Lingering shadows of the past touch this very ground. This place marks a station of the KZ Fürstengrube-Todesmarsch. It serves as a stark reminder of a dark chapter in history. The KZ Fürstengrube-Todesmarsch, also known as the Death March from Auschwitz to Holstein. It was a brutal evacuation of concentration camp prisoners.
Imagine, if you will, the year 1945. The Red Army advanced. Nazi leaders ordered the evacuation of concentration camps. Their goal was to prevent prisoners from falling into Allied hands. The evacuation from Auschwitz’s Fürstengrube subcamp began on January 19, 1945.
Over 1,000 prisoners were forced on a death march toward Gleiwitz. These prisoners were mostly of Jewish origin. They faced starvation, disease, exhaustion, and abuse. SS-Oberscharführer Max Schmidt led the march. He hailed from Neuglasau near Ahrensbök in Holstein.
From Gleiwitz, prisoners were transported in open railway cars. This took them through Mauthausen in Austria to Nordhausen in the Harz Mountains. They were headed to the Mittelbau concentration camp. Many prisoners froze to death during this transport. They were inadequately clothed and weakened. Temperatures plummeted to minus 20 degrees Celsius. Bodies were thrown from the train along the route. Locals buried them in nearby cemeteries.
After four weeks in Mittelbau, 200 survivors were driven towards Magdeburg. The group met another column of 300 prisoners. These prisoners were mostly Soviet POWs, Dutch, French, and Belgians.
On April 9, 1945, the prisoners were loaded onto an open barge. They were transported via the Elbe to Lauenburg. From there they went through the Elbe-Lübeck Canal to Lübeck. They arrived at the Lübeck-Vorwerk industrial port on April 12, 1945.
On April 13, 1945, the prisoners were forced to march 17 km. Their route took them through Bad Schwartau. Three people were shot there. It continued through Pohnsdorf and Curau. Twenty people were shot on the way. They reached Ahrensbök on April 14, 1945. The prisoners were divided into two groups there. One group was taken to a field barn near Siblin. The other went to a barn near Glasau/Sarau.
The prisoners remained there until April 30, 1945. During this time, more prisoners were shot. Some managed to escape before the march continued. At the end of April, the Swedish Red Cross rescued prisoners from Western Europe. This was part of the White Buses operation led by Count Folke Bernadotte.
In early May, the prisoners had to march via Süsel to Neustadt in Holstein. On the evening of May 1, 1945, 14 or 15 prisoners were shot in a barn in Süsel.
The remaining prisoners were shipped to the Cap Arcona in Neustadt. On May 3, 1945, Royal Air Force fighter-bombers attacked. This led to the sinking of the Cap Arcona. Most of the 4,600 prisoners on board died. Others perished on the Thielbek. It was also sunk.
Today, memorials commemorate the victims of the KZ Fürstengrube-Todesmarsch. These include a memorial on the Rensefeld cemetery in Bad Schwartau. There is also one on the cemetery in Ahrensbök. The Ahrensbök memorial center documents the death march in a permanent exhibition. Since 1999, concrete and clay stelae mark stations of the death march in Holstein. This stele stands as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. It also highlights the importance of remembrance. Let us never forget the victims of the KZ Fürstengrube-Todesmarsch.