in detail
Moringen is a small town between Harz and Solling with a population of approximately 4,000. Between 1933 and 1945, three successive concentration camps existed in the former provincial work house ("Provinzialwerkhaus").
The Concentration Camp for Men (1933): In April 1933, one of the first concentration camps of the National Socialist state was established. Men from the province of Hanover who held anti-fascist or oppositional views, and a few women from the workers movement (such as the KPD and SPD) were detained there. The camp was closed in November 1933 and the male prisoners were transferred to other concentration camps.
The Concentration Camp for Women (1933-1938): In November 1933, the camp became the first central concentration camp for women. In addition to the arrest of functionaries of the workers movement, women, who were persecuted on the basis of their race or religion (Jehovah`s Witnesses), as well as prostitutes and returning immigrants were also imprisoned there. The camp was closed at the end of March and the women were sent to the Lichtenburg Concentration Camp for Women.
The Concentration Camp for Youths: In 1940 the SS apparatus established the concentration camp in Moringen for young males between the ages of 12 and 22. The young prisoners came from the territory of the German Reich as well as from various European countries. The young men who were persecuted on political, religious, racial and social grounds, were subjected to an inhuman selection process based on theories of criminalistic biology. They were the helpless victims of SS terror, forced labor, hunger and draconian disciplinary methods. Many of the youths perished as a result of the conditions in Moringen; others were transported to extermination camps after being selected by Dr. Ritter.
Initially, a displaced persons camp for Poles existed on the site of the concentration camps after 1945, and later a clinic for alcoholics and a state clinic for dermatology was established there. Presently, the Lower Saxony state hospital for forensic psychology is located there. Since the early eighties, a group of citizens from Moringen and its vicinity have been working together with former prisoners to reconstruct the history of the Moringen camps. Since then, the Camp Community meets annually in Moringen.
The traveling exhibition "We hadn`t even yet begun to live" ("Wir hatten noch gar nicht angefangen zu leben") about the history of the youth concentration camps of Moringen and Uckermark has been shown in many places throughout Germany since 1993. The exhibition is sponsored by the Camp Community and the Moringen Concentration Camp Memorial Association ("Lagergemeinschaft und Gedenkstätte KZ Moringen e.V") as well as by the Hans-Böckler Foundation. The memorial for the three Moringen concentration camps, which has been in existence since 1993, provides a permanent exhibition, tours, meetings with eye witnesses, teaching aids and special exhibitions.
April - November 1933
Concentration camp for men.
November 1933-1938
Concentration camp for women.
1940-1945
Concentration camp for youths.
1980s
Through a citizen`s initiative, historical research about the three concentration camps begins.
Since 1983
An annual meeting of former prisoners of the three concentration camps takes place with increasing attendance.
1989
The Camp Community and Moringen Memorial Initiative Association ("Lagergemeinschaft und Gedenkstätte KZ Moringen e.V.") is founded.
1992
The traveling exhibition "We hadn`t even yet begun to live", ("Wir hatten noch gar nicht angefangen zu leben") about the Moringen and Uckermark Concentration Camps for Youths is completed.
1993
The memorial museum opens.
