The evolution of Mauthausen concentration camp can be divided in 4 phases:
A. 1938/39 Building the camp Male prisoners, mostly Austrians and Germans, worked on building the camp and quarrying granite.
B. 1940-42 Radicalization New inmates arrived from Poland (as of 1940), Spain (as of 1940) and the Soviet Union (as of 1941). The twin-camp of Gusen was founded. Whilst “working prisoners to death” in the quarries was the SS’s primary intention, other methods of killing were introduced at this time (e.g. a gas chamber and gallows were installed).
C. 1943/44 Changing priorities Due to the need of workers in the arms industry, prisoners were rented out to companies and sub-camps were founded all over Austria. In compliance with the priorities moving towards arms production, many Jewish prisoners were sent to Mauthausen from other camps and the death toll dropped temporarily due to the slightly improved food situation.
D. 1944/45 final stage: overcrowding, evacuations, mass dying In 1944 the situation dramatically worsened for the prisoners, especially as the relocation of production sites below ground began (e.g. project “Bergkristall”) Prisoners from other camps were “evacuated” and sent to the camps of Mauthausen. The death toll was at its highest with thousands dying of starvation, exhaustion, diseases, forced labour and executions.
On 5th May 1945 the camp in Mauthausen was liberated by the US Army. You can spot the three white stone plates thanking the liberators behind you, on the outer part of the camp wall.
©Marlene Wöckinger 2021