A Sobering Visit to a Concentration Camp
Flossenburg is not one of the more well known concentration camps but it should not be forgetten. Many lives were lost there during World War II (est. 30,000). It was first established in May of 1938 in the Oberpfalz region of Bavaria as a prisoner of war camp (this included political prisoners, criminals, "asocial" and Jewish persons). The later, more populated prisoners of war were from the Soviet area. Some of the many people executed here included those who attempted to kill Hitler in a scheme (Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, General Han Oster among some others). After the plot had failed, these men were captured and held in various other camps. They were sent to Flossenburg for the final execution (hanged) on 9 April, 1945.
It was a camp owned by the SS and ran by the German Earth and Stone Co. Just as with Dachau, this site was chosen for its large granite hills and the prisoners were forced to work within the large quarry.
It is so sobering to go through these beautifullly kept grounds. Besides the old buildings, it is hard to imagine that so much tragedy took place here. There are many memorials to remind the visitors just how many various countries had lost lives just at this single camp.
