Flossenbürg Things to Do

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The Valley of Death is one of the oldest Concentration Camp Memorials in Germany with work first starting in 1946. The memorial starts at the back of the camp and you walk down steps pass the gate posts to the former entrance at the camp that have been moved to this location. You continue down the steps pass the crematorium. There is a plaque close by in memory of prisoners that were shot and a simple grassy square. A grassy pyramid containing the ashes of prisoners is the next part of the memorial. A square of nations indicates the nationalities of the victims.

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The Chapel ‘Jesus in the Dungeon’ was built incorporating a former watch tower as the church spire. The chapel was built using stones from the camp watch towers. Inside the chapel there are a number of plaques to the victims.

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From the outside the Jewish Memorial is a plain modern looking white windowless building. Natural light is allowed to enter via small tower with a Star of David set into the top. It is an unusual and ingenious design.

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None of the camps wooden huts have survived. The more substantial Prisoner’s Kitchen and Laundry buildings that form 2 sides of the roll call ground are at present being renovated and the whole area is fenced off at present whilst building work takes place. The roll call took place in the morning and evening. Prisoners were forced to stand to attention, sometimes for hours on end. Whilst the roll call took place prisoners were forced to watch beatings and executions taking place.

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A cemetery of honour for the victims of the camp was built between 1957 and 1960 where the isolation blocks, workshops and disinfection buildings had stood at the rear of the camp. More than 5,500 people are buried in the cemetery of honour their bodies having been disinterred from along side the death march route and from local cemeteries.

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To stop the prisoners from escaping from the camp it was ringed by an electrified fence. Watch Towers built from granite stone were spaced at regular intervals to give the guards a clear line of fire. A small portion of the fence survives and three guards towers one of which is incorporated in the ‘Jesus in the Dungeon’ Chapel.

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Only part of the detention barrack remains today as most of it was pulled down in 1964. It originally consisted of a building containing 40 cells surrounded by a high wall. The remaining building includes 2 cells, an exhibition and a plaque outside to a number of well known victims who were executed in the courtyard. These include Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was opposed to the Nazis, Admiral Wilhelm Canaris and Major-General Hans Oster who were involved in the plot to assassinate Hitler. For those wishing to search for relatives, there is a book located in the exhibition area containing the names of prisoners.