Lexi Webster
During World War II, Nazi Germany established several concentration camps in Austria. The most notable of these was the Mauthausen concentration camp, located near Linz, which served as the main camp for a network of nearly 100 subcamps throughout Austria and southern Germany. Other concentration camps in Austria included Gusen, Gunskirchen, Melk, Ebensee, Amstetten, and St. Pantaleon-Weyer. These camps were used to imprison and exploit the forced labour of political opponents, Jews, and other targeted groups as part of the Nazi regime's genocidal policies.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name of Concentration Camp | Mauthausen |
| Location | Mauthausen, a market town in Upper Austria, 20 km (12 mi) east of Linz |
| Year of Operation | 1938–1945 |
| Number of Prisoners | 190,000 |
| Number of Deaths | 90,000 |
| Liberation Date | 5 May 1945 |
| Liberating Army | US Army |
| Subcamps | Gusen, Gunskirchen, Melk, Ebensee, Amstetten, and many more |
| Other Concentration Camps in Austria | St. Pantaleon-Weyer |
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What You'll Learn
Mauthausen concentration camp
Mauthausen was a German Nazi concentration camp located on a hill above the market town of Mauthausen, roughly 20 kilometres (12 miles) east of Linz in Upper Austria. The camp was established in 1938 following the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany.
Mauthausen was the main camp of a group with nearly 100 subcamps located throughout Austria and southern Germany. The subcamps included quarries, munitions factories, mines, arms factories, and plants assembling Me 262 fighter aircraft. The main camp and its subcamps were used for forced labour, with inmates working under harsh and deadly conditions. The production output of Mauthausen and its subcamps exceeded that of other large slave labour centres, making it one of the most profitable concentration camp complexes.
Mauthausen was founded by a private company as an economic enterprise, but it was controlled by the German state from the beginning. The site was chosen due to its proximity to Linz and the nearby granite quarry, which was owned by the city of Vienna. The quarry's granite was intended to be used in the reconstruction of major German towns according to Nazi architectural plans. The funding for the construction of the camp came from various sources, including commercial loans and money stolen from the inmates of concentration camps.
In August 1938, prisoners from the Dachau concentration camp were transferred to Mauthausen to begin constructing the new camp. These initial prisoners had to build their own camp and set up operations in the quarry. By the end of 1938, Mauthausen held nearly 1,000 prisoners, mostly convicted criminals, repeat offenders, and people the Nazi regime classified as "asocials". During World War II, the number of prisoners at Mauthausen increased dramatically and diversified. In addition to criminals and asocials, the camp also held political opponents, religious conscientious objectors, and thousands of Spanish Republicans.
During the second half of the war, the prisoners at Mauthausen, which now included women for the first time, were increasingly used as forced labourers in the arms industry. The SS established several subcamps to accommodate the prisoners where they worked. Overcrowding, lack of food, and rampant disease led to mass death among the prisoners in the final months before liberation. On 5 May 1945, the US Army reached Mauthausen and Gusen, and the camp was liberated. Of the approximately 190,000 people imprisoned in Mauthausen and its subcamps, at least 90,000 died.
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Gusen concentration camps
The Gusen concentration camp was located in Austria, around three miles from the Mauthausen concentration camp. Gusen was established on May 25, 1940, by the SS authorities, who were attracted to the site due to its proximity to the Gusen and Kastenhof stone quarries. The land for the camp was purchased by the SS on May 25, 1938, and the site was initially used as a forced labour detachment of Mauthausen.
Gusen was a subcamp of Mauthausen, and it is estimated that around 71,000 people from across Europe were deported to the camp. The conditions at Gusen were harsh, and over 36,000 prisoners died due to murder, mistreatment, starvation, exposure, and disease. The camp was liberated on May 5, 1945, by the US Army, and the crematoria at the camp still held human remains.
The use of concentration camp prisoners as forced labourers in the arms industry became increasingly important to German armaments production during World War II. In 1943, two large arms companies moved parts of their production to the Gusen concentration camp, and the camp was expanded to include a new section called 'Gusen II'. Gusen II served as an improvised concentration camp and is reported to have had the most catastrophic living conditions.
The SS also initiated a giant underground construction project near Gusen, with the intention of providing bomb-proof sites for factories. Thousands of prisoners worked on the construction of these tunnels, and the conditions were extremely brutal, resulting in a high number of deaths.
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St. Pantaleon-Weyer concentration camp
The St. Pantaleon-Weyer concentration camp, also known as the Labor Education- and Gypsy Detention Camp St. Pantaleon-Weyer, was a former National Socialist detention camp in the municipal area of St. Pantaleon, Upper Austria. The camp existed as a Labor Education Camp from July 5, 1940, until about January 7, 1941, when it was converted into a Gypsy Detention Camp and used as such until November of the same year.
