Prisoners from Austria
The persecution of political opponents, the Jewish population and other minorities started immediately after the annexation of Austria in March 1938. The first political prisoners were taken to Dachau concentration camp on 1 April 1938, and in the summer of 1938, a large new concentration camp was set up at Mauthausen near Linz. After the start of the war, Austrian Jews were increasingly concentrated in Vienna and systematically deported. Roma and Sinti suffered similar persecution. Most of the Austrians in Neuengamme were imprisoned for political reasons or because they were regarded as “criminals”. The majority of them had been transferred here from Mauthausen or Dachau concentration camps. A total of around 300 men and 20 women from Austria were imprisoned in Neuengamme and its satellite camps.