A chilling wind whispers secrets through the barbed wire. We stand before the Denkmal zur Erinnerung an Zwangsarbeit in Hennigsdorf. This monument remembers the forced laborers who suffered here. It honors the countless men and women who endured unimaginable hardships.
The Denkmal zur Erinnerung an Zwangsarbeit in Hennigsdorf stands as a somber reminder of a dark chapter. Between 1940 and 1945 the Mitteldeutschen Stahl- und Walzwerke used forced laborers from Sachsenhausen concentration camp. These prisoners worked 12-hour shifts in brutal conditions. Their work included unloading scrap metal. They also cleaned melting pots and changed fireclay stones in blast furnaces.
The AEG factory in Hennigsdorf also employed forced laborers. They came from across Europe. They were prisoners of war or from countries Germany had occupied. In 1942 the AEG even used Jewish inmates from the Łódź ghetto to separate glimmer. This glimmer was used as insulation material in the electrical industry. Children and youths were deemed suitable. The ghetto administration washed its hands of responsibility. Production ceased when the AEG had delivery problems. The administration threatened to stop providing forced laborers.
In 1944 a subcamp was established near the AEG factory. It housed approximately 650 female prisoners. Many were Polish women. They had been arrested after the Warsaw Uprising. Others came from Hungary the Soviet Union Bulgaria Yugoslavia and France. The subcamp was enclosed by two barbed wire fences. It had an infirmary kitchen and sanitation facilities.
The women were given civilian clothes marked with a white cross. These were likely from deported Jewish women. In early 1945 they received prisoner overalls. For some women daily religious observance provided strength and unity. They even created a makeshift altar from bits of cable and plastic. They smuggled these from the factory. They used scraps of material for drawings. These served as jewelry or barter items. The women worked in many departments. They made detonators for mines and flak grenades. They also assembled aircraft engines performed drilling and soldering and processed glimmer.
The female SS guards watched over them. Some were reportedly brutal. In March 1945 an air raid damaged the factory buildings. Forced labor stopped. The women were then forced to clear rubble and build fortifications. When the subcamp closed in April 1945 they endured a death march to Ravensbrück concentration camp. Many died from exhaustion or were killed by the SS. Those who survived were forced to march to Ravensbrück.
The Denkmal zur Erinnerung an Zwangsarbeit in Hennigsdorf silently bears witness. It reminds us of the suffering of these individuals. The monument encourages us to remember and to learn from the past. The wind whispers through the memorial. It carries the stories of resilience and loss. Let us not forget.