Salzwedel

In late July or early August 1944, a women’s satellite camp of Neuengamme concentration camp was established in Salzwedel. The Polte factory in Magdeburg had a branch in Salzwedel which had operated under the name of “Draht- und Metallfabrik Salzwedel” since before World War II. When the war started, the factory began producing infantry and flak ammunition. The Polte factory requested a total of 5,600 prisoners to use as forced labourers. Most of the 1,520 Jewish women in the Salzwedel satellite camp came from Hungary, while the rest came from Poland and Greece. The women arrived at Salzwedel on three transports from Auschwitz-Birkenau and Bergen-Belsen in late July/early August, in October and in December 1944. They were forced to work in two 12-hour shifts and were housed in a camp of huts in the grounds of a fertiliser plant on Gardelegener Straße.

In April, women from the evacuated Porta Westfalica-Hausberge and Fallersleben satellite camps arrived at Salzwedel, bringing the number of prisoners to around 3,000. Salzwedel was the only satellite camp of Neuengamme concentration camp not to be evacuated. The prisoners were liberated by members of the Ninth U.S. Army on 14 April 1945.

The name of the commander of the Salzwedel satellite camp for women is not known.