Kaufering I (Landsberg)
The Kaufering I subcamp was located to the west of Landsberg and had to be constructed by concentration camp prisoners from the Kaufering III camp. On 15 July, the first direct transport with 1,883 prisoners arrived at Kaufering I concentration subcamp. The camp was expanded further in the course of its existence. Aerial photos taken by the Allies shortly before the war came to an end show a total of 55 earth huts and three clay buildings.
The SS camp headquarters for the entire concentration subcamp complex was situated directly to the west of camp I. The individual camps were subordinate to it.
The prisoners were used as forced labourers on the bunker construction sites for the Moll Company. What is more, they had to perform huge range of different types of work to create the infrastructure. The incarcerated women had to dig out trenches and do field work, for instance. It has been proven that women were also used on the construction sites.
It is almost impossible for me to describe what the prisoners looked like: humiliated, starved, infested with lice. They move like robots, as if they no longer know that they are humans. In this camp, people die on the assembly line.
– Abba Naor about the situation in the camps
During the turn of the year 1944/45, seven children were born in camp I, all of which survived. The mothers and their children and most of the remaining prisoners were evacuated towards Dachau concentration camp in late April. On 27 April 1945, the camp was liberated by US American units.
Today the former camp serves as a commercial and agricultural space.
I no longer know how many people died in the individual camps, I can only give you the following information: It could have been 1,400 in camp I, namely 5 men each in 270 days.
– William Eilert, camp writer
For more in-depth insights into the Landsberg/Kaufering subcamp complex, click here to go to the overview page.