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Pierre Dubesset: Oldest Prisoner

French

28.08.1880

The Frenchman Dubesset, a concrete worker, is arrested by the BdS Paris on the 21st of August, 1944, shortly before his 64th birthday. He is deported to Buchenwald alongside Robert Antelme, where he has the 100 Reichsmarks he brought with him paid out on the day of his arrival. Initially, he works in the drainage and construction detail. His name appears on the list of skilled labourers drawn up for the Gandersheim subcamp on the 2nd of September, 1944 as a carpenter. On the 2nd of October, 1944, Dubesset is transferred to Gandersheim, and on the 8th of November, 1944, he is transferred back to the Buchenwald main camp together with four other prisoners. From the 5th of February, 1945, Dubesset is assigned to the Ganswindt detail.

Labour Assignment Card from the Buchenwald Concentration Camp

During the labour statistics muster, prisoners are assigned a skilled worker number (FA no.), often with the exact date. Qualified labourers, including craftsmen, are also included in a numbered index of skilled workers. The abbreviation Aust 29/11 under BEM (remark) cannot currently be decoded.

[Depicted is the labour assignment card for Pierre Dubesset.] Source: Arbeitseinsatzkarte Pierre Dubesset, Buchenwald, 1.1.5/ 5786707/ ITS Digital Archive, Arolsen Archives

Effects Card

After being deported back to the Buchenwald main camp, a handwritten note is made on the effects card on the 13th of November, 1944: ‘Has private belongings.’

[Depicted is the effects card for Pierre Dubesset.] Source: Effektenkarte Pierre Dubesset, Buchenwald, 1.1.5/ 5786713/ ITS Digital Archive, Arolsen Archives

Kamiel Baert: Non-Commissioned Officer
Belgian

27.05.1854 – ?

The Belgian Kamiel Baert arrives at Buchenwald concentration camp on the 10th of August, 1944 through the BdS Brussels. A few days later, his name appears on the list of prisoners earmarked for the Brunshausen subcamp to work as a builder. Four days after his arrival on the 2nd of October, 1944, he injures his left hand while sawing wood and returns to Buchenwald on the 7th of October, 1944. His left forearm had to be amputated. A second operation is noted for the 20th of January, 1945, followed by the note: three months light labour. Also added in handwriting: 30 Jan. 1945 DNT invalid, although the abbreviation DNT cannot currently be decoded. Despite the note, he is assigned to Kommando 20a from the 27th of March, 1945.

Medical Card

Medical cards are used to record prisoners who are admitted to the sick bay. The medical history is recorded in abbreviated form without documenting the course of treatment. At first glance, the card gives the impression of orderly medical care.

[Depicted are the front and back of the medical carf for Kamiel Baert.] Source: Krankenkarte, Kamiel Baert, Buchenwald, 1.1.5/ 5461481/ ITS Digital Archive, Arolsen Archives

Numbers as Witnesses to History

584 – Highest occupied prison capacity

13 – Nationalities

186 – Days the Buchenwald subcamp existed

12 – At least 12 hours of work daily, except on Sundays

43 – Prisoners presumably died on site due to their incarceration

3 – Times a day there was a roll call lasting up to three hours

450 – Prisoners that were sent on the death march on the 4th of April, 1945

40 – Prisoners were murdered in Clus forest on the 4th of April, 1945

45 – Presumably 45 deportations back to Buchenwald main camp

1 – One finished aircraft fuselage, which is returned to Gandersheim unsuitable for use

Iwan Gontscharenko
Russian

16.08.1920 – ?

Ivan Gontscharenko is deported to Dachau concentration camp as a Russian civilian labourer by the Stuttgart Stapol on the 4th of October, 1944. After a three-day and two-night journey, he arrives in Gandersheim on the 17th November, 1944 alongside 332 other prisoners from Dachau. The overall number of prisoners more than doubles. The already catastrophic accommodation in the monastery church worsens considerably as a result. Gontscharenko escapes just under a month later. On the 27 December, 1944, the report of prisoners' changes in the Buchenwald main camp lists five prisoners from the subcamp as fugitives: the Italian political prisoners Benedetto Imeri and Gino Sangaletti as well as the Russian civilian workers Iwan Borokow and Andrei Molotow. While the two Italians are recaptured at the end of December, the three Russian prisoners appear to have managed to escape from Gandersheim.

