Sonnenburg concentration camp

Sonnenburg concentration camp (German: Konzentrationslager Sonnenburg) was opened on 3 April 1933 in Sonnenburg (now Słońsk in Poland) near Küstrin (Kostrzyn nad Odrą) in a former Neumark prison, on the initiative of the Free State of Prussia Ministry of the Interior and Justice.[lower-alpha 1][2]

Sonnenburg concentration camp
Murdered prisoners of Sonnenburg concentration camp, 1945, with Soviet soldiers
Sonnenburg concentration camp
Location of Sonnenburg at Słońsk, Poland
LocationSłońsk, Poland
PersecutionImprisonment, forced labor

History

Although the state of hygiene in the building, which had been closed in 1930 was appalling, officials of the Prussian justice ministry recommended it as a suitable site. They estimated the capacity of the building at 941 so-called protective custody prisoners (Schutzhäftlinge), who could be accommodated either in single cells or in communal cells holding up to 20, 30 and 60 people each. The first 200 prisoners along with 60 SA auxiliary police came on 3 April 1933 from the Berlin Police Presidium. Later, on the order of the head of the Prussian Gestapo, prisoners were deported from the penal institution of Gollnow in Pomerania to Sonnenburg, bringing the number of inmates to 1,000.

Sonnenburg concentration camp was closed on 23 April 1934. The prison heritage building still exists. Since the beginning of the Second World War in 1939 the concentration camp or punishment camp (Straflager) continued as a concentration and labour camp for alleged anti-German people from the occupied territories until 1945. Amongst its inmates were the resistance fighters, Jean-Baptiste Lebas and Bjørn Egge. The French spy, René Lefebvre, father of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, succumbed in 1944 to the consequences of imprisonment there.

German staff

The first commandant was police lieutenant (Polizeioberleutnant) Keßler. After him came:

  • Police second lieutenant (Polizeileutnant) Bark
  • Police lieutenant Siegmund
  • SA-Sturmführer Jahr

SA-Sturmführer Bahr initially commanded the infamous Berlin SA storm troops (Stürme) No. 1 Horst Wessel and No. 33 Mordsturm Maikowski, which were responsible for guarding prisoners. They were reinforced by members of the police. In late April, the Berlin SA men were replaced by others from Frankfurt/Oder. At the end of August the SS took over, as they did in many camps, with 150 men from the 27th SS Regiment (SS-Standarte 27) from Frankfurt/Oder.

Notable prisoners

During the early years of their rule, and long before the start of the war, the Nazi regime mainly imprisoned Communists and Social Democrats in Sonnenburg. These included:

Other early concentration camps

See also

Notes
  1. According to Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos published by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Sonnenburg concentration camp was one of 110 early Nazi German camps known and listed by name.[1]

Citations
  1. Geoffrey P. Megargee. "Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933–1945" (PDF). The Early National Socialist Concentration Camps. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. VIII (8 / 22) – via direct download.
  2. TK25 Sheet 3454 Sonnenburg - 1938 edition. Archived 2015-12-08 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Mnichowski Przemysław: Obóz koncentracyjny i więzienie w Sonnenburgu (Słońsku), 1939-1945. Warszawa 1982, p.88
  4. David Magnus Mintert, Das frühe Konzentrationslager Kemna und das sozialistische Milieu im Bergischen Land (PDF) Ruhr University Bochum, doctoral dissertation (2007), pp. 232–235. Retrieved January 14, 2012 (in German)

References
  • Klaus Drobisch, Günther Wieland: System der NS- Konzentrationslager. 1933–1939. Akademie Verlag, Berlin, 1993, ISBN 3-05-000823-7.
  • Kaspar Nürnberg: Außenstelle des Berliner Polizeipräsidiums: Das „staatliche Konzentrationslager“ Sonnenburg bei Küstrin. In: Wolfgang Benz, Barbara Distel (ed.): Herrschaft und Gewalt. Frühe Konzentrationslager 1933–1939. Metropol Verlag, Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-932482-82-4, S. 83–100 (Geschichte der Konzentrationslager 1933–1945, vol. 2).
  • Christina Morina: Die "Folterhölle Sonnenburg". Gedenkstätte ehemaliges Konzentrationslager Sonnenburg/Słonsk 1933–1945. published by the Rotary Club of Frankfurt (Oder) and the town of Słonsk. Frankfurt (Oder) 2004.
  • Kaspar Nürnberg: Sonnenburg. In: Wolfgang Benz, Barbara Distel (ed.): Der Ort des Terrors. Geschichte der nationalsozialistischen Konzentrationslager. Vol. 2: Frühe Lager, Dachau, Emslandlager. C. H. Beck, Munich, 2005, ISBN 3-406-52962-3, S. 200–207.

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