Breitenau concentration camp was one of the first
concentration camps
A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploit ...
established by the
Nazis
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
. It was founded in June 1933 as an addition to the Breitenau Labor and Welfare House, less than six months after the Nazis by a democratic election in Germany became the majority party in the German parliament.
It closed in March 1934 and reopened in 1940 where it remained in operation until the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
In 1984, a memorial was constructed on the site of the former camp.
History
In 1133,
Benedictines
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...
founded a monastery at
Breitenau.
Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse
Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse (13 November 1504 – 31 March 1567), nicknamed (), was a German nobleman and champion of the Protestant Reformation, notable for being one of the most important of the early Protestant rulers in Germany. He was ...
converted the monastery to an estate in 1527. By 1579, it became a horse stable and warehouse for agricultural products. Between the early 17th and late 19th centuries, it mostly served as a country residence.
It was converted into a prison labor camp for beggars, vagabonds, and so-called "lewd women" in 1874. Three years later, an institution for the rural poor was established alongside the
prison camp. Treatment at the prison was considered cruel with lengthy sentences and hard labor for minor criminal offenses, including
poverty
Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...
.
The Nazis converted the camp into a concentration camp for political prisoners in June 1933. It closed approximately nine months later in March 1934. During this time, the camp held political prisoners from
Hesse
Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...
and
Thuringia
Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area.
Er ...
, Germany.
In 1940, the camp reopened and served as a
forced labor
Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...
camp until 1945. This period marked a shift in which both Germans and foreigners were detained together. It is estimated that approximately 6,500 foreigners and 2,000–2,500 Germans were enslaved here.
Breitenau Memorial
In 1984, a memorial was established in memory of those who were detained, enslaved, and murdered at the Breitenau concentration camp. It was built in a
tithe barn
A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing rents and tithes. Farmers were required to give one-tenth of their produce to the established church. Tithe barns were usually associated with the ...
that has been dated to the 15th century when it belonged to the original monastery.
Compensation became available to survivors of the Breitenau concentration camp in 2000 with the memorial helping them apply for compensation.
Other early concentration camps
*
Breslau-Dürrgoy concentration camp in
Wrocław
Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...
, Poland
[David Magnus Mintert]
''Das frühe Konzentrationslager Kemna und das sozialistische Milieu im Bergischen Land''
(PDF) Ruhr University Bochum
The Ruhr University Bochum (, ) is a public research university located in the southern hills of the central Ruhr area, Bochum, Germany. It was founded in 1962 as the first new public university in Germany after World War II. Instruction began ...
, doctoral dissertation (2007), pp. 232–235. Retrieved January 14, 2012
*
Esterwegen concentration camp
The Esterwegen concentration camp near Esterwegen was an early Nazi concentration camp within a series of camps first established in the Emsland district of Germany. It was established in the summer of 1933 as a concentration camp for 2000 so-c ...
*
Kemna concentration camp
Kemna concentration camp () was one of the early Nazi concentration camps, created by the Third Reich to incarcerate their political opponents (ostensibly in Protective custody (Nazi Germany), protective custody) after the Nazi Party first Machter ...
*
Oranienburg concentration camp
Oranienburg was an early Nazi concentration camp, one of the first concentration camp, detention facilities established by the Nazis in the Free State of Prussia, state of Prussia when they Hitler's rise to power#Seizure of control .281931 - 1933 ...
*
Sonnenburg concentration camp
The Sonnenburg concentration camp () was a Nazi German concentration camp, that was opened on 3 April 1933 in Sonnenburg (now Słońsk in Poland) in a former prison, on the initiative of the Free State of Prussia Ministry of the Interior and Just ...
*
Vulkanwerft concentration camp
Vulkanwerft concentration camp in the Bredow district of Szczecin (), also known as the ''KZ Stettin-Bredow'', was one of the early so-called "wild" German Nazi concentration camps set up by the SA (or the SS by different source), in October 19 ...
in the Bredow district of
Stettin
Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major seaport, the largest city of northwestern Poland, and se ...
See also
*
The Holocaust
The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
*
List of concentration and internment camps
This is a list of Internment, internment and concentration camps, organized by country. In general, a camp or group of camps is designated to the country whose government was responsible for the establishment and/or operation of the camp regardle ...
*
List of Nazi concentration camps
According to the '' Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos'', there were 23 main concentration camps (), of which most had a system of satellite camps. Including the satellite camps, the total number of Nazi concentration camps that existed at one ...
*
Nazi concentration camps
From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps (), including subcamp (SS), subcamps on its own territory and in parts of German-occupied Europe.
The first camps were established in March 1933 immediately af ...
*
Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...
*
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
* The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933–1945, vol. 1
References
External links
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Website
{{Coord, 51, 12, 11, N, 9, 28, 32, E, display=title, region:DE-HE_type:landmark_source:dewiki
Nazi concentration camps in Germany
Reich Security Main Office
Monasteries used as prisons