Neuengamme I

During my WWII course in Germany, my students and I traveled to Neuengamme near Hamburg. It was a concentration camp, a work camp, not a death camp. It was the center of a network of such camps in the Hamburg area, part of the system the Nazis used to squelch dissent and eliminate their opposition.

Neuengamme had a total off 106,000 inmates over its years operation. The largest number of them (over 34,000) came from the Soviet Union. There were many POWs.

At top is a sculpture of a prisoner dying of hunger. In the memorial building are books that were kept listing the names of prisoners who died. You can view them by lifting the cloths that protect them from light. If you click on the photo, you should be able to read the names and causes of death.