“If these stones could speak what stories would they tell?” This is Mauthausen. Right here before us stands a chilling monument to one of the Nazis’ worst extermination camps. Mauthausen wasn’t just a camp it was a system. The main camp was built starting August 8 1938. Prisoners from Dachau were the first to arrive. They built the camp themselves. They worked in the nearby granite quarry. Mauthausen was the first concentration camp outside Germany’s borders. It was located about 20 kilometers east of Linz. This area was chosen for its proximity to the quarry and the town of Mauthausen.
The camp was brutally harsh. Prisoners faced horrific conditions. They were subjected to severe beatings and starvation. Many died from exhaustion or disease. They were forced to carry heavy granite blocks up the infamous “Stairs of Death”. These were 186 steep steps cut into the granite. Prisoners often collapsed under the weight. Some were thrown from cliffs. Others were killed by electric fences or petrol injections. Mauthausen even had a mobile gas bus.
Before 1941 few Jews were sent to Mauthausen. Later Jewish transports arrived. They were treated more brutally than other prisoners. Their chances of survival were slim. By January 1945 roughly 85000 inmates were in the Mauthausen complex. This included the main camp and almost 100 subcamps. Gusen Ebensee and Melk were among the largest subcamps. The conditions in these subcamps were as bad as in the main camp.
Mauthausen was a major economic enterprise for the Nazis. Prisoners provided slave labor for various companies. These included businesses involved in the production of arms munitions and aircraft. The quarries produced granite used in construction projects across Germany. The camp’s profits in 1944 were enormous.
By the end of World War II Mauthausen had seen an estimated 199404 prisoners. At least 119000 died there. That included 38120 Jewish people. The camp was liberated by the US Army on May 5 1945. The camp commander Franz Ziereis was shot while trying to escape. He subsequently died. Fifty-eight SS members were later sentenced to death. Three were given life sentences.
Mauthausen today serves as a museum and a memorial. It’s a place to remember the victims. It’s a stark reminder of the horrors of the Holocaust. It is a place where we reflect on the past. It is a place that should never be forgotten. Mauthausen should always be a warning to us all.