Lager Norderney facts for kids
Lager Norderney was a Nazi concentration camp located on Alderney. Alderney is one of the Channel Islands, which are close to the coast of France but are part of the United Kingdom. This camp was named after the East Frisian island of Norderney in Germany.
During World War II, the Germans built four concentration camps on Alderney. These camps were subcamps of the Neuengamme concentration camp in Hamburg, Germany. Each subcamp was named after one of the Frisian Islands. The four camps were:
- Lager Norderney at Saye
- Lager Borkum at Platte Saline
- Lager Sylt near the old telegraph tower at La Foulère
- Lager Helgoland in the northwest part of the island
About 700 people died in the Alderney concentration camps out of around 6,000 prisoners. These were the only Nazi concentration camps ever built on British land.
Building the Camps
The camps were set up by a group called the SS-Baubrigade I. This group was first overseen by the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Later, from early 1943, it came under the control of the Neuengamme camp in northern Germany.
The camps were used by the Nazi group called Organisation Todt. This group forced people to work without pay. They made prisoners build many military structures. These included bunkers, places for guns, air-raid shelters, and strong concrete walls.
Life in the Camps
Lager Norderney held people from different parts of Europe, especially Eastern Europe, and also from Russia. The prisoners in Lager Norderney and Lager Sylt were forced to build many military buildings and defenses all over Alderney.
Sylt camp held Jewish prisoners who were also forced to work. This camp was known for its very harsh conditions. The Borkum and Helgoland camps were for people who were considered "volunteers." While conditions were still very difficult, these prisoners were treated slightly better than those in Sylt and Norderney.
Lager Borkum was used for German technicians and people from various European countries who were forced to work. Lager Helgoland was filled with Russian workers from the Organisation Todt.
Camp Leadership and Closure
In 1942, Lager Norderney, which held Russian and Polish prisoners of war, and Lager Sylt, which held Jewish people, were put under the control of an SS officer named Max List.
More than 700 prisoners lost their lives in these camps. The camps were closed in 1944. The prisoners who were still alive were then moved to Germany.
Related pages
- Nazi concentration camp list
- Neuengamme concentration camp subcamp list
- The Holocaust
