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KL-Natzweiler-Struthof - Sandkasten massacre

Article about: Konzentrationslager Natzweiler-Struthof - Sandkasten massacre On 17th February 1943 after evening roll call, Josef Kramer, the third of five Kommandants at KL-Natzweiler-Struthof, reached in

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    Default KL-Natzweiler-Struthof - Sandkasten massacre


    Konzentrationslager Natzweiler-Struthof - Sandkasten massacre

    On 17th February 1943 after evening roll call, Josef Kramer, the third of five Kommandants at KL-Natzweiler-Struthof, reached into his pocket and withdrew a sheet of paper. On it were the names of a group of prisoners from Ballersdorf, a village in the south of Alsace who were incarcerated at the camp. Kramer proceeded to read aloud the 13 names on the list, before all other inmates were ordered back to their barracks. The nervous young men remained stood on the Appellplatz wondering what lay ahead. Soon after, they were lead out of the camp under SS guard, turning left as they reached the road that overlooks the camp. Just a few moments later, they reached the spot shown in the attachment below. The Sandkasten (sand pit) was the location chosen by the SS to murder the group of prisoners, who were cut down by machine gun fire. Inmates back at the camp later remembered the incident, stating that after the short pause from when they themselves had returned to their barracks, they were startled by the sound of nearby machine gun fire. Shortly, the blood soaked bodies of their former fellow inmates were unceremoniously dragged back to the main camp and dumped on the Appellplatz. The young men, killed because they had earlier dodged being drafted into the Wehrmacht, are remembered by the commemorative marker shown below.
    Click to enlarge the picture Click to enlarge the picture KL-Natzweiler-Struthof - Sandkasten massacre  

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    Hi Carl, thanks for bringing this to our attention. I had not heard of this before.

    Cheers, Ade.
    Had good advice? Saved money? Why not become a Gold Club Member, just hit the green "Join WRF Club" tab at the top of the page and help support the forum!

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    Another story that will not be forgotten, thank you for posting.

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    It's a sadness that continues to reverbarate... in a lot of minds still. In the nearly 20 yr old BBC program "The Nazis, a warning from history" by Lawrence Rees, he said (I can't quote exactly) that the Germans - in this case Poland - occupied with a cruelty previously unknown in human history, which is saying a lot...

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    Thanks Carl for bringing this event to our attention. I knew that draft dodgers were treated extremely badly and imprisoned but I never realised the extent to which the authorities would "enforce" their rule on the german citizen. Leon.

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    Thank you gents. Glad that it is of interest.

    Regards,

    Carl

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    A Zero tolerance Government and Society. For sure when the phrase "Enemies of the State" was pronounced.....no one was discriminated against. Cruelty has one face!... Thanks for posting that Carl.,,Regards Larry
    It is not the size of a Collection in History that matters......Its the size of your Passion for it!! - Larry C

    One never knows what tree roots push to the surface of what laid buried before the tree was planted - Larry C

    “The farther back you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.” - Winston Churchill

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    thanks as ever for your fine research and picture essays.

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    I appreciate the kind words, thank you.

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    Today, 23rd November 2016, marks the 72nd anniversary of the liberation of Natzweiler-Struthof. On this day in 1944, American troops arrived at the site where tens of thousands had died. Due to the advancing allied forces, the SS had already began their process of departure in September, with outbound transports of inmates to numerous other Konzentrationslagers. Following the abandonment of the Stammlager (Main Camp) at Natzweiler-Struthof, the sub-camp system continued to operate and did so until as late as spring 1945. The majority of the final prisoners to be held within the Natzweiler-Struthof camp system had to wait much longer to be liberated, with forced marches headed south to KZ-Dachau, near München, the destination for many of them. Dachau itself was not liberated until later that spring, on 29th April 1945.

    Carl
    Click to enlarge the picture Click to enlarge the picture KL-Natzweiler-Struthof - Sandkasten massacre   KL-Natzweiler-Struthof - Sandkasten massacre  

    KL-Natzweiler-Struthof - Sandkasten massacre  

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