Watenstedt/Leinde concentration camp

In May 1944 the first prisoners were deported from Neuengamme concentration camp to the satellite camp in Watenstedt/Leinde. While some inmates were set aside to build the camp, for others this was the start of slave labour producing bombs and grenades in the Brunswick steelworks (“Stahlwerke Braunschweig”). In September the SS also began deploying female prisoners for this task. Prior to 7 April 1945, when the concentration camp was evacuated, some 2 000 men and 1 500 women were working 12-hour shifts in the munitions factory.