Wohnlager Haselhorst Plaque

In the shadow of Siemens, a chilling story unfolds. The Wohnlager Haselhorst Plaque commemorates a place of suffering and resilience. The Wohnlager Haselhorst, initially built in 1940, was meant to house foreign workers. However, it transformed into a place of immense hardship. The plaque stands as a stark reminder of the forced labor and inhumane conditions endured within the camp’s walls. This wasn’t just any camp. By 1945, the Wohnlager Haselhorst-Nord, located on Paulsternstraße, became the largest subcamp of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, holding over 2,400 people at its peak. The plaque tells the stories of men and women from across Europe. They were forced to work for Siemens, contributing to the war effort against their will. Imagine the lives disrupted, the families torn apart. The plaque highlights the diverse nationalities imprisoned here. People from France, the Netherlands, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Bulgaria, Russia, Yugoslavia, Hungary, and Ukraine were all held captive. In February 1945, Jewish prisoners arrived from the Siemens factory in Bobrek, Auschwitz, only to face further hardship. The Wohnlager Haselhorst wasn’t just one camp. There was also Wohnlager Haselhorst-Süd on Nonnendammallee, built in 1942 to house 900 women. The plaque reminds us of their plight as well. Both camps were ultimately destroyed in air raids in March 1945, but the suffering didn’t end there. The survivors carried the scars of their experiences, their stories etched in the collective memory. The Wohnlager Haselhorst Plaque serves as a testament to their resilience, a call to remember, and a warning for the future. The words of Leon Schwarzbaum, a survivor of both Auschwitz and Haselhorst, resonate deeply: “Here lived and died our comrades – remembrance and pain live in us eternally.” As you stand before this plaque, take a moment to reflect on the lives lost and the lessons learned. The Wohnlager Haselhorst Plaque stands as a symbol of remembrance and a powerful reminder of the importance of human dignity.