Neuengamme concentration camp

The origins of the Neuengamme concentration camp date back to 1938, when it was initially established as an subcamp of Sachsenhausen concentration camp. From 1940, it was expanded into an independent concentration camp and eventually comprised at least 86 subcamps. Prisoners were forced to work in an SS-owned brickworks, in the armaments industry, and in the construction of military installations. Of the approximately 100,000 prisoners incarcerated there until 1945, at least 50,000 lost their lives due to the brutal conditions of “extermination through labor,” targeted murders – such as the gassing of Soviet prisoners of war with Zyklon B – and the catastrophic camp evacuations shortly before the end of the war. The SS began dissolving the camp on April 20, 1945. Many of the emaciated prisoners died on the so-called death marches. Another tragedy occurred on May 3, 1945, when approximately 7,000 prisoners perished in the bombing of the ships Cap Arcona and Thielbek. British troops found the camp evacuated on May 4, 1945.

The former Neuengamme concentration camp is located in the Hamburg-Neuengamme district, on the eastern edge of the city of Hamburg in Germany. It is situated at an elevation of approximately 7 meters above sea level.

Today, the site of the former Neuengamme concentration camp is a memorial that can be visited and serves as a reminder of the atrocities of National Socialism.

• Bergedorf Castle (Castle), approx. 6.7 km away
• Winsen Castle (Castle), approx. 7.8 km away
• Reinbek Castle (Castle), approx. 8.6 km away
• Karolinenhof Manor House (Manor House), approx. 10.2 km away