Vulkanwerft concentration camp in the Bredow district of

Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...

(), also known as the ''KZ Stettin-Bredow'', was one of the early so-called "wild" German

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 ...

set up by the SA (or the SS by different source), in October 1933. The camp existed only until 11 March 1934, before prisoner transfer, and in spite of its short history, had as many as three commandants including '' SS-

Truppführer ''Truppführer'' (, "troop leader") was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1930 as a rank of the '' Sturmabteilung'' (SA). Translated as "Troop Leader", the rank of ''Truppführer'' evolved from early '' Freikorps'' titles ...

'' Otto Meier, ''SS-Truppführer'' Karl Salis, and ''SS-Truppführer'' Fritz Pleines. The camp was notorious for the brutality of its guards. The prisoners were kept in the basement of the shipyard buildings. Some of the prisoners had contacts capable of influencing the leadership. Former field marshal

August von Mackensen Anton Ludwig Friedrich August Mackensen (ennobled as von Mackensen in 1899; 6 December 1849 – 8 November 1945), was a German field marshal. He commanded Army Group Mackensen during World War I (1914–1918) and became one of the German Empire ...

wrote a letter to

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...

, after which eight people, Joachim Hoffmann, Gustav Fink, Fritz Pleines, Willi Herrmann, Heinrich Richter and Walter Treptow, were arrested for torturing detainees. All of them were convicted "because out of pure sadism they had tortured their victims to the utmost in an inhumane manner," beyond what was necessary. Hoffmann was sentenced to 13 years in prison, Fink was sentenced to 10 years in prison, Herrmann received a 6-year sentence, Pleines and Salis each received 5-year sentences, Richter received a 2-year sentence, and Treptow received a 9-month sentence. Police officer Paul Grafunder was fined 300

Reichsmarks The (; Currency sign, sign: ℛ︁ℳ︁; abbreviation: RM) was the currency of German Reich, Germany from 1924 until the fall of Nazi Germany in 1945, and in the Bizone, American, British and French occupied zones of Germany, until 20 June 19 ...

for trying to cover up the torture. The fine was considered paid via the time he'd served in pre-trial custody. On 30 June 1934, Hoffmann, Fink and Pleines were taken from prison and executed by firing squads composed of members of the

SS Division Leibstandarte The 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler or SS Division Leibstandarte, abbreviated as LSSAH (), began as Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguard unit, responsible for guarding the Führer's person, offices, and residences. Initially th ...

during the

Night of the Long Knives The Night of the Long Knives (, ), also called the Röhm purge or Operation Hummingbird (), was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany from 30 June to 2 July 1934. Chancellor Adolf Hitler, urged on by Hermann Göring and Heinrich Himmler, ord ...

.Heinz Höhne: ''The Order of the Death’s Head. The Story of Hitler’s S.S.'', 1969, S. 188. Bei Höhne lautet es Englisch: “A fanatical, sadistic intellectual with an absence of feeling such as I had never experienced before.” (Die deutsche Originalformulierung: „Hofmann war einen Menschenschinder nach Himmlers Herzen. Haacke sagte von ihm: ›Ich habe Obersturmführer Dr. Hofmann mehrfach viele Stunden vernommen. Der Typ interessierte mich, wie eben auch ein besonders ekelerregendes Reptil ein von Neugier und Grauen gemischtes Interesse erregen kann. Dr. Hofmann war keine Korporalsnatur, sondern ein fanatischer, sadistischer Intellektueller von einer mir bis dahin nicht vorgekommenen Kälte des Gefühls. Ich habe nur einen Menschen kennengelernt, der mich im Wesen, ja sogar in seinen Bewegungen und Gesten vom ersten Augenblick an ihn erinnerte: Heydrich.‹“ Rudolf Diels: Lucifer Ante Portas … Es spricht der erste Chef der Gestapo, Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1950, S. 396.).

Other early concentration camps

Breitenau concentration camp Breitenau concentration camp was one of the first Internment, concentration camps established by the Nazi Germany, Nazis. 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 ...

(1933–1934) * 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 ...

, PolandDavid 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 *

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

Notes

Citations

{{Authority control 1930s in Prussia Nazi concentration camps in Germany

Other early concentration camps

See also

Notes

Citations