Erika concentration camp (; ) was a

Nazi 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 ...

concentration camp during the

Second World War 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 camp was situated at the hill near

Ommen Ommen () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a Hanseatic League, Hanseatic city in the eastern Netherlands. It is located in the Vechte, Vecht valley of the Salland region in Overijssel. Historical records first name Ommen in ...

, in the East of the Netherlands. The camp was designated mostly for Dutchmen convicted of black market trade or resistance to occupational authorities; only eight Jews were detained here. The camp was notorious for the brutal behaviour of its personnel, leading Dutch judges to refuse to send convicts there in 1943. The camp was turned into an ''Arbeitserziehungslager'' mostly for those refusing to do forced labour, but in the autumn of 1944 it once again became a penal camp. The camp was liberated on 11 April 1945. Herbertus Bikker, also known as The Butcher of Ommen (), was a member of the Waffen-SS. He served as a guard at the Erika prison and work camp. He received his nickname due to his brutal behaviour at the prison camp. From 1945 to 1946, the camp was instead used to detain Dutchmen who had

collaborated Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. The f ...

with the German occupiers.Guusta Veldman ''Knackers achter prikkeldraad : kamp Erika bij Ommen, 1941-1945 '' (1993) (in Dutch)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erika Concentration Camp Nazi concentration camps in the Netherlands Kamp Erika Kamp Erika es:Ommen#Campo de concentración Kamp Erika