Althammer

Just south of Ruda Slaska in southern Poland, a satellite camp subordinated to Auschwitz called Althammer was established in September 1944. The camp was a former prisoner-of-war camp for Italians and consisted of eight barracks surrounded by double fences with barbed wire. In October, 1944, there were about 500 Jewish prisoners from mainly Poland, France and Hungary. Prisoners were forced to dig trenches, prepare the ground for buildings, and lay wires to a nearby power station. The commander was SS-Oberscharführer, Hans Mirbeth, and to his aid he had, not only SS men, but also reservists from the Navy. At least twenty prisoners died in the camp but prisoners were also deported back to Auschwitz where they faced an unknown fate. The camp was evacuated in January 1945, when the prisoners were forced out on Death marches westwards.