Monument in memory of the Deutsche Werft satellite camp

On 16 December 1996, a monument was dedicated in the grounds of the former Deutsche Werft shipbuilding company in Finkenwerder. It had been initiated by the head of the local administrative office at the time and was designed by the Finkenwerder-based artist Axel Groehl (born 1953). The monument consists of a bronze sculpture in the middle of a perforated concrete wall. The artist’s intention was to create a ‘symbol of concentrated hope to counter despair, darkness and coercion’. The monument is surrounded by ten rowan trees, and it was the final element to be installed in the newly designed Rüschpark.

Deutsche Werft satellite camp
The Deutsche Werft satellite camp of the Neuengamme concentration camp was located on the Rüsch peninsula in Finkenwerder. It is estimated to have held more than 600 male prisoners, most of whom were from the Soviet Union, Poland, Belgium, France and Denmark. They were forced to work as welders, metalworkers and electricians in the shipbuilding operations of Deutsche Werft. 90 of these prisoners died during a bomb attack on the grounds in December 1944. The camp was cleared shortly before the end of the war, and some of the surviving prisoners were loaded onto two ships in the Bay of Lübeck, the Thielbek and Cap Arcona. On 3 May 1945, the ships were mistakenly bombed by the Royal Air Force and sank. The remaining prisoners were taken to the Sandbostel prisoner of war camp, where many died of hunger.

Informationen zum KZ-Außenlager Deutsche Werft