Augustdorf (Sennelager)

 

The Senne, a large expanse of landscape to the east of Augustdorf, has been used for military training since the 19th century. German preparations for war expanded this area significantly, including a new barracks complex constructed in 1937. This was given the name Nordlager (North Camp) in 1939.

From September 1944, units of the Waffen SS were based there and prisoners from Buchenwald arrived in November 1944 to carry out construction work. This required a new subcamp which the SS gave the name “SS-Panzer-Ausbildungs- und Ersatzregiment" (SS Panzer Training and Replacement Regiment), or ‘Sennelager’. The exact location of the prisoner’s accommodation is unknown, as is the nature of the tasks they were required to carry out.

Medical care was probably provided by Waffen SS medical staff. Some prisoners were transferred back to Buchenwald due to illness, including conditions such as bacterial skin infections, wound infections or purulent inflammation. One prisoner died of pneumonia at Augustdorf - Emil Stiffel, from Cech (Malinova) near Prievidza in present-day Slovakia – on 3rd January 1945. Another prisoner, Józef Drężek from Poland, died of heart failure at Buchenwald shortly after having been returned there from Augustdorf.

Soldiers from the SS Panzer Training and Replacement Regiment in Augustdorf are likely to have acted as camp guards. The commander of the subcamp was SS-Unterscharführer Alfred Andreas Hofmann. Although he was sentenced to five years in prison for mistreatment of prisoners at Buchenwald, there are no recorded convictions for crimes committed in Augustdorf.

When the subcamp was evacuated remains unclear, but it was certainly prior to the heavy fighting between Wehrmacht and Waffen SS soldiers and soldiers of the US Army around Augustdorf in April 1945. However, Buchenwald records show 33 prisoners arriving from Augustdorf on 5th April 1945.

The site is now occupied by the Bundeswehr.


 For further information, see the Buchenwald Subcamp Portal.

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