Mauthausen/Gusen Death Book

· Background
      · History of Mauthausen, Austria
      · Subcamps of Mathausen
      · Gusen
· Database
· Acknowledgements
· Searching the Database

Background

This death book, with 38,206 names, is not a complete list, since several thousand prisoners, particularly Russian prisoners of war, were never entered into the records, but simply murdered.  There were relatively few Jewish prisoners in Mauthausen in the early years, but near the end of WWII this changed and thousands of Jewish forced laborers, particularly Hungarian, were sent to Gusen.  The death book includes the names of 10,517 persons identified as Jews.

Nearly 68,000 prisoners were held in Gusen before liberation on May 5, 1945.  While not a death camp in the strict sense of that term, conditions were so bad that a majority of the prisoners died there.

History of Mauthausen, Austria

Mauthausen, located 20 km from Linz, Austria, was set up in 1938, after the "Anschluss of Austria.  On August 8, 1938 prisoners from Dachau were transferred to the "Wiener Graben" quarry to build the Mauthausen concentration camp.  It became the central camp for Austria, from which forty-nine permanent sub-camps were administered.

Between August 8, 1938 and liberation on May 5, 1945, approximately 195,000 prisoners were in Mauthausen.  Estimates are that 150,000 perished.

Initially German and Austrian criminals, "asocials," political prisoners, homosexuals, and Jehovah's Witnesses were sent there.  Later Poles, Spanish republican refugees transferred by Vichy France, Soviet and other POWs, as well as Jews, were sent there.  For example, between 1942 and 1944, political prisoners from France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Greece, Albania, Poland, the Soviet Union, Italy, Hungary, and Germany, and thousands of unregistered Soviet POWs were sent to Mauthausen.  And in 1945, more than 20,000 prisoners from other concentration camps in countries given up by the Nazis were transferred to Mauthausen -- Lublin, Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, Sachsenhausen, Ravensbrück, Natzweiler, and Gross-Rosen.

About the same time, thousands of Hungarians, mostly Jews, were sent to Mauthausen.  On May 3, 1945, 64,800 men and 1,734 women were listed as prisoners in Mauthausen, including 18,015 Hungarians, 15,803 Poles, and 15,581 Romanians.  (Source: Mauthausen, Osterreichische Lagergemeinschaft Mauthausen).

There is some evidence to suggest that the Nazis had planned to move the Auschwitz gas chambers to Mauthausen, and that some of the equipment had been transferred to Mauthausen.

Most of the guards at Mauthausen and its subcamps were SS members.  In 1939 there were 1,500; in 1944-45, there were 9,000.  Incredibly, only 818 of them were identified.  A couple hundred were captured by the Americans.  In the trial at Dachau on March 7, 1946, 58 were sentenced to death and three to life imprisonment.  All pled not guilty.  The commandant, Franz Ziereis, was shot by American soldiers in the camp hiding in civilian clothes.  His "deathbed" confession is online -- a chilling account of the inhuman treatment of the prisoners, ordered by Himmler and carried out by Zereis, who characterizes himself as "not a wicked man."  He estimated that 65,000 inmates were murdered in Mauthausen, and he confessed that he took part in the executions.

Fred Friendly wrote in May 19, 1945: "Mauthausen was built with a half-million rocks which 150,000 prisoners - 18,000 was the capacity - carried up on their backs from a quarry 800 feet below.  They carried it up steps so steep that a Captain and I walked it once and were winded, without a load.  They carried granite and made 8 trips a day... and if they stumbled, the S.S. men pushed them into the quarry.  There are 285 steps, covered with blood.  They called it the steps of death."