Prisoner Registration Card

[Depicted is the prisoner registration card for Iwan Gontscharenko.] Source: Häftlingspersonalkarte Iwan Gontscharenko, Buchenwald, 1.1.5/ 5980313/ ITS Digital Archive, Arolsen Archives

Labour Assignment Card from the Buchenwald Concentration Camp

Under BEM (remark) Goncharenko is noted as fugitive as of the 27th of December, 1944.

[Depicted is the labour assignment card for Iwan Gontscharenko.] Source: Arbeitseinsatzkarte Iwan Gontscharenko, Buchenwald, 1.1.5/ 5980313/ ITS Digital Archive, Arolsen Archives

Escape Report From the Buchenwald Concentration Camp Commandant's Office

[Depicted is the report from the Buchenwald concentration camp commandant’s office on the escape of Iwan Gontscharenko.] Source: : Meldekarte Iwan Gontscharenko, Buchenwald, 1.1.5/5980319/ ITS Digital Archive, Arolsen Archives

Imprisoned by the Nazi Regime

The reasons for the prisoners' incarceration were partly politically or ideologically motivated, partly arbitrary and mostly unknown.

Reasons for imprisonment using the example of the Italian prisoners who arrived in Brunshausen on the 17th of November, 1944 from Buchenwald concentration camp in the Gandersheim subcamp.

[Depicted is a description and table given in Autopsie eines Außenlagers, stating:

A total of 333 prisoners are deported to Dachau on the 17th of November, 1944
122 Italians

Imprisonments between the 5th of September, 1943 and the 21st of October, 1944.

Many prisoners were deported to Dachau via the Bolzano police camp, a Nazi transit camp from the 1st of June, 1944 to the 3rd of May, 1945.

Reason for incarceration/number of cases

Unknown/40 Politically suspicious/10 Politically unreliable/4 Politically aligned with the enemy/1 Politically active/1 Political propaganda/1 Political cursewords/1 Statements hostile to the regime/1 Communist/1 Partisan/5 Authorities are convinced he helped a partisan/1 Did not report for mustering/4 Deserter/2 Interned soldier/1 Hid his son from the SS/1 Reported without documentation/1 Without documentation/1 Unauthorised border crossing/1 Armed/2 Refusal to work/2 Unemployed/1 Worked while sick/1 Black market trading/1 Trafficking/1 Sabotage/1 Was circled/2 Was excavated/3 Razzia/3 Presumably slept with the son of the landlord/1 Sopretto pol…? (Unreadable)/5 Overall 113]

Reasons for imprisonment using the example of the Polish prisoners from Buchenwald concentration camp who arrived in Brunshausen on the 19th of December, 1944.

[Depicted is a description and table given in Autopsie eines Außenlagers, stating:

Overall 50 Polish prisoners arrive on the 19th of December, 1944
The first group accommodated in the newly built barracks in Block I
Consecutive numbers from 96927 to 96976
Many speak German, some Russian and/or Czech, few English
Imprisonment between the 4th of May, 1940 and 2nd of October, 1944

Reason for imprisonment/number of cases

Unknown/26 Political/5 Politically unreliable/4 Organised in USZ/1 Communist overtures/1 Illegal organisation/2 Anti-German remarks/1 Anti-German activities/1 Part of the resistance/1 Courier of the resistance/1 Night of the DR False documentation/1 Possession of ammunition/1 No reason given/4 Overall 46

Uncertainty in the Case of Eduardo Lussi: Political Prisoner
Italian

24.02.1912 – 12.03.1945

The Italian carpenter Eduardo Lussi (no. 94463/113371) is deported from BdS Verona to Dachau concentration camp on the 9th of October, 1944 and is on the transport list from Dachau to Gandersheim on the 18th of November, 1944. An escape attempt from Dachau is noted for the 12th of November, 1944, but he is re-arrested in Milan on the 30th of November, 1944. A telex documents ‘remains at BdS Verona, as SB’ (special treatment). A second prisoner number is issued in February 1945 for Eduardo Lussi, who is transferred to the Mauthausen concentration camp by the BdS Verona, with identical characteristics. ‘One hand crippled’ is noted as a special characteristic. A consequence of the special treatment? Just one week after his committal, he is shot during an escape attempt on the 12th of March, 1945. Although his name is on the transport list to Gandersheim, it seems unlikely that Lussi ever arrived there. The contradictory documents illustrate how those administering the Dachau and Buchenwald camps tried to evade responsibility.

