Nohra concentration camp

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Nohra
Nazi concentration camp
Coordinates50°58′44″N 11°13′58″E / 50.97889°N 11.23278°E / 50.97889; 11.23278Coordinates: 50°58′44″N 11°13′58″E / 50.97889°N 11.23278°E / 50.97889; 11.23278
Known forfirst Nazi concentration camp
LocationNohra, Germany
Operated byThuringia interior ministry
Original useschool, airfield
Operational1933
InmatesCommunists
Number of inmates250

The Nohra concentration camp (KZ Nohra) was the first of the early Nazi concentration camps in Germany, established 3 March 1933 in a school in Nohra. In the few months of its existence, it was administered by the interior ministry of Thuringia and used exclusively to imprison communists.

Background[]

The Nazi party had been part of the Thuringia state government since 1930, when Wilhelm Frick was appointed interior minister. In the 1932 state elections, the Nazis won a plurality of the votes and formed a coalition government under Fritz Sauckel, who also served as interior minister. In February 1933, a Thuringian Hilfspolizei was formed, an auxiliary police unit under Sauckel that consisted of SA, SS, and Stahlhelm members. After the 27 February 1933 Reichstag fire, hundreds of communists were arrested.[1] To reduce overcrowding in the prisons, the interior ministry of Thuringia decided to open additional camps, called assembly camps (Sammellager),[2] and the first such camp was opened on 3 March 1933 in Nohra, close to Weimar.[3][4] One of the first to be taken into "protective custody" at Nohra was the communist member of the Thuringia state parliament, Fritz Gäbler.[5]

Site[]

The camp was located in the Heimatschule Mitteldeutschland, a right-wing military school that accepted volunteers in the Freiwilliger Arbeitsdienst. The school buildings were located on the former Nohra airfield (close enough to the later Buchenwald concentration camp that the bell tower of the latter is visible from the site)[5] and consisted of two buildings that were connected by one long low-rise building.[3] The camp was located on the second floor of one of the buildings, and divided into three large rooms, furnished only with straw and blankets. There were no fences or barbed wire.[6]

The building was demolished in the early 1950s.[4][7]

Administration and guards[]

Unlike most other concentration camps, Nohra was not administered by the SA or SS, but by the Thuringia interior ministry.[8] As there were not enough policemen to guard the camp,[5] Heimatschule students were employed as additional guards. A police station was set up in the school building where newcomers were interrogated.[3] The commander of the station lived in a villa close by, still called Kommandantenvilla locally[4] that was used as a Gasthaus as of 2003.[5]

Prisoners and camp life[]

All prisoners of Nohra were Thuringian communists, including half of the Communist party group in the Thuringian state parliament.[3] The prisoners did not work, but spent the entire day in the halls where they slept, with only interrogations and new arrivals interrupting the monotony. Hygiene conditions were very poor, especially as the camp was sometimes very crowded. Occupancy averaged at 95, with a maximum of 220.[3] In total, about 250 prisoners were interned at Nohra until the camp was closed.[9]

The Nohra inmates were allowed to vote in the March 1933 German federal election, and their presence caused a significant rise in the communist vote in Nohra (172 in March 1933 versus 10 in the December 1932 local elections).[9]

Known prisoners include:

Closure and legacy[]

Nohra was among the first concentration camps that were closed down again. The closing date has been reported to be 12 April 1933,[9][18] 10 May 1933,[5] or July 1933.[19] Remaining prisoners were moved to a prison in Ichtershausen. The camp was succeeded by  [de] in nearby Bad Sulza.[5]

In 1988, the Weimar district Socialist Unity Party of Germany ordered the installation of a memorial plaque for the concentration camp in Nohra. After German reunification, the plaque was moved to the town hall attic in 1990, and there was no local indication of the existence of the camp in the early 2000s.[5][20] In the 2010s, a local history club was working on having memorial boards installed.[4]

References[]

Footnotes[]

  1. ^ Wohlfeld 2009, pp. 140–141.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Drobisch & Wieland 2018, p. 11.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Wohlfeld 2009, p. 141.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Brandt 2013.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Zeiss 2003.
  6. ^ Wohlfeld 2005, p. 174.
  7. ^ Flugplatz Nohra.
  8. ^ Bernhard 2008.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b c Wohlfeld 2009, p. 142.
  10. ^ Weber & Herbst 2008a.
  11. ^ Weber & Herbst 2008e.
  12. ^ Weber & Herbst 2008g.
  13. ^ Weber & Herbst 2008l.
  14. ^ Benz, Distel & Königseder 2001, p. 115.
  15. ^ Weber & Herbst 2008k.
  16. ^ Weber & Herbst 2008s.
  17. ^ Weber & Herbst 2008t.
  18. ^ Wohlfeld 2005, p. 175.
  19. ^ Drobisch & Wieland 2018, p. 12.
  20. ^ Wohlfeld 2005, p. 176.

Bibliography[]

  • Benz, Wolfgang; Distel, Barbara; Königseder, Angelika (2001). Terror ohne System: die ersten Konzentrationslager im Nationalsozialismus 1933-1935 (in German). Metropol. ISBN 978-3-932482-61-8.
  • Bernhard, Henry (23 March 2008). "Todesstoß für die Weimarer Republik". Deutschlandfunk (in German). Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  • Brandt, Sabine (20 February 2013). "In Nohra stand das erste sogenannte KZ" (in German). Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  • Drobisch, Klaus; Wieland, Günther (12 July 2018). System der NS-Konzentrationslager 1933–1939 (in German). Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. ISBN 978-3-05-006633-2.
  • Weber, Hermann; Herbst, Andreas, eds. (2008a). "Arnold, Rudolf Friedrich". www.bundesstiftung-aufarbeitung.de. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  • Weber, Hermann; Herbst, Andreas, eds. (2008e). "Eyermann, Richard". www.bundesstiftung-aufarbeitung.de. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  • Weber, Hermann; Herbst, Andreas, eds. (2008g). "Gäbler, Fritz". www.bundesstiftung-aufarbeitung.de. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  • Weber, Hermann; Herbst, Andreas, eds. (2008k). "Klinz, Werner". www.bundesstiftung-aufarbeitung.de. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  • Weber, Hermann; Herbst, Andreas, eds. (2008l). "Kröber, Leander". www.bundesstiftung-aufarbeitung.de. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  • Weber, Hermann; Herbst, Andreas, eds. (2008s). "Scharf, Erich". www.bundesstiftung-aufarbeitung.de. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  • Weber, Hermann; Herbst, Andreas, eds. (2008t). "Steudner, Hermann". www.bundesstiftung-aufarbeitung.de. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  • Wohlfeld, Udo (2005). "Nohra". In Benz, Wolfgang; Distel, Barbara; Königseder, Angelika (eds.). Der Ort des Terrors: Geschichte der nationalsozialistischen Konzentrationslager (in German). 2. C.H.Beck. pp. 174–176. ISBN 978-3-406-52962-7.
  • Wohlfeld, Udo (2009). "Nohra". In Megargee, Geoffrey P. (ed.). The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum encyclopedia of camps and ghettos, 1933-1945. Volume 1, Early camps, youth camps, and concentration camps and subcamps under the SS-Business Administration Main Office (WVHA). Translated by Pallavicini, Stephen. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. pp. 140–142. ISBN 978-0-253-00350-8. OCLC 644542383.
  • Zeiss, Katrin (22 February 2003). "Die Spur nach Buchenwald". Die Tageszeitung: taz (in German). pp. 1001–1002. ISSN 0931-9085. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  • Flugplatz Nohra. "Flugplatz Nohra e.V." www.flugplatz-nohra.de. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
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