Subcamps of Mathausen

Subcamp Purpose for Subcamp Maximum # of Prisoners
Amstetten Railroad construction 2,966
Amstetten (women) Railroad construction 500
Bachmanning Saw mill 20
Bretstein SS Farm Approx. 80
Dippoldsau Power plant construction Approx. 130
Ebensee Underground tunneling, armaments plant 18,437
Eisenerz Iron ore mining 400
Enns Shelter construction Approx. 2,000
Floridsdorf/Jedlesee Armaments plant Unknown
Grein Armaments plant 120
Grossraming Power plant construction 1,013
Gunskirchen Reception campApprox. 15,000
Gusen I Quarries and armaments plant 11,480
Gusen II Underground tunneling, armaments plant 12,537
Gusen III Brickworks 274
Hinterbrühl Aircraft factory Approx. 1,800
Hirtenberg (women) Cartridge factory 459
Klagenfurt SS barrack building 130
Leibnitz Armaments plant 655
Lenzing (women) Textile factory 565
Linz I Armaments plant 790
Linz II Air-raid shelter construction 285
Linz III Armaments plant 5,615
Loiblpass Two camps, road tunnel construction 1,294
Melk Underground tunneling, armaments factories 10,314
Passau Armaments plant 83
Passau II Armaments plant 333
Saurer-Wien-Werke Armaments plant 1,480
Schiff Reception camp Approx. 700
Schlier Redl-Zipf Production of V-weapons and money forgery 1,488
Schloss Lind SS Farm 20
Schloss Mittersill (women) SS research institute 15
Schönbrunn-Wien Experimental station 5
Schwechat Aircraft construction 2,568
St. Agyd a. Neuwalde Armaments plant 303
St. Lambrecht SS Farm 80
St. Lambrecht (women) SS Farm 20
St. Valentin Tank production 1,480
Steyr Armaments plant 1,791
Ternberg Power plant construction 406
Vöcklabrück Road construction 300
Wels I Armaments plant 397
Wiener Neudorf Aircraft engine work 2,954
Wiener Neustadt Armaments plantApprox. 1,000
Zeltlager Reception campApprox. 10,000

Source: Mauthausen, Osterreichische Lagergemeinschaft Mauthausen http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/copyright.html

Gusen

The KZ Gusen I, II, III concentration camp,complex was the biggest and most brutal of all the Mauthausen subcamps.  More people died at the KZ Gusen I, II & III camps than at the related Mauthausen Central Camp.  All in all, the 40,000 KZ Gusen victims were approximately one-third of all the concentration camp victims on "Austrian" territory.

Before the first Gusen camp was built (there were three), prisoners of Mauthausen had to march 4 km every day to reach the stone quarries at Gusen.  More than 150 prisoners died in the winter of 1938/39 due to that march; therefore, it was decided to build a sub-camp at Gusen, using 400 German and Austrian prisoners from Mauthausen.

The first inmates were German and Austrian political dissidents and priests.  Due to the severity of the work in the quarries and the unspeakable cruelty of the guards, the first group died after only a few weeks.  After the Nazis invasion of Poland, hundreds of Polish intellectuals and civilians were sent to Gusen and murdered in the stone quarry.

Gusen was noted for atrocities committed by the guards, and some of the torture methods were named Parachute Troops and Todebadeaktionen (death bath action). See http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/gusen_cruelties.html for a detailed list of the atrocities committed at Gusen.

The conditions at Gusen II (St Georgen) and Gusen III (Lungitz) were incredible.  The inmates called Gusen II "The hell of the hells."  The Gusen complex was considered to be worse than Mauthausen.

There is a wealth of detailed information on the Internet about Mauthausen and Gusen.  It should also be noted that medical experiments were conducted at Gusen and extensive information about these is on the Internet.  In addition, the database notes deaths at Hartheim.  Hartheim Castle (Schloss Hartheim), located near Linz, was a euthanasia killing center where physically and mentally challenged were killed by gassing and lethal injection.

