German Killing & Atrocity Centers

When the soldier-liberators stumbled into the 3 large hangars at Nordhausen, they were stunned to see thousands of corpses lying amidst sawdust, with only 2 or three half-conscious survivors. Nordhausen, located outside of Nordhausen, was the subcamp of Mittelbau-Dora where those held in slavery underground were sent when they became too weak,ill or injured to continue the back-breaking armaments work.

Not unlike other camps, these 'medical' subcamps were common: they meant death for the inmate due to no sanitation, food or medical care: they were left to starve. Many scholars do not separate the camps of Mittelbau-Dora and Nordhausen because they were so close and basically had the same authority over them. Nordhausen, however was a distinct location, used for a distinct purpose, although it was the purpose of the main camp, Mittelbau, to dispose of the dying and ill. The US 33rd division liberated Nordhausen with M-D in April of 1945, film of the liberation/evacuation may be found at the USHMM site. Only a few survived for the thousands dead in the hangars. Townspeople from Nordhausen were forced to help in the effort, and mass graves were dug along the roads leading into the camp.

Estimates death tolls of Mittelbau-Dora and Nordhausen start at 8125, but other death tolls run as high as 20,000: there is overlap because dying and ill prisoners were often sent to Buchenwald or other camps where they were exterminated.