Non German Groups of Prisoners

The majority of prisoners at Neuengamme concentration camp came from European countries under German occupation. From 1942, more and more slave labourers who had been arrested in Germany were taken to the camp. During the last year of the war, the number of new prisoners rose to over 50,000. Altogether, around 81,000 men and 13,600 women were imprisoned at Neuengamme between 1938 and 1945. Additionally, 1,000 Soviet POWs and around 1,500 police prisoners who had their own numbers were also imprisoned there. In autumn 1944, 2,000 Danish policemen were imprisoned at Neuengamme for a few days before being transported to Buchenwald concentration camp. Like the around 1,400 people who were taken to Neuengamme to be executed, they did not receive prisoners’ numbers. From 1943, the majority of new prisoners were imprisoned in satellite camps. The SS also transferred several thousand prisoners to other concentration camps. In winter 1944/45, the main camp held between 12,000 and 14,000 prisoners and the satellite camps held almost 40,000 prisoners.

A map of Europe that shows the number of prisoners of each country who were imprisoned at Neuengamme concentration camp.
Further reading at the Learning Center Non-German Groups of Prisoners
Media Library

The complete permanent exhibition "Time Traces" and the other side exhibitions on the grounds of the Neuengamme Concentration Camp Memorial are also available digitally in the memorial's media library. Unfortunately, the media library is only available in German.

media library
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E-mail: lernwerkstatt@gedenkstaetten.hamburg.de

Phone: +49 40 428 131 551