Forgotten Horrors: The Nazi sub-camp system

  Main area of the factory and subcamp Subcamp area Gleiwitz II was established in May 1944 following the takeover of an existing labour camp for Jews. It was located at the  Deutsche Gasrusswerke GmbH lampblack factory and initially held around 250 women and 260 men. However, by the end of that same year this number had increased to over a thousand  prisoners of whom 700 were men. Accommodation for the prisoners consisted of seven wooden barracks, three of which were allocated to women, fenced off from the other barracks. The camp was surrounded by barbed wire fencing with six guard towers. The camp was commanded by  SS-Oberscharführer Becker, followed by Konrad Friedrichsen and finally SS-Hauptscharführer Bernhard Rackers. There were 70 SS guards. While the male prisoners helped to expand the factory and repair machinery, the female prisoners worked at lampblacking, exposed to fumes from hot oil, and also had to carry away boiling waste to a vat. Severe burns from this task were comm

  Location of Gleiwitz wagon works and camp Subcamp area - the subcamp itself was situated at lower centre of the picture, in or around the greenspace next to the smaller road running diagonally through the centre of the picture Gleiwitz I was established in March 1944 in the Polish city of Gliwice, at a steelworks that was used for repair railway rolling stock and tanks.  The first group of prisoners on the site were put to work building seven barracks, a kitchen, a medical centre, storage area and a number of workshops. The camp was surrounded by a wall consisting of concrete slabs, on the top of which was barbed wire. There was an additional barrier inside this one consisting of a barbed wire fence supported by concrete posts. Along the course of this fence were constructed eight wooden guard towers. The camp was commanded by SS-Hauptscharfuhrer Otto Moll. However, in May 1944, he was posted temporarily to Birkenau to oversee the mass execution of Hungarian Jews. In his absence, the

Location of the initial camp, Lager Heimat Gunthergrube was established in February 1944 next to the  Günther coal mine, south of  Lędziny, operated by  Fürstlich Plessische Bergwerks AG. Gunther, now Ziemowit, coal mine There was a second mine, the  Piastschachte mine, which was still being constructed a t the time the camp was established .  Location of former Piast coal mine Surviving Piast coal mine building The camp itself changed location on several occasions, the 300 inmates initially being held in an existing facility that had previously been a camp for compulsory labourers. This was located in a school on the road to the Gunther mine called Lager Heimat (see top image above). The accommodation consisted of two barracks, supported by a kitchen, bathhouse and latrine. The site was surrounded by a barbed wire fence. In June 1944, the inmates were moved to a larger camp surrounded by a high brick wall, guarded by eight guard towers (Lager Gunthergrube III).  Gunthergrube III Most