Prisoner Registration Card Noting Escape

[Depicted is the prisoner registration card for Eduardo Lussi.] Source: Häftlingspersonalkarte Eduardo Lussi, Buchenwald, 1.1.5/ 6531619/ ITS Digital Archive, Arolsen Archives

Report of Escape Posing the Question of Blame

[Depicted is a report on Lussi’s escape, stating: “RE: Fugitive Prisoner (…) Lussi Eduardo, born on the 24th of February, 1912 in Poland

Firstly, The above mentioned escaped the Kommando Bad-Gandersheim on the 10th of November, 1944. Searches were launched. RSMA was notified. The question of blame has not been resolved. (…).”] Source: Fernschreiben Eduardo Lussi, Buchenwald, 1.1.5/ 6531625/ ITS Digital Archive, Arolsen Archives

Special Treatment

[Report from the Buchenwald concentration camp regarding the special treatment, stating: “RE: Re-captured prisoner Lussi Eduardo (…) Note has been taking of the re-capturing of the prisoner Lussi. Since [BdS Verona] requested special treatment, a transfer is averted. Requested is a report on the presumably carried out special treatment. (…)”] Source: Meldekarte Eduardo Lussi, Buchenwald, 1.1.5/ 6531619/ ITS Digital Archive, Arolsen Archives

Bartélémy Rullan: Merchant
Spanish

24.12.1912 – ?

Rullan lives with his parents, wife, and three children in Perpignan and works as a merchant. On the 7th of August, 1944, the Perpignan customs police commit him to Compiègne prison and deport him to Buchenwald on the 21st of August, 1944. On the 27th of September, 1944, he is assigned to Kommando 50. In Brunshausen, he is assigned to the hangar labour unit. In Barrack III, where six Spaniards, 14 Belgians and 229 Frenchmen were housed, he was block leader and thus a prisoner functionary benefiting from special protection and privileges.

Money Card

Rullan has on arrival in Buchenwald a sum of RM 645 in cash. The deposit and withdrawal on the day of his arrival are signed by him.

[Depicted is the money card for Bartélémy Rullan.] Source: Geldkarte Barthelemy Rullan, Buchenwald, 1.1.5/ 6978088/ ITS Digital Archive, Arolsen Archives

Prisoner Registration Card

[Depicted is the prisoner registration card for Bartélémy Rullan.] Source: Häftlingspersonalkarte Barthelemy Rullan, Buchenwald, 1.1.5/ 6978093/ ITS Digital Archive, Arolsen Archives

Cramped Conditions, Freezing Cold, and Hardship: Catastrophic Accommodation

The half-ruined, unheated former monastery church serves as the first accommodation for the prisoners from the beginning of October 1944 to mid-January 1945. By mid-November 1944, at least 584 men are living there. The prisoners suffer food deprivation, lice, dirt, violence, and cold.

Quotes from Robert Antelme’s The Human Race: Rights are being secured

[Depicted is a map of the church by Henri Brugnon, including the sick bay (revier), straw on the floor for sleeping (paille etendue pour le coucher), hallway as passage to the sick bay (allée pour passage au revier), oven (poêle), cemetery (cimitière), latrine and two water points (w.c. et 2 points d’eau), chamber of the camp leader (portail d’entrée), kitchen (cuisine), and the ground floor of the monastery church (red de chaussee de l’eglise).

Layout of the Monastery Church Drawn From Memory

The layout of the church in Brunshausen is courtesy of former prisoners. The high choir is the sick bay, while the rest of the room serves as a dormitory. The latrine and water connections are located outside.

[Depicted is the layout of the monastery church courtesy of former prisoners and printed in a brochure of Bad Gandersheim 1989, submitted by a survivor in 2001. The plan includes the main entrance (Haupttür), the mezzanine (Zwischengeschoss auf der Etage), and the choir/sick bay (Chor (Krankenrevier)).

