Gunthergrube

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 at 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 of the inmates were Jews from France, the Netherlands, and Poland (from Będzin and Sosnowiec). They were subsequently joined by Hungarian and Polish Jews from Bliżyn labour camp, increasing the number of prisoners to nearly 600. Of these, 106 prisoners were transferred due to sickness and exhaustion, and at least 20 died, although the exact number of deaths remains unknown. Around 600 prisoners were evacuated on foot to Gliwice from the camp in January 1945, subsequently moved onwards in the direction of Rybnik. Some of the prisoners, led by one of the SS guards, tried to escape during the evacuation. This provoked a firefight in which over 300 of the prisoners were killed. It's thought that the remainder were shot when they reached Rybnik. 

The camp commandant was SS-Unterscharführer Alois Frey and there were 20 to 40 SS guards from the 3rd Wachkompanie Monowitz.

Location of Lager Heimat today

Lager Heimat memorial obelisk

Gunther coal mine

Gunther coal mine

Gunthergrube III from Gunther coal mine

Possible guard tower near the Gunther coal mine

The guardhouse and entrance gate to Gunthergrube III

Gunthergrube III brick wall

Gunthergrube III brick wall and barracks

Camp area with barracks in the distance

Gunthergrube III barracks

Just to the north of the main camp area are these buildings, which look very much like barracks themselves or other camp-related buildings

Surviving building from the Piast coal mine

There were three other camps providing labour to the Piast coal mine (rather than the Gunther mine). This was one of them, Lager Piast (aka Lager R188).

Nearby was Lager Gruber I (aka Lager Wolga Shaft I)

Also nearby was Lager Gruber II (aka Lager Eingtracht)






















 















Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Porombka (Solarhutte)

Image
  Porombka was located at Międzybrodzie Bialskie in southern Poland, around 35 kilometres south of Oświęcim in the Little Beskid mountains, above a dam and lake. It was also known as Solahutte and was more of a working party (Kommando) than a camp. Therefore, there was no barracks or electrified barbed wire fences or guard towers. There isn’t much documentation containing information about the camp either, but the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) discovered photographs in the album of SS-Obersturmführer Karl Höcker, adjutant of the commander of Auschwitz, and SS-Sturmbannführer Richard Baer (known as the Höcker album), depicting SS men spending leisure time at this location. The album was donated to USHMM by an anonymous American counter-intelligence officer and contains 116 black-and-white photographs, mostly taken during the summer of 1944. The SS men depicted in these photographs were mostly officers from Auschwitz and most of them were taken at the Solahütt...
Read more

Furstengrube

Image
  Furstengrube was established in summer 1943 at the Furstengrube coal mine near Wesola near Myslowice. IG Farben acquired this mine in February 1941 to supply coal for their factory near Auschwitz. A new mine was built besides the old Furstengrube mine. Soviet POWs and Jews were brought in to help the construction and, following agreement with the commander at Auschwitz, Rudolf Hoss, some 600 prisoners were brought to the site, subsequently increasing to 1,300. There was a forced labour camp for Jews, operated by Organisation Schmelt, called Lager Ostland. In September 1943, prisoners were brought from Auschwitz to a camp called Lager Sud. By 1944, the number of prisoners had risen to 1,200, most of whom were Polish Jews, with other Jews brought from across Europe. Several dozen non-Jews also arrived in Spring 1944. In May 1944, the 3rd Guard Company of Auschwitz III (Monowitz) arrived to guard the subcamp, commanded by SS Master Sergeant Otto Moll. In March 1944, SS Technical Ser...
Read more

Babice (German name Babitz)

Image
  Babice subcamp main area The full German name of this subcamp was Wirtschaftshof Babitz according to the website Subcamps of Auschwitz , which is operated by the research organisation Tiergarten 4 Association e.v. (a visit to their main website is highly recommended by the way). The website has a wealth of information about this particular camp, as follows: The subcamps three commanders were SS Oberscharfuhrer Rosenoff, SS Ausherin Erna Kuck and SS Auseherin Johanna Bormann. The number of guards remains unknown, but has been estimated at 30, drawn from the Landswritschaftskompanie of the SS, consisting primarily of Germans and Volksdeutsche from Poland, Romania, Lithuania and Czechoslovakia.  The main function of the camp was agricultural work on a farm owned by the SS. Female prisoners were held in an old school, while the male prisoners were held in specially built wooden barracks. The subcamp held 360 prisoners (male and female) in total. Of these, 200 were female - esti...
Read more