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Prisoners as slave labourers in armaments production

In 1942, armaments manufacturers set up production facilities in the grounds of Neuengamme concentration camp. From this point on, prisoners were used to manufacture timed detonators for shells (for Deutsche Messapparate GmbH, or Messap), to repair and build ship parts and engines (for the Hamburg engine manufacturing company Carl Jastram) and to produce pistols and carbines (for Metallwerke Neuengamme, a branch of the Thuringia-based weapons manufacturer Carl Walther). The Deutsche Ausrüstungswerke (DAW) was an SS-owned company which processed wood and metal. The supplementary exhibition entitled "Mobilisation for the Wartime Economy: Concentration Camp Prisoners as Slave Labourers in Armaments Production" explores the gruelling armaments production work carried out in Neuengamme concentration camp. The exhibition is located in the former Walther factory, where the prisoners were forced to carry out much of this work.

The exhibition opened on 5 May 2007.

 

Map of the exhibition

 
The most important armaments operation in Neuengamme concentration camp was the Walther factory. This factory initially produced the Pi 38 pistol, then later the G 43 automatic rifle and finally the so-called "people's rifle".