Forgotten Horrors: The Nazi sub-camp system

  Lagischa was established in September 1943 in the  Łagisza suburb of Bedzin to assist in the construction of an electric power station by  Energie-Versorgung Oberschlesien (EVO) corporation. There were initially 300 prisoners in the camp, later increasing to 500 and then 725 at peak capacity in August 1944. They were accommodated in four barracks and there was also an outpatient clinic building an infirmary and three storage barracks. The prisoners were set to work constructing a railway siding, demolishing houses and other buildings, digging ditches and unloading machinery and construction materials. However, the project to build the power station was cancelled in September 1944 and the camp was closed down. Some of the prisoners were transferred to  Sosnowitz and Neu-Dachs. The remainder went to Auschwitz I. The camp was commanded by  Unterscharführer Horst Czerwinski. It was guarded by more than 30 SS men who treated the prisoners brutally, beating them with sticks and rifle butts

Janinagrube sub-camp was located in Libiaz at the Janina coal mine, which was operated by German company  Fürstengrube GmbH. Some 400 prisoners were brought to the site from the main camp at Auschwitz in September 1943 where they were set to work as coal miners. Previously, British POWs, and some Palestinian Jews, had been held on the site, but they had either refused to work or indulged in acts of sabotage. By late 1944, the number of inmates at the camp had increased to 900. Most of them were Jews from  Poland, Bohemia, Greece, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Italy, but a number of non-Jewish Poles and Germans were held there as well. Camp accommodation consisted of a brick building and four wooden barracks, along with a kitchen and food store. The working conditions were harsh. There was no protective clothing. More than 45 prisoners had died by January 1945, while several thousand more were returned to Birkenau after being deemed unfit to work. In that same month, the camp wa

  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 Sergean

  Jaworzno was first established in 1943 and was later converted into a labour camp by the Soviet NKVD. It was subsequently operated by them and then by other facets of the Polish communist regime from 1945 to 1956. The Nazis operated the camp under the name SS-Lager Dachsgrube or Arbeitslager Neu-Dachs from 15th June 1943. It was evacuated by them in January 1945. The prisoners mainly worked in coal mining and in the construction of the nearby power plant, for Albert Speer's company  EnergieVersorgung Oberschlesien AG   (EVO). British prisoners of war from Stalag VIII-B at Lamsdorf (Lambinowice), helped to build the camp. The guards were mainly drawn from ethnic German (Volksdeutche) members of the SS. The commandant was Bruno Pfutze and his deputy was Paul Weissman. At any one time, the camp held up to 5,000 inmates, mostly European Jews, but also included Poles and Soviet POWs. 14 prisoners managed to escape, but there were many deaths from starvation, disease, hard labour and b

Eintrachthütte was opened near Zgoda in Poland in May 1943 and remained in operation until 23rd January 1945. It was commanded by SS-Hauptscharfuhrer Josef Remmele until July 1944 and subsequently SS-Hauptscharfuhrer Wilhelm Gehring. Both commanders were known for their inhumanity, and they treated the inmates brutally, including incidences of torture. They were also directly involved in executions. The camp consisted of six wooden barracks, a kitchen, infirmary, storehouse, latrine, shower block with disinfection chamber and a brick administration building. The double fence was electrified with four guard towers at the corners and 10 spotlights. The barracks consisted of two rooms inside of which there were three-level bunks. Mattresses were packed with straw and blankets were provided. 60-80 prisoners were held in each room. Breakfast consisted solely of a coffee substitute. Soup, usually spinach, was provided for dinner with the occasional sausage. Supper consisted of coffee substit

  Aerial photograph of Auschwitz III (Monowitz-Buna) The site of Auschwitz III Monowitz-Buna as it is now Monowitz subcamp was also known as Monowitz-Buna and Auschwitz III. It was established in October 1942 and evacuated in 1945. From 1943, the subcamp was commanded by SS Hauptsturmfuhrer Heinrich Schwarz. The subcamp held around 12,000 prisoners, most of whom were Jews, although there were also some criminals and political prisoners. They were used as skilled and unskilled labour at the nearby I G Farben chemical plant (which produced rubber and synthetic fuels), for which the SS charged the company three Reichsmarks per day for unskilled workers and four RM per day skilled workers. Where children were used as labour, the SS charged one and a half RM per day. Jewish workers at Monowitz had an average life expectancy of three to four months, reduced to just one month for those working at nearby mines. Those regarded as unfit for work were gassed at Birkenau. Prisoners at work on the

  The Baty shoe factory - towards the top of the picture, close to a stretch of woodland, there is visible what appears to be the trackbed of a railway, with two surviving buildings. This may be the surviving remnants of the engine house. Chelmek subcamp opened in October 1942 with around 150 prisoners held in a barracks near the engine house of a narrow gauge railway. Most of the prisoners were Jews from France, Belgium and The Netherlands who worked at cleaning the ponds used by the local Bata shoe factory as a water source. The prisoners were brutally treated, with hunger and hard labour along with persecution by the SS guards claiming the lives of 47 prisoners and requiring another 64 to be admitted to hospital in a severe condition. The final 34 prisoners in the camp were transferred to Auschwitz I in December 1942, where at least 28 of them died. Thus almost all the prisoners held in this subcamp died.  Further information and photos: Subcamps of Auschwitz