Concentration Labor Camp

I chaperoned the sophomore field trip on Friday October 2, 2009. Mrs. Stefan, a history teacher, takes her tenth graders to this place to show them what happened during WWII. Her husband is German and he had family members serve in the Nazi Army. One uncle was even a S.S. Officer. When asked why they served with the Nazi Army, she said that Germany was their country, so they fought for there country. What a good reminder to be aware of what our country is doing and to consider what side we will stand.



The KZ-Gedenkstatte Natzweiler-Struthof in a concentration camp in France that was occupied by Germany during WWII. Many political prisoners were taken here as well as Jewish people. Thousands and thousands of people died here and this was not ever the worst of the camps.

The beauty that surrounds this camp is amazing. From 1900-1936 this was a ski resort that was then turned into a labor camp. The beauty only serves to highlight the ugliness of what was done in this camp to people just like you and me.

The barb wire still stands with a monument to those who died here in the background.

"During the summer, we get up at four o'clock in the morning; during the winter, when days are the shortest, we get up at six. We go to the washrooms where, half naked, we have to wash ourselves with freezing water, we dress, then we receive a pint of infusion or of a beverage they call coffee. Then we go, five abreast, to the roll-call place where the S.S. count the men of each block. The roll-calls often go on four hours, and there we stand still, in the snow during winter, under the rain during summer, without any coat of course.

The roll-call being over, we go to platform I and II for the formation of the work kommandos. This being done, we begin the hard work of the day. At noon, we come back to camp, another roll call is called. Hastily, they give us our miserable two pints of soup in the block. Again we assemble and we leave for our work; at about six o'clock, the work kommandos come back to the camp; at six a roll-call like the morning one, often endless. Then we go to our respective blocks, half naked, we wash ourselves. The poor evening meal is distributed and we have to go to bed in the dormitories."




Here is an example of the bunks. They are 3 across and 2 deep and 2 high. Each bunk usually had between 3-5 people who slept in it. So this set of bunks could have housed up to 60 people.



In the Infirmary, or the place where "doctors" would do horrible experiments on people they would also torcher people. Here Laura, a student teacher from Ceaderville, is demonstrating where they would put people for days on end. The space is so mall that the person could neither sit nor stand. This would eventually cause death. Laura has a small frame. Imagine a large man in this small space.


This is the final resting place for numerous people who died in this place.