Lager XII - Dalum

History (info: Wikipedia)

Camp Dalum was built in early 1938 for 1,500 convicts. Immediately after the camp was put into use, ten barracks were dismantled and transported to the Westwall. That part of the camp was rebuilt in mid-1939. In September 1939, the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW) took over the camp and added it to Stalag VI C Bathorn. As part of the Emslandlager, camp Dalum is called: Lager XII Dalum. In the official German list of concentration camps, Dalum is number 260. In the first phase of the war, the camp remained relatively empty, but after the conquest of large parts of Europe, the number of mainly French and later Russian prisoners increased sharply. In September 1941, 4,100 Russian soldiers were held prisoner of war. In 1942, the Luftwaffe housed equipment and tools in Dalum. Camp Dalum then became "Stalag Luft Dalum". Later, around 2,000 men from Rotterdam were interned in the camp and forced to work as labourers. From January 1945, prisoners from Neuengamme were housed in the camp. They were used to build pointless defences in Emsland.

Conditions

The conditions in Dalum were miserable. Cold and damp were a threat. Poor housing due to overcrowding, hard work, heavy labor, poor nursing led to epidemics and a high mortality rate. In March 1945, the prisoners of Neuengamme were sent back to that camp. They had to walk the distance of more than 250 kilometers. Of the seven hundred, less than 50 survived this harsh journey.

After the war

Only part of the entrance and a transformer house remain of the camp. The camp cemetery (Kriegsgräberstätte) is located in the immediate vicinity. Here lie 39 mainly Russian prisoners, including a woman, with names in individual graves. Furthermore, there are an Italian and nine unknown prisoners in individual graves. In addition, between 8,000 and 16,000 unknown Russian prisoners of war rest here in mass graves. Three stone columns of the entrance gate of Camp Dalum have been preserved.

https://www.gedenkstaette-esterwegen.de/geschichte/die-emslandlager/xii-dalum.html

Monday 22nd July 2024

Transformer house – now an info and visitor center.