Barackenlager Hagibor
Whilst technically not a regular concentration camp, Barackenlager Hagibor, located in the eastern suburbs of Prague, was used between 1944-1945 as both a Durchgangslager (transit camp) and forced labour facility. Many of those who eventually were sent to Theresienstadt were transfered from this camp.
During the early years of the occupation, the site was one of very few areas within the city that Jews were actually permitted to congregate - it was, for many years, a sports and recreation area. Even until 1943, elderly Jews were cared for at the former nursing home and Jewish hospital - shown in the image below as it stands today. The costs were covered by the Jewish community in Prague in addition to private donations. From August 1944 however, the premises were used for forced labour with the processing of mica among the activities.
Approximately 3,500 prisoners, mostly those from mixed marriages and non Jews who had refused to divorce their Jewish spouses, passed through the camp, which had an SS guard present. Ondřej Sekora, the well known writer of children's books was among those interned, due to his refusal to divorce his second wife, Ludmila Roubíčková, who was Jewish. Roubíčková later survived Theresienstadt. Meanwhile, her husband also survived, despite being sent to labour camps in Poland and Germany.
After the war, collaborators such as Gestapo informants, along with Romanians, Hungarians, Jewish refugees from Poland and also Czechs who had married Germans, were held at the site. Today, the former administration, kitchen and utility building is once again a home for elderly Jewish residents. The barracks, long since gone, were located nearby. A modern memorial stands on the location.
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by 4thskorpion
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