Satellite Camp Wels II
Establishment of the satellite camp
Wels II Subcamp was a sub-detachment to Ebensee Subcamp and was established on 24 March 1945.
Location
The exact location is assumed to have been in a hall in the Wels Noitzmühle neighbourhood. The hall was not enclosed by a fence, and there were neither sanitary facilities, nor a kitchen or beds. The prisoners had to sleep on straw that was scattered on the floor.
Prisoners
Wels II Subcamp had about 1,500 prisoners. The majority of the prisoners were trained metal workers. This suggests that it may have been planned to assign them to work in the aircraft and metal construction facilities in Wels at a later point.
Forced labor
The prisoners had to do clean-up work after the air raids that had caused considerable damage. They had to work in day and night shifts. The conditions of their imprisonment were very harsh. After only two weeks, the SS exchanged 400 prisoners that had become unable to work for new prisoners from Ebensee. The number of deaths in this camp remains unknown.
Guarding
There is no information on the camp leader, but it is assumed that SS members and units of the “Volkssturm” guarded the prisoners.
Schließung
Wels II Subcamp was shut down on 13 April 1945. On a death march, the prisoners were driven like cattle to Ebensee Subcamp. It is assumed that many prisoners lost their lives on this march. The SS camp physician at Ebensee Subcamp reported on 12 April 1945, that there were 19 dead among the prisoners from Wels, and another 35 died on 13 April 1945.
Commemoration and remembrance
In 1949, the city of Wels erected a monument for the victims of the camp in the town centre. The ceramic sculpture, which was installed in Pollheimer Park, was designed by the Linz sculptor Josef Scheiblhofer. A memorial celebration is held each year, organised by the Welser Initiative gegen Faschismus [1] (Wels initiative against fascism) and the Mauthausen Committee Austria. More information on it can be found in the programme for commemoration and liberation ceremonies [2].
