Lager III Brual-Rhede

History (info: Wikipedia)

Camp Rhede-Brual was established in the autumn of 1933 in the Emsland. It was intended as a concentration camp, but in the spring of 1934 it was decided to use it as a penal camp under the Prussian justice system. The camp had to be able to accommodate 1,000 people. Prisoners came from all over Germany; from June 1937 also political prisoners. Early 1938 the camp was expanded with 8 barracks, for 500 people each. Rhede-Brual does not appear on the official German list of concentration camps. In the context of the Emslandlager the camp was called "Lager III Rhede-Brual". Around September 1939 part of the camp and the prisoners were deployed in the activities around the Westwall. From 1940 military prisoners were also imprisoned in the camp. The camp was guarded by 200 SA men and justice officials. In early April 1945, seven hundred prisoners were transferred to Aschendorfermoor Camp.

Circumstances

The prisoners constructed the Brualer Schloot drainage and later had to help cultivate the peat. They were also put to work at companies and farmers in the area. They had to work eight to ten hours a day. The machine construction factory of the Klatte company made extensive use of forced laborers from February 1943 onwards to manufacture aircraft parts. As the war progressed, the conditions for the prisoners became increasingly worse. Hygiene was poor and there was a shortage of food. There was a lot of mental and physical abuse. On Christmas Eve 1937, 600 prisoners had to stand for hours dressed only in a shirt. Many of them contracted pneumonia as a result. Four of them died from it. A large number of the prisoners committed suicide.

After the war

Reports show that 59 people died as a result of abuse. A farm now stands on the site of the former camp. There is no trace of the camp left. However, there is a monument in the immediate vicinity of the former camp.

https://www.gedenkstaette-esterwegen.de/geschichte/die-emslandlager/iii-brual-rhede.html

Tuesday 23rd July 2024

Info panels at the former campsite