The St. Pantaleon-Weyer concentration camp was situated in Weyer, a part of the municipality of Haigermoos, which belonged to the municipality of Sankt Pantaleon until 1945. The camp was first established in the inn Göschl in Moosach in the parish of Sankt Georgen bei Salzburg, before being moved to the property of the Ortsgruppenleiter, the landlord, and agriculturalist Michael Kaltenegger.
The St. Pantaleon-Weyer concentration camp was closed down on November 4, 1941, and the inmates were transported to the Ghetto Litzmannstadt in Łódź, Poland. The camp staff were replaced, and the new camp commander was an officer of the criminal investigation department in Linz.
A memorial site was erected in 2000 to commemorate the history of the camp and the municipality of Sankt Pantaleon's responsibility as the then-competent administration. The memorial site is maintained by the municipality of St. Pantaleon and the Society Memorial Site Camp Weyer.
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Austrian victims of Auschwitz
The Mauthausen concentration camp was a German Nazi camp located on a hill above the market town of Mauthausen, about 20 kilometres east of Linz in Upper Austria. It was the main camp of a group with nearly 100 further subcamps located throughout Austria and southern Germany. The camp was founded by a private company as an economic enterprise, but it was controlled by the German state from the beginning. The first prisoners arrived at the camp on 8 August 1938, and they were forced to build their own camp and set up operations in the quarry.
During the war, forced labour using concentration camp prisoners became increasingly important to German armaments production. In the summer and fall of 1944, subcamps under the administration of Mauthausen were established near armaments factories throughout northern Austria. The staff at Mauthausen administered more than 60 subcamps, including Gusen, Gunskirchen, Melk, Ebensee, and Amstetten.
The Mauthausen camp and its subcamps were used for the imprisonment and murder of the Nazis' political and ideological enemies. Prisoners were forced to work as slave labourers under harsh and murderous conditions, and those who were ill or 'useless' to the SS were in constant danger of their lives. The SS established a gas chamber at Mauthausen for the systematic murder of large groups of people. Overcrowding, lack of food, and rampant disease also led to mass death among the prisoners. Of a total of around 190,000 people imprisoned in the Mauthausen camp and its subcamps, at least 90,000 died.
While I cannot find specific information on Austrian victims of Auschwitz, it is estimated that there were around 62,000 Austrian victims of the Holocaust. Many Austrian Jews were deported to concentration camps in Germany, such as Dachau and Buchenwald. In addition, thousands of Jews were deported from Vienna to ghettos in eastern Europe, where they were shot shortly after arrival.
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Austrian collaborators in concentration camps
The Mauthausen concentration camp was established in 1938, after the German annexation of Austria. Mauthausen became the main Nazi camp in Austria, with nearly 100 subcamps located throughout Austria and southern Germany. The camp was built near an abandoned stone quarry, along the Danube River, about 12.5 miles southeast of Linz. The Mauthausen concentration camp was designated a category III camp, indicating that it was a special penal camp with a harsh regimen.
The first prisoners at the camp were transferred from the Dachau concentration camp near Munich. These prisoners were forced to build their own camp and work in the quarries. The daily lives of the prisoners were shaped by hunger, arbitrary treatment, and violence. The inmates at Mauthausen and its subcamps were forced to work as slave labour under conditions that caused many deaths. The production capacity of Mauthausen and the Gusen camps reached its peak in 1942. The Gusen site was expanded to include the central depot of the SS, where goods seized from occupied territories were sorted and dispatched to Germany.
During the war, forced labour using concentration camp prisoners became increasingly important to German armaments production. In 1944, subcamps under the administration of Mauthausen were established near armaments factories throughout northern Austria. The staff at Mauthausen administered more than 60 subcamps, including Gusen, Gunskirchen, Melk, Ebensee, and Amstetten.
In addition to the Mauthausen camp and its subcamps, other concentration camps in Austria included Lochau in the west and Strasshof in the east. The Kristallnacht ("Night of Broken Glass") pogroms in November 1938 were particularly brutal in Austria, with synagogues, Jewish businesses, and properties being vandalized and ransacked. Thousands of Jews were arrested and deported to concentration camps in Germany. During World War II, German policy shifted towards the forced deportation of Jews from Austria to occupied Poland and other parts of eastern Europe.
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Frequently asked questions
Concentration camps in Austria during World War II included Mauthausen, Gusen, Gunskirchen, Melk, Ebensee, Amstetten, and St. Pantaleon-Weyer.
Mauthausen was a German Nazi concentration camp on a hill above the market town of Mauthausen, Upper Austria. It was the main camp of a group with nearly 100 further subcamps located throughout Austria and southern Germany.
The Mauthausen concentration camp operated from 8 August 1938 to 5 May 1945, when it was liberated by the US Army.
Mauthausen was a slave labour camp where prisoners were forced to work in the nearby granite quarry. It is estimated that of the 190,000 people imprisoned at Mauthausen and its subcamps, at least 90,000 died.
Although there were relatively few Austrians on the concentration camp staff, several Austrian women played a role in the atrocities as supervisors.
