Work at the Prisoners’ Barracks and at the SS Barracks

A workplace at the prisoners’ or SS barracks often meant a higher chance of survival, because prisoners working inside the camp’s buildings were better protected from the elements. Prisoners who worked in the SS utility facilities, such as the SS kitchen, the rabbit hutches, the SS garages or the stables, were given enough to eat and received clean clothes and better medical treatment than most other prisoners. They were also housed separately. Most of the work inside the prisoners’ barracks was also less physically strenuous than the work on the excavation and construction commandos. Some workplaces also offered opportunities to arrange for additional food.

Handbarrow for carrying potatoes: Transport work at the concentration camp was mostly carried out manually by prisoners, since their labor was cheap and abundant. Barrows like this one were used, among other things, to transport potatoes. The Vierlande Penal Facility donated this barrow to the Neuengamme memorial in August 2000.