SS Sonderlager Feste Göben

[remss]

Hello,
I need help.

I visited Queleu prisonner camp. It was an SS Sonderlager, During 1943, resistant and Moselle politic enemy are detained.
Few pictures :








This fort is actually kept by volunteer and i want to help them.
They have old draws to explain the prisonners conditions.







As you can see, it supposed to be gard by SS or Kapo.
But, as a person in charge told me, it' s very old cartoon style draws.



I purpose to update draws and make them more faithful.
Started with era female cloths.
I study the Moselle classic 40' cloths.

And draw :



But i need help about SS uniform because there is few informations.
And in the old draw, gard looks like more as a Wehrmacht soldier than a SS or Kapo.

It' s a work in progress and i will post every step of the work.
I don' t want to make mistakes. That' s why i ask you.

Many thanks by advance.

[harryamb2]

just look through the site list and that will show you the correct insignia

[TrondK]

Yes please include step by step of your work. I love seeing art coming alive

[CARL]

The SS-Sonderlager near central Metz, Feste Göben aka Fort Queuleu, was used as an interrogation and detention centre. Initially, it served as a detention centre for resistance fighters captured during the occupation of France. During autumn 1943, with existing prisons in the region filled beyond capacity, the use of the fort site was expanded and went on to hold over 1,500 prisoners during its existence - it was dissolved in late summer 1944. The site came under the administration of the security police, not the SS camp system, for indeed, the name can be misleading to some - for example, those familiar with SS-Sonderlager Hinzert, may assume that the site at Queuleu was of a similar nature...but it wasn't. SS-Sonderlager Hinzert, addressed in the thread linked below, was actually one of the major concentration camps and came under the administration of the Inspectorate of Concentration Camps and the SS Main Office of Administartion and Economics, which Feste Göben did not. The name Sonderlager translates as "Special Camp", yet within the concentration camp system, the word Sonder was used to disguise various actions and locales. For example, Sonderbau (Special Building) was used to designate a Häftlingsbordell (Prisoner's Brothel) and Sonderkommando was the name of the prisoner detail forced to dispose of the dead within the crematoria facilities. Prior to any further study, one must understand the designation and purpose of the site, otherwise, it would be very easy to make errors.

Anton Dunckern, Metz Gestapo chief Hans-Georg Schmidt and SS-Unteroffizier Georg Hempen were among the key individuals linked to Feste Göben, with Hempen responsible for administration of the site. Hempen, born 1905 and the son of a farmer, was a member of Metz Gestapo from 1940. At Feste Göben, he was viewed by inmates as a form of Kommandant - he was allowed a degree of freedom with regards to overall management of the site. Initially a force of around 15 guards were present, later increased to over thirty. It has been recorded that these were members of the Waffen-SS although security police staff were also patently present. Hempen, a brute fond of excessive use of a horse whip and reportedly personally responsible for at least six deaths, escaped when the site was evacuated and escaped justice having been sentenced to death in absentia prior to prosecution over a decade later. He died in 1974.

The prisoners, mostly male, were often blindfolded and shackled upon arrival. Some 20% of the inmates were women, initially housed alongside men but later, in two separate cells for female inmates. The communal cells, of which there were ten, measured 14 x 6 metres. These held a typical average of 56 people in each. In addition, there were also 18 individual holding cells (2 x 1.4m). Work consisted of various details, such as carpentry, brickwork etc. In spring 1944, four prisoners managed to escape. The recorded death toll was 36.

Once the site was abandoned, the majority of the detainees were transported initially to KZ-Natzweiler-Struthof (more information linked below), the largest concentration camp on French soil, before being moved on to Dachau in early September 1944. A few prisoners remained at Feste Göben and were eventually moved to Polizeihaftlager Wappingen.

In 1977 a memorial was established at the site, featuring the basement exhibition shown earlier in the thread. Sadly, vandals damaged much of the exhibition in 2012 although there are currently plans for some form of redesign in the future.

Carl

SS-Sonderlager / KZ-Hinzert

Largest KL in France - Natzweiler-Struthof


Note: Thread copied to Konzentrationslagers forum

[CARL]

The site had also been addressed earlier, albeit briefly, in the Konzentrationslagers forum:

http://www.warrelics.eu/forum/konzen...rlager-542974/

[remss]

Yes please include step by step of your work. I love seeing art coming alive

I will post step by step.

harryamb2, yes i do non stop information about this work.

Carl88 thanks for this English explaination.

[Watchdog]

Very interesting and I must admit I had not heard of this camp.

The explanation given above of the Nazi tenure seems comprhensive but the buildings are clearly much older and look to me to be of Napoleonic origin.

Does anyone here know anthing of the earlier history?

Regards

Mark

[Larry C]

Eeewww

Creepy stuff..Thankyou Carl for the detailed description of this Haunt.

Regards Larry

[remss]

Very interesting and I must admit I had not heard of this camp.

The explanation given above of the Nazi tenure seems comprhensive but the buildings are clearly much older and look to me to be of Napoleonic origin.

Does anyone here know anthing of the earlier history?

Regards

Mark

This structure started to be build in 1868 and it's a a part of the belt who being build for the Metz defence.
It take the name of Feste Goeben in 1871 after German invasion.

Really creepy Larry C , but unfortuanetly some vandal loot and tag it. Since 1970.

few more pictures :

SS casemate :



Back from the main door :

[Watchdog]

This structure started to be build in 1868 and it's a a part of the belt who being build for the Metz defence.
It take the name of Feste Goeben in 1871 after German invasion.

Thank you the info. So, post Napoleon and into the Franco-Prussian War? Still early enough in the evolution for fortress architechture to be similar (to the eye of one not expert in such architechture!).

Do you know if these buildings are part of the French "first belt" of the later "seccond belt" built by Germany?

This period is a little before my main area of interest (WWI onwards) but I still find it fascinating especially as much of the european fortresses continued in use with added further construction through both WWI and WWII.

I much prefer to experience the atmosphere of these ghostly remains than those "dressed up" for tourist consumption.

Thanks for raising this interesting subject. Do you have more?

Regards

Mark