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Wedel (Men)
Shortly after the Wedel satellite camp for women was evacuated, it was occupied again by other concentration camp prisoners. On 17 October 1944, around 500 men, mostly Polish, Soviet and Dutch prisoners, were taken to Wedel. They were forced to construct anti-tank ditches for a planned ring of fortifications around Hamburg and to carry out excavations in Hamburg-Sülldorf. This work was commissioned by the Reich Defence Commissar (Reichsverteidigungskommissar) in Military District X (Wehrkreis X). On 20 November, the SS cleared the satellite camp again and transported the prisoners to the Meppen-Versen satellite camp of Neuengamme concentration camp.
During its five-week existence, the satellite camp claimed the lives of at least 27 prisoners, including 10 men who had been deported from the Dutch town of Putten. Putten had the been the target of Wehrmacht “retaliation measures” in October 1944, during which all men in the area were deported to Neuengamme concentration camp.
Nothing is known about the commander of this camp.
Period
17 October 1944 to 20 November 1944
Number of Prisoners
500 Male Prisoners
Kind of Work
Construction of anti-tank ditches
Labor on Behalf of
Reich Defence Commissar in Military District X
Location
Directions
Monument: Rissener Straße, 22871 Wedel, Germany.
Cemetery: Breiter Weg, 22871 Wedel, Germany.
Directions by public transportation:
Monument: From the Wedel urban rail station (S-Bahn), take bus 189 to the “Kronskamp” stop.
Cemetery: From the Wedel urban rail station (S-Bahn), take bus 289 in the direction of Moorwegssiedlung to the “Friedhof” stop.
Memorial
In the early 1950s, a memorial stone bearing 15 names and the inscription “To the victims of the Nazis murdered in 1944 in the Wedel satellite camp of Neuengamme concentration camp” was placed in the Breiter Weg cemetery. This memorial stone was removed in 1971, apparently because it was in bad condition, and replaced by another one which gave no indication that the victims of the Wedel satellite camp were buried there. A memorial slab was installed in 1985 which does mention the Wedel camp.
In 1978, the Association of Victims of Nazi Persecution – League of Anti-Fascists began calling for a monument to be erected to commemorate the satellite camp in Wedel. The history workshop of the local adult education centre and the mayor supported the initiative. The monument was dedicated in 1986 and features a plaque with information on the history of the camp. The memorial complex was expanded in November 1997.
Contact
Stadt Wedel
Stadtarchiv
Postfach 2 60
22871 Wedel
Germany
Tel.: +49 (0) 4103 – 7 07 21 5
Fax: +49 (0) 4103 – 7 07 88 21 5
Email: a.rannegger@stadt.wedel.de
