in detail
The shaft complexes "Marie" and "Bartensleben":
The two salt shafts are located just a few hundred meters from the former inner-German border, in the communities of Beendorf and Morsleben, in the state of Sachsen Anhalt. Until 1946 these belonged to the Burbach-Konzern. In 1937 Burbach leased the shaft complex "Marie" to the Air Force which set up a munitions plant on the factory grounds. In February 1944, both shaft complexes were confiscated for the air force industry`s armaments production. Within that year, they were developed into underground armaments factories.
SS Labor Camp A3:
As a satellite camp of the Neuengamme Concentration Camp, the camp received the official name "L.L.Hamburg Neuengamme SS-Arbeitslager A3". In the beginning the camp comprised approximately 750 male prisoners who were assigned to work on the subterranean construction. As of August 1944, 2,000 female concentration camp prisoners were assigned to work in the armaments industry (mostly Poles and Hungarian jewisch women).
On April 10, 1945 prisoners were transported to the satellite camp Wöbbelin/ Ludwigslust and Sasel/Hamburg. During the transport, approximately 600 prisoners died. At the end of April 1945, as part of the "Bernadotte-Aktion", many of the women who were brought to Sasel were delivered to the Swedish Red Cross and brought to Sweden.
After the war, the mines were under Soviet administration and the mining machinery was transported to the USSR as part of reparations payments. From 1956 to 1984, chickens were fattened in the "Marie" shaft, and after 1987 industrial waste was stored there. As of 1981, the GDR installed a final disposal site for radioactive waste at the "Bartensleben" shaft. Today both shaft areas are admininstrated by the government office for radiation protection.
Memorial Museum:
Due to the initiative of the local school director, an exhibition room was set up in the school in 1971. To accommodate the increasing number of visitors since the fall of the Wall, the district of Beendorf isworking on redesigning the exhibit.
1937
Leasing of the Marie shaft to the Reichs Ministry of Aviation; construction of an air munitions plant.
March 1944
Establishment of an underground factory in both mines; production for the air force, later also used as a satellite camp of Neuengamme Concentration Camp.
1971
Establishment of the memorial.
Since 1981
Use of the Bartensleben shaft as a final disposal site for radioactive waste (Morsleben).
Since 1994
Rebuilding and redesigning of the memorial exhibit.