Quotes from Robert Antelme’s The Human Race: Rights are being secured

Prisoner Numbers

On the 2nd October, 1944, 200 prisoners are transferred from the Buchenwald concentration camp to the Brunshausen subcamp and housed in the church. On the 17th of November, 1944, a second mass transport of 333 prisoners from Dachau concentration camp reaches Gandersheim. A total of 584 men are quartered in the church until the first barracks are erected on the camp grounds by the fence command. The prisoners who are deported to Brunshausen on the 19th of December, 1944 are immediately placed in the barracks. The prisoners from the first two transports are subsequently relocated to the barracks.

[Depicted is a report on the Change in the number of prisoners in the Brunshausen subcamp.] Source: Veränderungsmeldung Häftlingsstärke, Buchenwald, 1.1.5.1/ 5317546/ ITS Digital Archive, Arolsen Archives

Quotes from Robert Antelme’s The Human Race: Rights are being secured

The Golden Book of the Town Bad Gandersheim

Leather binding, thick paper, slightly frayed at the edges

The Golden Book of the town of Bad Gandersheim contains entries from August 1991 to July 2014, including an entry by Gaston Grandmaire, a former prisoner of the Gandersheim subcamp.

Lender: Town of Bad Gandersheim

Lid of an Aspirin Container

Plastic, 6.70 cm x 5.50 cm, Halde II, Buchenwald concentration camp

Rectangular, mint-coloured plastic lid of an aspirin can with visible imprint. In the centre is the lettering ‘ASPIRIN’ in capital letters (letter height: 6.0 mm), accompanied by the company logo of the Bayer AG. The inscription ‘20 original tablets of 0.5 g’ is legible on the upper edge. Due to its condition - dented, bent and scratched - no further details are recognisable.

Aspirin, one of the most effective painkillers and antipyretics of its time, was developed and introduced as a medicine by the Bayer company at the end of the 19th century. Its anti-inflammatory properties made it particularly valuable in concentration camps, where medical supplies were intentionally scarce. The lid symbolises the practical and emotional significance of such medicines.

Lender: Buchenwald Memorial

Quotes from Robert Antelme’s The Human Race: Rights are being secured

Two Identification Badges and an Oval Amulet

Metal and duraluminium

The objects were found among murdered concentration camp prisoners from the subcamp Gandersheim at Hirschlerbrink near Clausthal-Zellerfeld. The objects are evidence of the systematic documentation and registration of people in the camp as well as the individual creativity and resilience of the prisoners. The handmade amulet symbolises an act of self-determination and humanity in an inhumane environment. The identification tag with the number 94382 and an ‘I’ in a triangle belonged to the prisoner Francesco Capozzi, the identification tag with the number 20278 and an ‘F’ in a red triangle belonged to the prisoner Julien Bize. The oval amulet was made of duraluminium from the Heinkel factory by the prisoner himself. It bears the stamped number 94527 and the prisoner's name Réne Belvaque.

Lender: Niedersächsisches Landesarchiv Hannover

File of the Göttingen public prosecutor's office in the investigation against unknown persons for crimes against humanity [murder] concerning 25 unknown prisoners near Cl.-Zellerfeld

Paper, bound (thread stitching with sheets glued in)

After the killing of the prisoners at Hirschlerbrink near Clausthal-Zellerfeld, an investigation was opened on the 6th of January, 1948 against the perpetrators, who could not be identified and brought to justice.

Lender: Niedersächsisches Landesarchiv Hannover

Shard from the Edge of an Improvised Mirror

Glass shard broken on three sides with a mirrored layer on the back, 5.7 x 5.0 x 0.12 cm, Halde I, Buchenwald concentration camp

The surface of the object shows slight scratches. The mirror coating has partially peeled off, is cracked and stained. It is fragile but in good overall condition.

The mirror represents the improvised use of scarce resources by prisoners in the camp. Cut from window glass and coated with mercury or lacquer, it was produced as a rare commodity for everyday needs such as personal hygiene. It symbolises the self-respect and physical self-discipline of the prisoners, who resisted neglect - contrasting with the strict camp regulations, which demanded order, cleanliness and discipline.

