Wilhelmshaven (2nd SS Construction Brigade)

In the spring of 1943, a branch of the 2nd SS Construction Brigade (II. SS-Baubrigade) in Bremen was established in Wilhelmshaven as a satellite camp of the Neuengamme concentration camp. Concentration camp prisoners had been used in SS construction brigades since the autumn of 1942 to clear rubble, recover bodies and defuse bombs after Allied bombing raids on cities in western and north-western Germany. These prisoners were usually under the command of the concentration camp authority closest to their place of deployment.

175 prisoners were forced to carry out clearance work and recover unexploded bombs for the city council. It is not known where the men were housed. In early August 1943, following massive attacks on Hamburg, all prisoners were moved there. In September and November 1943, groups of 30 prisoners were taken to Wilhelmshaven as “bomb seekers” for a month at a time.

The name of the camp commander is not known.