A simple stone stands here. It commemorates the prisoners who died in the KZ-Außenlager im RAW in Dresden. This place holds a dark history. It serves as a reminder of a tragic past.
The KZ-Außenlager im RAW was a satellite camp. It belonged to the Flossenbürg concentration camp. The camp existed from September 1944 to February 1945. Its end came with the bombing of Dresden.
Around 500 people were imprisoned here. They endured forced slave labor. They worked for the German war production machine. The prisoners toiled until the bombings devastated Dresden.
The prisoners repaired damaged wagons. They worked for the National Railways Repair Works or RAW. This was on Weißeritz-Ufer, now Emmerich-Ambros-Ufer.
Living conditions were brutal. Prisoners were likely housed in an unheated locomotive hall. They worked in shifts day and night.
The SS men were responsible for the violence. Detail leader Rudolf Becher inflicted cruel treatments on prisoners.
At least 80 deaths occurred here. Some prisoners were shot while trying to escape. Fifty-one people died during the air raids of February 13, 1945.
The first transport consisted of 300 prisoners. They were arrested after the Warsaw uprising. A second transport brought 300 more prisoners from Groß-Rosen. These were mainly Polish and Russian. There were also Czechs, Lithuanians, Germans, French, and Croatians. By November 1944, 597 prisoners were registered here.
As the war neared its end, the camp closed. The surviving prisoners were transferred back to Flossenbürg. Many died shortly afterward. Others were sent to different subcamps. Some were sent to camps specifically for the dying.
However, at least 14 prisoners returned to the subcamp. They returned to the Railway Repair Works in Dresden in March. This was after the initial evacuation.
Another group of about 500 men arrived later. This group included Polish, Russian, and Hungarian prisoners. They were forced to repair destroyed tracks for the German Railways.
Before the bombing on April 17, 1945, the prisoners were evacuated. They marched to the outer camp Leitmeritz. Some died there. Others died after liberation in Theresienstadt.
Today, a memorial stone stands. It is located in front of one of the former RAW buildings. This stone serves as a reminder. It honors the prisoners who suffered and died at the KZ-Außenlager im RAW. It urges us to remember the horrors of the past. It encourages us to fight for peace.