KL Ravensbrück inmate number allocations

[douglas2496]

Thank you very much for your work, Im glad to know this.

[StefanM]

Douglas, a discrepancy exists in the record with the inmate name assigned to the no. 11495 and the name on your letter which I can't quite make out. But the record gives the name: Zdzislawa Kaczyk z.d. Gromoska, 11495. But the there could easily be an error in the "official" record as these were often collated from the partial camp records (most of which were destroyed by the Germans as the Red Army advanced) combined with other transport lists, ex-prisoner associations after the war and a host of other sources. Since the 309 names and numbers exist in a block It is most probable that the transport details are correct and the persons name is incorrect in the record.

This is one of the reasons I am adding names and numbers from camp letters such as yours to my spread sheet to fill in the gaps and highlight any inconsistencies that do crop up.

[Arozycki]

Not sure if KL Ravensbrück inmate number allocations are available online already but here is an overview of the inmate number blocks 1939-41 and when they were allocated (the notes have Polish prisoner counts as that is my personal interest). Hopefully it might be of interest to collectors of camp correspondence

KL Ravensbrück was set up at the beginning of 1939 and up until 31st August 1939 the camp records list 2096 female prisoners.

Until 1942, KL Ravensbrück was the only female prisoners' camp under the authority of the Inspector of Concentration Camps in Reichsfiihrer SS and the Chief of the German Police Office.

During the period 01/09/1939 to 31/12/1939 a further 487 prisoners were registered in the camp with ID numbers 2097 - 2583. The group included 10 Poles.

During the period 01/01/1940 to 31/12/1940 a further 2755 prisoners were registered in the camp with ID numbers 2584 - 5338. The group included 1000 Poles.

During the period 01/01/1941 to 31/12/1941 a further 3633 prisoners were registered in the camp with ID numbers 5339 - 8971. The group included approx. 1300 Poles.

In the years 1939-1941, the prisoners of the camp were mostly Gypsies (Roma), Germans, Poles and Jews, other nationalities were still in the minority.

Because the majority of the Ravensbrück documentation was destroyed by the Nazis shortly before the end of the war it is impossible to establish the circumstances of death amongst the prisoners or even the death rate in given time periods of the camp's existence.

Hello,
I came across your forum, and found it very informative, as i plan a visit to Sachsenhausen and Ravensbruck concentration camps this summer with my kids. My grandfather was a prisoner in both camps and was killed in Ravensbruck in May of 1942. You mention various ID numbes, but his number does not seem to conform to the above. His number, included in his letters from the camp was 841. He was in block III. He arrived at ravensbruck, from sachsenhausen in june or july of 1941. Is there a list of prisoners that can be accessed online with actual cause of death. His official cause of death is listed as a heart attack. Any help would be much appreciated.
Thank you

Andrew.

[StefanM]

Hello,
I came across your forum, and found it very informative, as i plan a visit to Sachsenhausen and Ravensbruck concentration camps this summer with my kids. My grandfather was a prisoner in both camps and was killed in Ravensbruck in May of 1942. You mention various ID numbes, but his number does not seem to conform to the above. His number, included in his letters from the camp was 841. He was in block III. He arrived at ravensbruck, from sachsenhausen in june or july of 1941. Is there a list of prisoners that can be accessed online with actual cause of death. His official cause of death is listed as a heart attack. Any help would be much appreciated.
Thank you

Andrew.

A belated reply...apologies.

The first block of allocated numbers for Ravensbruck I have are:

Date: 24 March 1939
Prisoner No.s: 1333 - 1345
Nationality: German

The 1941 prisoner numbers range from January 1941 number: 5339 to 15 March 1941 number: 5766.

So your grandfathers lower number for June/July 1941 is puzzling?

Maybe his "841"was from KL Sachsenhausen and carried with him to Ravensbruck?

Or possibly the men's camp had its own number allocation? This might be a plausible explanation as in April 1941, the SS authorities established the small men's camp adjacent to the main camp which would tie in with your granfather's story.

There are no online sources for Ravensbruck data such as found for Auschwitz. The cause of death by "heart attack" was a standard cause of death given by the Germans' and covered a multitude of sins...afterall one couldn't write "beaten to death", "starved to death", "worked to death" or "gassed to death" on the death certificates.

[CARL]

By the close of 1936, Sachsenhausen already held over 1,500 inmates. Numbers were generally reassigned once inmates were transferred to another Konzentrationslager, as they came under a new administration which would already have a set of numbers - thus, avoiding the patent confusion. However, when a camp was established anew, no existing numbers would be in place - theoretically allowing existing numbers to be retained.

The men's camp at Ravensbrück, established during spring 1941, was separated from the women's camp. Below is an image of a letter written by a male Czech prisoner in October 1941 - his inmate number was 397 and he was held in Block 1. Note how the official stamp marking states "KL-Ravensbrück" (Konzentrationslager Ravensbrück), and not "f.KL-Ravensbrück" (Frauen-Konzentrationslager Ravensbrück), as shown on the letters marked at the women's camp, such as the example shown at the foot of this post.

I wish you every success in your search Andrew, good luck.

Regards,

Carl

[StefanM]

I recently acquired a short original typescript memoir of 14 doubled-sided pages by Polish prisoner Fiołnowa Leokadia , Więzień (Prisoner) nr 6670 and entitled "Z Ravensbrück do kraju (From Ravensbrück to home)".




Prisoner number 6670 was allocated during the period 01/01/1941 to 31/12/1941 in a batch of 3633 prisoners who were registered in the camp with ID numbers 5339 - 8971.

Interestingly (for me) Fiołnowa Leokadia was in the same transport batches as my late grandmother from Warszawa who was allocated Ravensbrück nr 5953 on 21 September 1941 —73 years ago in a couple of weeks time.

[douglas2496]

Would it be possible to please show some translated extracts?

[StefanM]

Would it be possible to please show some translated extracts?

I will be asking my friend who translates from Polish professionally to translate the document as my Polish is sadly lacking for such a text.

[FALLSCHIRMJAGER]

A very informative and interesting thread. Thank you Carl and 4thskorpion for your hard work in this area. Leon.

[CARL]

A very informative and interesting thread. Thank you Carl and 4thskorpion for your hard work in this area. Leon.

Thank you Leon. 4thskorpion's patient work in this particular area of research related to the Konzentrationslagers is indeed a credit to him. In time, people will certainly be able to benefit from such a record.

Regards,

Carl