Database

The database includes 38,207 names of prisoners that were imprisoned and died at Mauthausen and/or other nearby sub-camps.  The fields in the database are as follows (In English and German):

Numerical Control #ID
Prisoner Number- Mauthausen Häftlingsnummer MH
Prisoner Number- Gusen H-Nummer Gusen
Prisoner Number- Other Camps H-Nummer anderes KZ
Nationality Nationalität
Reason for Arrest Haftgrund
"Night and Fog" decrees (Note A) NN (Nacht und Nebel)
Surname Familienname
Other Surnames Alias
Given Name Vorname
Date of Birth Geburtsdatum
Birthplace Geburtsort
Occupation Beruf
Date of Death Todesdatum
Cause of Death Todesursache
Place of Death Todesort
Transfer 1 1 Überstellung
Transfer 2 2 Überstellung
Transfer 3 3 Überstellung
Transfer 4 4 Überstellung
Transfer 5 5 Überstellung
Arrival Date Einlieferungdatum
Source Quellen
Comments Kommentar

Note A: Prisoners who were under the "nacht und nebel" decrees (night and fog), were said to have disappeared mysteriously and were not allowed outside contacts nor was their location disclosed to relatives or friends.

To assist the researcher, below are some helpful tables and references to translations.

NATIONALITIES

Albanien Albania   Norwegen Norway
Belgien Belgium   p ?
Bulgarien Bulgaria   Pd ?
China China   Polen Poland
Dänemark Denmark   Portugal Portugal
db ?   Protektorat Protectorate?
Deutsches Reich Germany   Rumänien Romania
Elsass Alsace (Lorraine)   Russe Russia
Estland Estonia   Schweden Sweden
Finnland Finland   Schweiz Switzerland
Frankreich France   Serbien Serbia
Griechenland Greece   Slowakei Slovakia
Großbritannien Great Britain   Slowenien Slovenia
Honduras Honduras   Sowjetunion Soviet Union
Ip ?   Spanien Spain
Italien Italy   staatenlos Stateless
Jugoslawien Jugoslavia   Tschechei Czechoslovakia
Kroatien Croatia   Türkei Turkey
Lettland Latvia   unbekannt Unknown
Litauen Lithuania   Ungarn Hungary
Lothringen Lorraine (Alsace)   unleserlich Illegible
Luxemburg Luxemburg   USA USA
Niederlande Netherlands      

REASONS FOR ARREST

§ 175 Homosexual     Politisch Political
§ 175 Jude Jewish Homosexual     Polizeihäftling Police custody
AZR (Asozialer/Reichsbehörde) Asocial prisoner delivered by Reich authorities     Rotspanier Literally Red Spaniard, fought in the Spanish Republican Army
AZR / Zigeuner Asocial Gypsy prisoner delivered by Reich authorities     RZA (Russicher Zivilarbeiter) Soviet civilian conscript laborer
Bifo (Bibelforscher) Jehovah's Witness     Schutz Protective custody
BV (Berufsverbrecher) Professional criminal     Schutz/Polizeihäftling Protective custody / Police custody
BV (Befristete Vorbeugungshaft) Prisoner under temporary preventive custody     SV (Sicherheitsverwahrung) Security detention
Emigrant Emigrant / refugee     Unbekannt Unknown
Geistlicher Clergyman     Unleserlich Illegible
Halbjude Part Jew     WA (Wehrmachtsangehöriger) Member of the German military
Jude Jew     Wehrmachtsangehöriger Member of the German military
Kriegsgefangener (Kgf.) Prisoner of war     Zigeuner Gypsy
Mischling Mixed religious parentage     Zivilarbeiter Civilian conscript laborer

OCCUPATIONS

Please see the JewishGen InfoFile for translations of occupations from German to English at: http://www.jewishgen.org/InfoFiles/GermanOccs.htm.