Lender: Buchenwald Memorial

Quotes from Robert Antelme’s The Human Race: Rights are being secured

Poetry Anthology by Willi Ohlendorf (1921 – 1939)

Cardboard cover, paper, published by his wife Johanna Ohlendorf in 1988

Willi Ohlendorf's granddaughter, Dunja Peterhans, donated the volume of poetry to the Portal zur Geschichte so ‘(...) that the memory of (...) Grandpa is kept alive (...)’.

Willi Ohlendorf was one of the prisoners in the Gandersheim concentration camp and died there in November 1944. Some of the poems he wrote during his imprisonment.

Ernst Heinkel – An Aviation Pioneer with a Layered and Complex History
Born: 24.01.1888 in Grunbach ( Wuerttemberg) Died: 30.01.1958 in Stuttgart

Ernst Heinkel was a German engineer and aircraft engineer. After studying mechanical engineering, he began his career with various aircraft manufacturers.

In 1922, Heinkel founded Ernst Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in Rostock-Warnemünde. Three years later, he received an honorary doctorate for his aircraft designs from his former technical college at the Württemberg Technical University in Stuttgart. In 1932, the University of Rostock also honoured him with this title on the occasion of the company's tenth anniversary. In the same year, he developed the He 70 for Lufthansa, at the time the fastest passenger aircraft in the world with innovative retractable landing gear.

He joined the NSDAP in 1933, became a military economic leader in 1937 and received the title of professor from Adolf Hitler in 1938. In the same year, together with Willy Messerschmitt, Ferdinand Porsche and Fritz Todt, he was honoured with the German National Prize for Art and Science, which had been donated by Adolf Hitler a year earlier.

Heinkel introduced the company improvement programme (BVW) at his plant in Warnemünde as early as 1930. In 1943, he gave a lecture on the subject at the Reichsarbeitsgemeinschaft, his presentation was published by the German Labour Front (DAF) and served as an advertising tool for the Nazi's BVW, which had been enforced since 1940.

Heinkel pursued an expansive company strategy, which led him to constantly open up new plants and areas of operation. This strategy led to conflicts with the armaments industry and resulted in the founding of Ernst Heinkel AG in 1943, which limited his direct influence on the company.

During the Second World War, Heinkel's company was a central component of the German armaments industry. Forced labourers and concentration camp prisoners were used in the production facilities - a dark chapter in the company's history that cannot be ignored.

Heinkel was interned in Paris at the end of May 1945 and questioned near London from June 1945 onwards. Back in Germany, he presented himself in a brochure as an opponent of the Nazi regime. In 1947, he was categorised as a main perpetrator, as he had profited from the Nazi era as a member of the NSDAP and a military economic leader. In particular, he was accused of forced labour in his factories. In January 1949, however, the Ansbach Appeals Chamber declared him cleared. His conflicts with the NSDAP leadership were known, personal guilt was denied. According to the balance sheet figures, no economic advantage could be proven either.

In 1950, the Heinkel-Werke in Stuttgart was relaunched, producing scooters such as the robust ‘Heinkel Tourist’ as well as motormobiles and engines. The company later returned to its roots with aircraft development under the name Ernst Heinkel Flugzeugbau in Speyer.

[Depicted is a letter of Ernst Heinkel to Hans Schürrle regarding the awarding of his submission for the improvement of the company. It states:

‘Dear Mr. Schürrle!

I was very pleased to learn of your excellent performance in the company and of your numerous valuable suggestions for improvement. Although a number of the suggestions are on the periphery of your field of work within production consulting, others are unrelated to your operational tasks and are therefore to be regarded as special achievements. I would like to mention in particular your designs for quick-release fasteners and socket pins, which were registered for the DRGM and DRP and are used on a large scale in the company. Furthermore, the wing fuselage panelling developed by you and the interchangeable fastening of special carriers and container covers brought considerable advantages to the production process. The other suggestions have also proved to be very useful in practice and have resulted in time and material savings.

I would like to thank you and express my full appreciation for your suggestions for improvement and your special efforts in the factory. I have decided to award you the second of the Volkswagen cars offered as a special bonus in recognition of your contribution. The car has already been ordered and will be handed over to you after delivery. Of course, you will have to wait until after the peace treaty.

