ehem. KZ-Außenlager Lichterfelde Stele

“A chilling silence,” whispered a former inmate, his voice barely audible, “that’s what I remember most about this place.” We stand before the ehem. KZ-Außenlager Lichterfelde Stele, a stark basalt lava monument. It’s a chilling reminder of the horrors that unfolded here. The ehem. KZ-Außenlager Lichterfelde existed from June 1942 to April 1945. It was a subcamp of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Located on Wismarer Straße 26-36 along the Teltowkanal, the camp held up to 1,500 male prisoners. These prisoners, brought here from across Europe, were forced into hard labor. They toiled on SS construction projects and cleared debris after bombings. The ehem. KZ-Außenlager Lichterfelde was no ordinary work camp. It was a place of immense suffering. Prisoners endured brutal conditions under notorious SS leaders like Gustav Sorge and August Höhn. The prisoners, deemed “undesirable” by the Nazi regime, were forced to work 12-15 hour days. Their meager rations offered little respite from the grueling labor. In April 1945, just weeks before liberation, the SS evacuated the camp. The remaining 1,500 prisoners were sent back to Sachsenhausen and then on death marches towards the Baltic Sea. Many were liberated by advancing Allied troops, but others perished at the hands of the SS or the ravages of war. This basalt lava stele, the “Säule der Gefangenen” by sculptor Günther Oellers, was dedicated in 2000. It stands as a testament to the lives lost and the atrocities committed at the ehem. KZ-Außenlager Lichterfelde. The sculpted faces, pressed together near the top, evoke a sense of confinement and despair. A heavy chain encircles the stele, symbolizing the prisoners’ captivity. A bronze plaque at the base provides a stark account of the camp’s history. The ehem. KZ-Außenlager Lichterfelde Stele isn’t just a memorial. It’s a call to remember, to learn, and to never forget the victims of this dark chapter in history.