CAUSES OF DEATH

Abgang Departure
Akute Kreislaufschwäche Acute cardiovascular adynamia
Allgemeine Sepsis, Phlegmone der linker Hand Generalized blood poisoning, inflammation of the left hand
Arbeitsunfall Industrial accident
Arteriosclerose Gehirnschlag Arteriosclerosis, cerebral apoplexy
Auf Befehl des RF( Referent).SS erschossen On order of the SS officer - shot
Auf Befehl des RF( Referent).SS erhängt On order of the SS officer - hung
bei Entschärfung von Zeitzünderbomben when deactivating time-fused bombs
Bluthochdruck, Gehirnschlag High blood pressure, apoplexy
Bombenschlag Bomb blast, strike
Dickdarm Katarrh Colon catarrh, colitis
Elektrozaun Electrocuted (by hitting electrical fence)
Erhängen To hang
Erhängt Hung
Erschossen Shot
Ertrinken (selbstmord) Drowned (suicide)
Exekutiert Executed
Execution Execution
Fliegerangriff Air attack
Flucht Escaped
Flucht erschossen Shot when escaping
Flugzeugangriff Airplane attack
Freitod Suicide
Freitod Absturz Suicide by crash, fall
Freitod durch Elektrozaun Suicide on the electrical fence
Freitod durch erhängen Suicide by hanging
Freitod durch Sprung von fahrendem Zug Suicide by jumping off a train
Freitod durch Starkstrom Suicide by high-voltage current
Freitod durch Überfahren Suicide by run over
Freitod durch Überfahrenlassen Suicide by run over
Herz und Kreislaufschwäche, Ruhr Cardiac and cardiovascular adynamia, dysentery
Halsverletzung mit Verblutung durch Selbstmord Throat injury with exsanguination due to suicide
Herz und Kreislaufschwäche auf Fluchtversuch Cardiac and cardiovascular adynamia while attempting to escape
Herzmuskelentzündung, Akute Herzschwäche Myocarditis, acute cardiac adynamia
Herzmuskelschaden Cardiac damage
Herzmuskelschwäche Cardiac adynamia, myocardial weakness
Herzschuß beim Fluchtversuch Shot in the heart while attempting to escape
In Notwehr erschossen Shot in self-defense act
Infizierte Wunde linker Fuß, allgemeine Sepsis Infected wound on left foot, generalized blood disease
Infizierte Wunden beider Fußen, allgemeine Sepsis Infected wounds on both feet, generalized blood disease
Luftangriff Air attack
Lungenembolie ( Schuß im rechter Oberschenkel) auf Flucht Pulmonary embolism ( shot in the right thigh) while escaping
Lungenentzündung Pneumonia
Lungen TBC Pulmonary tuberculosis
Schädelbasisbruch infolge Verschüttung, Erdmassen? Sub-cranial fracture as a result of burying; earth mass?
Schußverletzung - Fluchtversuch Gunshot wound while escaping
Schußverletzung auf Flucht / Steinbruch Kastenhofen Gunshot wound while escaping / Quarry Kastenhofen
Schußverletzung auf Flucht / Steinbruch Wiener Graben Gunshot wound while escaping / Quarry Wiener Graben
Schwerer Magen und Darmkatarrh, Herz und Kreizlaufschwäche Serious gastric and intestinal catarrh , cardiac adynamia
Sepsis Phlegmone, Herz und Kreislaufschwäche Blood disease, inflammation, Cardiac and cardiovascular adynamia
Tod durch erhängen Death by hanging
Tödlich verunglückt beim Ausgraben einer LE Bomb Deadly casualty while digging out a bomb
Transport Transport
Unfall Accident, casualty
Unglücksfall Accident, casualty
unleserlich Illegible
vermißt Missing
Verstorben durch Bombenschlag Died by a bomb blast
verunglückt Casualty
Vom Wachposten erschoßen Shot by a sentry
Zwischenhaft Temporary arrest, detention

Persons seeking to obtain copies of individual pages from the death books where a particular name of interest appears should write to the Mauthausen Gedenkstätte at mauthausen-memorial@mail.bmi.gv.at.  Alternatively, one can write to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, which has an incomplete copy of the death book (RG 17.002M, reel 1), as well as information on other Mauthausen prisoners.   Unfortunately, there is no complete list of all Mauthausen prisoners.

Acknowledgements

This database, which appears with the permission of the Mauthausen Gedenkstätte (memorial site), was donated to JewishGen by HFPJC (Heritage Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Cemeteries).  Special thanks to Edward Mitelsbach for translation assistance with German occupations and causes of death.

Joyce Field and Nolan Altman
May 2004


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Last Update: 28 Feb 2005 by WSB