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While Mauthausen is
not the most well known of the Killing Centers, it is formidable among them.
Originally a prison, the buildings were confiscated by the Nazis with the
Anschluss,
and converted into a Concentration Camp for the prisoners who were not to be
rehabilitated: most died in the Camp. Until death, prisoners were used for
backbreaking work in the Stone Quarries to provide building materials for the
the 3rd Reich. In addition to brutal treatment, prisoners were subject to waves
of typhus, and other disease, and were often 'rented' out as slave labor to
community companies. The Castle Hartheim, was used for many killings: inmates
would often be lead in on the pretext of having their photographs taken and then
shot. Gassings by Zyklon-B were a pre-eminent form of genocide in the
Mauthausen-Melk-Gusen complex; the bodies then cremated at the Ebensee
Crematorium. Tens of Thousands died, including Jews, Political Prisoners,
Prisoners of Conscience and Poles.
Those in the local community knew full
well of the brutal activities: prisoners were put on public road projects and
were seen in transit from the camp to the Quarries. Daily shootings and inhumane
treatment were reported in Mauthausen, but the police did nothing but 'convey
concerns'. The reason for the lack of intervention was (1)Fear of Nazi
Retailiation, and (2) the profitability of the slave labor/camp commerce
locally. While thousands died cruel deaths within the Camp away from family and
friends, the Mauthausen/Linz community prospered more than many during the war
years 2
1 "Horwitz, Gordon J. In the Shadow of Death: Living Outside the Gates of Mauthausen: The Free Press (Division of MacMillan):NY 1990 2 "Mauthausen", USHMM Learning Center/Archives. 3 "Mauthausen", Jewish Gen: Forgotten Camps: Belzec. 4 "Mauthausen", Jewish Virtual Library