Today in Dutch WWII History : Concentration-Camps 2

  

Durchgangslager Westerbork

Near the village of Westerbork, in the province of Drente, the Dutch Government owned a tract of heath and marsh land surrounded by dense woods. This isolated piece of real estate appeared to be the ideal place to build a camp for German Jewish refugees who had fled Nazi persecution. It was far enough placed from the village proper of Westerbork that refugees would not interfere with the daily business concerns of the villagers provided supervision was in place.
The first refugees that arrived at camp Westerbork was in 1939. During the German invasion on 10 May 1940 the camp contained 50 barracks, 1150 legal and 650 illegal refugees.
When the endlösing of the Netherlands started the existing camp near Westerbork was the ideal place for this. And early 1942, 24 large barracks capable of housing 300 people each, were added for this purpose.
On 1 July 1942 Refugee camp Westerbork officially became Durchgangslager Westerbork and stayed this until the liberation of the camp on the 12 April 1945.

Aerial picture of Durchgangslager Westerbork 1944

Between July 1942 and September 1944 more than 104,000 Dutch and German Jews and 250 Dutch Sinti and Roma were deported by train from Westerbork to the extermination camps. Between them were 22,025 childeren and young adults with an age below 21.
On 13 September 1944 the last train left from Durchgangslager Westerbork. Destionation: Bergen Belsen.

65 train-transports with 60,330 victims were sent directly to Auschwitz II Birkenau. Only 854 people who were deported from Westerbork survived. On 3 September 1944 the last train to Auschwitz II Birkenau left Westerbork. On this train was the Frank familly.

19 train-transports with a total of 34,313 Jews were deported from Westerbork to Sobibor. Only 18 Dutch jews returned.

9 train-transports with 4,894 Jews left Westerbork for Theresienstadt. Just as Westerbork this was a internent and transit camp. 2,000 deported survived.

A total of 3750 victims were transported to Bergen-Belsen. An other notorius concentration camp. But also know as the camp where Anne Frank, who was transported from  Auschwitz II Birkenau to Bergen Belsen, was murdered.
From the 3750 people deported to this place 1700 died.

After the last deportation on 13 September 1944 876 Jews and non Jewish people remained in Westerbork. On 12 April 1945 they were liberated by Canadian troops.

Dutch Camp Commanders:
mr. D.A. Syswarda Camp's inception - 16 July 1940
Captain in the Reserves Jacques Schol 16 July 1940 - Early January 1943

German Commanders:
SS-Sturmbannführer dr. Erich Deppner 1 July 1942 - 1 September 1942
SS-Sturmbannführer Josef Hugo Dischner 1 September 1942 - 12 October 1942
SS-Obersturmführer Albert Konrad Gemmeker 12 October 1942 - 12 April 1945

Note: both Dutch camp commanders had nothing to do with the death transports. Not even Schol who served under 2 German camp commanders. SS-Obersturmführer Albert Konrad Gemmeker even quickly saw to it that Schol was discharged in January 1943. Not wanting to have any witnesses to the Nazi Endlösing plan.

Other important positions (these people were Jews):
Kurt Schlesinger, the Oberdienstleiter 
Arthur Pisk :Head of the Ordnungsdienst
Dr. Fritz Spanier - Chief Medical Officer


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Photo: The Holocaust - Lest We Forget