Eintrachthütte concentration camp
Eintrachthütte concentration camp was a labour subcamp of the German concentration camp Auschwitz, opened in the Zgoda district in Świętochłowice in German-occupied Poland on 26 May 1943, in operation until 23 January 1945. Among its prisoners were Poles, Jews and Russians. Its commanders were SS-Hauptscharführer and SS-Hauptscharführer . Both were brutal in relations to the prisoners, involved in tortures, and personally involved in executions carried out at the camp.
Accommodation
The camp consisted of six wooden barracks for the prisoners, and a brick administration building. It was double fenced with high-voltage barbwire. The space between the fences was 1.5 m and covered with sand. There were 10 spotlights and four guard towers in the camp corners.The prisoner living conditions were typical for these kind of camps. The prisoners lived in two-room barracks. The beds were three-level high, with straw-packed mattresses and blankets. Each room accommodated 60 to 80 prisoners. The food was sparse. For breakfast, coffee substitute was given; for dinner, a spinach soup or similar and occasionally a piece of sausage; for supper, coffee substitute, small portion of margarine, some cheese and 0.25 kg of bread, which was meant to be divided between the supper and the following breakfast.
Inmates
The prisoners were initially mostly Poles, and later also Jews, and people from other countries at war with Nazi Germany. The maximum number of prisoners at one time was 1374. The purpose of the camp was to provide workforce to a nearby armament factory and the prisoners were employed by companies OSMAG and Ost-Maschinenbau. Sick or unable to work prisoners were sent back to the mother camp. The mortality was high with a weekly toll of 10 to 15. The overall number of casualties during the period of camp operation is estimated at several hundred.In May 1944, several prisoners managed to escape through a 25-meter tunnel.