catafalque
605:War crimes
553:Rheinsfeld
545:Nonnweiler
537:Hoppstaden
513:Hermeskeil
505:Gelnhausen
468:Buchenwald
460:Natzweiler
345:Schutzhaft
341:germanised
273:area, the
271:quarantine
219:Luxembourg
105:49°41′56″N
976:"Hinzert"
735:sculptor
648:Wehrmacht
572:Kommandos
565:Kommandos
533:Neubrucke
529:Mariahute
509:Gusterath
488:Kommandos
415:Egon Zill
377:to upper
306:West Wall
158:1939–1945
108:6°53′34″E
804:11 April
747:See also
719:Memorial
563:. These
549:Primstal
326:Mannheim
264:and two
243:Hunsrück
205:) was a
141:Location
653:Gestapo
497:Finthen
353:Gestapo
328:and in
290:Gestapo
84:Germany
76:Hinzert
18:Hinzert
690:Allies
501:Fluwig
464:Dachau
431:Alsace
419:Dachau
379:Hessen
322:Bremen
275:morgue
189:German
175:Killed
1010:(PDF)
903:(PDF)
896:(PDF)
872:(PDF)
865:(PDF)
525:Mainz
330:Mainz
314:(RAD)
806:2015
559:and
541:Nahe
517:Konz
359:, a
349:WVHA
262:mess
466:or
429:in
409:SS
395:SS
209:in
197:or
1033::
995:^
946:^
918:^
847:^
814:^
796:.
784:^
708:.
613:A
551:,
543:,
539:,
535:,
527:,
523:,
519:,
515:,
511:,
507:,
503:,
499:,
495:,
462:,
456:NN
332:.
266:SS
254:SS
223:SS
191::
170:)
147:,
989:.
964:.
940:.
912:.
881:.
841:.
808:.
676:.
187:(
20:)
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