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Ravensbrück (Germania : campo di concentramento) CercaDefinizione
Located 56 miles north of Berlin, the Ravensbrück concentration camp opened on May 15, 1939. It was the major concentration camp for women only. It had thirty-four satellite camps, some of which also had male prisoners. Most of the satellite camps were attached to military-industrial plants. Ravensbrück's commandants were SS-Hauptsturmführer Max Koegel (until 1942) and SS-Hauptsturmfüher Fritz Suhren (1942-May 1945). Most of the guards in the camp were female SS auxiliaries. In 1939, women from a concentration camp near Lichtenburg were transferred to Ravensbrück and the camp began with a population of 1,416 prisoners. By late 1939, Ravensbrück held 2,000 prisoners. This number increased to 10,800 by the end of 1942, and to 26,700 in 1944. The Germans performed pseudoscientific medical experiments in the camp. A crematorium was installed in April 1943 and gas chambers were built in early 1945. By May 1945 over 2,000 prisoners had been gassed. The evacuation of Ravensbrück began in March 1945, when over 24,000 prisoners were sent on a forced march to Mecklenberg during which many died. By May 1945 between 100, 000 and 130, 000 women had passed through Ravensbrück. Shortly before liberation, several hundred female prisoners were handed over to the Swedish and Danish Red Cross by the Germans. When Soviet forces liberated Ravensbrück on April 29/30, 1945, 3,500 sick female prisoners remained. (en-US)
Fonte
Weinmann, Martin, ed. Das nationalsozialistische Lagersystem. Frankfurt am Main: Zweitausendeins 1990. p. 577