KZ-Außenlager Grafenreuth

[CARL]

AL-Grafenreuth, sub-camp of KZ-Floßenbürg was located in a small village south of Floß. Towards the end of June 1943, the camp was established and became a satellite of the main camp at Floßenbürg. Initially, predominantly German, Polish, French and Russian prisoners were held - later, additional inmates arrived from the Czech lands, Yugoslavia and Italy. The highest recorded quota of inmates was registered in early August 1944, when 150 prisoners were present at the camp. From the end of 1944 until the camp was eventually evacuated, approximately 80 inmates were held at Grafenreuth. The prisoners initially worked on the construction and establishmemt of the camp, railway siding and transportation of materials. Later, clothing manufacturing workshops were located within the Bekleidungslager - site for SS clothing production. The staff, comprised of guards from the main camp, were headed by Kommandoführer Kübler, who drove the inmates hard. Later, he was replaced by Kommandoführer Voigt who improved the food rations for the prisoners - which had been reduced earlier by Kommandoführer Kübler. The only official recorded death was a prisoner who was shot whilst attempting to escape. During the 20th/21st April 1945, the camp was evacuated with the prisoners joining a forced march from Floßenbürg, from where prisoners had been driven out a few days earlier. They were eventually liberated by US forces at Cham near the Czech border. Today, no reminder is present at the former site.

[CARL]

The construction and establishment of the camp was not without issue. Initially, a shortage of skilled surveyors, guards and tools resulted in a delay. By late spring 1943, the SS-WVHA (SS Business Administration Main Office) ordered the construction of the site - a Wirtschaftslager (business camp), to be established for the purpose of manufacturing SS clothing. This would be another aid for the SS and their desire for autarky. The hasty transportation of building materials resulted in the arrival of the necessary parts to construct the barracks - yet nobody was able to unload and store the material due to a lack of manpower. A water reserve was constructed as a precaution against fire - the majority of the buildings, as with virtually all concentration camps, were mostly made of wood. A brickworks located nearby was also utilised. The camp itself, as shown in the plan above, consisted of a number of wooden barracks, the majority of which were clothing workshops and stores. The prisoners and SS guard staff were each accommodated within a single barrack. Fencing and watchtowers surrounded the area. In early August 1943, Floßenbürg sent 150 prisoners to the new camp at Grafenreuth. As mentioned above, this was the highest total of inmates present during the camp's existence. Most of these inmates had arrived at Floßenbürg several months earlier on a transport from Auschwitz. Although only one prisoner was officially recorded as dying at Grafenreuth, two French inmates, transferred back to Floßenbürg around Christmas 1943 due to ill health, died at the main camp in early January 1944. Food arrived at Grafenreuth from the main camp - usually at midday and in the evening for the first year or so. Later, the camp supplied its own. Locals were able to benefit from the establishment of the camp, with farmers supplying transportation and the local brickworks using the inmates as a labour force. Once the camp had been evacuated, the local population looted the clothing stores.

[harryamb2]

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great info as usual.

[FALLSCHIRMJAGER]

Hi Carl , once more you have highlighted just how many of these small sub-camps must have existed. I guess it must be well into the thousands by now with still more to find and record! Leon.

[CARL]

Hi Carl , once more you have highlighted just how many of these small sub-camps must have existed. I guess it must be well into the thousands by now with still more to find and record! Leon.

Hi Leon, Thanks again for your kind words, as ever, it is appreciated. Indeed, the sheer number of camps within the system shocks most when the enormity is revealed - some of the major camps such as Neuengamme, Groß-Rosen, Buchenwald and Floßenbürg had the largest satellite quotas, with over 100 such external work details and sub-camps present within some of their respective systems. Below is a link to a news feature on a project that I am working on. The project, instigated by the USHMM (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum), will eventually document every camp, ghetto and prison that was established by the regime. In total, tens of thousands have so far been recorded.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/03/su...anted=all&_r=0

Regards,

Carl

[StefanM]

According to Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933–1945 there are staggering 42,000 facilities documented....so far. However I know the facility my late father was in is not in the encyclopedia volumes.

[CARL]

According to Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933–1945 there are staggering 42,000 facilities documented....so far. However I know the facility my late father was in is not in the encyclopedia volumes.

Hi Stefan, only the first two volumes have actually been completed thus far, so it is quite possible that the facility you refer to will have been recorded - yet falls into a category to be released later. The project is a due to run until at least 2025, with five more volumes yet to be released.

Regards,

Carl