Imagine, for a moment, the silence that now permeates this space once echoed with the suffering of thousands. This is the KZ-Außenlager Dessauer Ufer Plaque. It commemorates a site of immense pain. The Lagerhaus G behind us stands as a stark reminder of a dark chapter in Hamburg’s history.
From July 1944 to April 1945, this warehouse served as one of the largest subcamps of the Neuengamme concentration camp. Initially, 1,500 female prisoners were forced into slave labor in the Hamburg harbor. Later, around 2,000 male prisoners joined them in this horrific ordeal. They toiled relentlessly, driven by cruelty and despair.
Lagerhaus G was built between 1903 and 1907. It was originally intended as a storage facility. The building is located on the Kleiner Grasbrook. It is near the Veddel S-Bahn station. The Hamburger Freihafen-Lagerhaus-Gesellschaft commissioned its construction. In its early years, the warehouse primarily stored goods like coffee, tea, sugar, and tobacco.
However, its purpose took a sinister turn during World War II. It became a place of forced labor and unimaginable suffering. The prisoners of KZ-Außenlager Dessauer Ufer were predominantly used in cleanup and construction efforts. They worked for various companies. These included mineral oil companies and the Reichsbahn.
On October 25, 1944, an Allied bombing raid struck the warehouse. Approximately 200 sick prisoners lost their lives. The surviving prisoners around 1,500 were moved to the newly built KZ-Außenlager Fuhlsbüttel. But the suffering at Dessauer Ufer was far from over.
After repairs, Lagerhaus G once again housed around 1,500 prisoners. These prisoners came from the dissolved subcamp in Fuhlsbüttel on February 15, 1945. The KZ-Außenlager Dessauer Straße was finally cleared on April 14, 1945. The prisoners faced further relocation to other subcamps. They were sent to Hammerbrook and Rothenburgsort. They were forced on a death march to Auffanglager Stammlager X B in Sandbostel. British troops liberated them there on April 29, 1945.
Today, the KZ-Außenlager Dessauer Ufer Plaque serves as a place of remembrance. Two memorial plaques stand on the building’s exterior. One is in German. The other is in English. They are a testament to the history of the subcamp.
A stumbling stone nearby commemorates Margarethe Müller. She was a forced laborer who perished in 1944. Additionally, a mural at Neumühlen 16–20 honors the women of the Dessauer Ufer subcamp.
The Initiative Dessauer Ufer has been active since 2017. It is an organization of historians and local activists. They strive to preserve the memory of the Dessauer Ufer subcamp. They advocate for a memorial site dedicated to forced labor in the harbor.
In 2021, a sculpture addressing the theme of forced labor was erected in front of the building. This artwork has stirred controversy. The city of Hamburg and the property owners have expressed interest in its removal.
The history of KZ-Außenlager Dessauer Ufer is a poignant reminder. It urges us to remember the victims of Nazi forced labor. It encourages us to confront the uncomfortable truths of our past. Let us ensure that such atrocities never happen again.