I congratulate you on your successes and hope that you will continue to achieve such significant results in your work in the future. (...)’

ETechnical Advancements and Historical Responsibility: Heinkel Between Innovation and Morality

Founded in Rostock in 1922, Ernst Heinkel Flugzeugwerke, which became Ernst Heinkel AG in 1943, developed into a leading German aircraft manufacturer with worldwide exports. In addition to aircraft construction and engine technology, the company also included licence production, armaments projects and industrial operations such as mining and smelting works. With 1352 patents in aviation and 587 industrial property rights for engines, it exported machines and licences worldwide.

Heinkel converted the He 70, originally developed as a commercial aircraft, for military purposes for the Luftwaffe, which was initially kept secret. As the production capacities in Rostock were not sufficient for the planned series production of the 32 He 111s, the Reich Aviation Ministry founded Heinkel-Werke GmbH in Oranienburg near Berlin in 1935. It held 97% of the shares, while Ernst Heinkel received the remainder for the planning and construction of the factory and the organisation of production. In addition to the He 111, the state-owned factory also produced the He 177 and Junkers Ju 88 (under licence). Despite state control, Heinkel retained far-reaching authority. Heinkel-Werke used thousands of forced labourers at locations such as Oranienburg and Mielec in the Krakow General Government, including concentration camp prisoners who had to work under abysmal conditions. The Mielec plant in particular was complicit in serious war crimes. The company was involved in the liquidation of the ghetto there, during which hundreds of Jewish victims were murdered by the factory guards and the SS. A forced labour camp for Jewish people was also set up on the factory premises. Shortly after the invasion of Poland, the Vereinigte Ostwerke GmbH division took over an existing aircraft factory in Mielec near Krakow in the Generalgouvernement on the 1st of October, 1939. Due to the advance of the Red Army, parts, machines and people from this factory were relocated to Bad Gandersheim in August 1944.

After the United States joined the war in 1941, US bombers carried out targeted air raids on industrial plants, in particular to eliminate aircraft production facilities and gain air superiority. In contrast, British forces had until then mainly bombed large areas of cities at night, as flak and regular fighter aircrafts were less effective in the dark. For this reason, specially designed night fighters were used to intercept enemy bombers. This included the HE 219, whose fuselage was manufactured in Gandersheim beginning in October 1944. From 1943 onwards, numerous small external factories were built, which initially remained unknown to the Allies and could more easily compensate for a loss of production due to their small size.

Due to differences of opinion with the armaments industry, Ernst Heinkel AG was formed in 1943, in which all Heinkel companies were merged, including plants in Rostock, Oranienburg, Stuttgart, Vienna, Waltersdorf and Jenbach as well as Miliec. Although Heinkel remained the owner, his direct influence was very limited and was restricted to the chairmanship of the supervisory board.

Starting in 1950, Heinkel manufactured motor scooters, motormobiles and engines in Stuttgart before the company returned to Speyer with aircraft development as Ernst

Heinkel Flugzeugbau. In 2000, Heinkel Fahrzeugbau merged with Heinkel Medizinsysteme to form Heinkel Modulbau GmbH, which today produces space modules and container buildings. Between 1959 and 1965, Heinkel was involved in the development of the EWR VJ 101 vertical take-off aircraft. In 1964, the company merged with Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke (VFW), which later became part of EADS. The plant in Speyer operated as PFW Aerospace AG until 2011, when Airbus became the majority shareholder again.

Personnel Manager and Assistant

Fritz Francke (01.07.1907 Soltau – ?)

Arrived on the 10th of August, 1944 during the relocation of the Heinkel works from Mielec to Bad Gandersheim
Was the personnel manager in Mielec
Assistant to the Brunshausen plant manager Erich Kleinemeyer and personnel manager
From the 26th of September, 1944 he was imprisoned for three months for anti-Nazi attitude and undermining military strength
Back at the Heinkel plant in Bad Gandersheim on the 1st of January, 1945
At the time of the executions of concentration camp prisoners in the forest near Clus he was not in Bad Gandersheim
Resident of Wolfenbüttel at the time of his testimony on the 8th of February, 1946