The Satellite Camps
From 1942, the Ministry of Armament and the armaments industry increasingly demanded the use of concentration camp prisoners as laborers. This led to the establishment of a large number of satellite camps in the vicinity of production and construction sites, most of which were set up during the last year of the war. By 1945, Neuengamme concentration camp had 87 satellite camps in northern Germany. In March 1945, 13,000 men were imprisoned in Neuengamme main camp, while around 28,000 men and over 12,000 women in the satellite camps were forced to work for German companies, the Wehrmacht, the German state and the SS.
The Satellite Camps for Men
Tens of thousands of men from all over Europe – more than half of the prisoners of Neuengamme concentration camp – were used as slave laborers in more than 60 satellite camps during the second half of the war. They worked in arms production, they built bunkers, fortifications, industrial plants and undergroundproduction facilities, and they had to clear away rubble and repair roads and other traffic routes.
The Satellite Camps for Women
Since 1944/45, 24 women's external camps were assigned to the Neuengamme concentration camp. The concentration camp inmates were employed underground in armaments production, rubble removal and in the construction of makeshift homes.