The Fürstengrube subcamp was a subcamp of the Auschwitz concentration camp , operated by Nazi Germany in 1943–1945 in Wesoła near Mysłowice in occupied Poland .
117-725: It was organized in the summer of 1943 at the Fürstengrube hard coal mine in the town of Wesoła , approximately 30 kilometers (19 mi) from Auschwitz concentration camp . The mine, which IG Farbenindustrie AG acquired in February 1941, was to supply hard coal for the IG Farben factory being built in Auschwitz. Besides the old Fürstengrube mine, called the Altanlage, a new mine (Fürstengrube-Neuanlage) had been designed and construction had begun; it
234-500: A smokeless fuel . HG and UHG anthracite account for a small percentage of the total anthracite market. The major producing countries are Russia, Ukraine, Vietnam, South Africa and the US. The primary sizes used in the United States for domestic heating are Chestnut, Pea, Buckwheat and Rice, with Chestnut and Rice being the most popular. Chestnut and Pea are used in hand fired furnaces while
351-735: A Polish attack on Germany. In September 1939, the SS transferred 1,000 political prisoners to Flossenbürg from Dachau in order to clear the latter camp to train the first regiment of the Waffen-SS . These prisoners, who were the first political prisoners at Flossenbürg, were moved back to Dachau in March 1940. The first foreign prisoners were transferred to the camp by the Gestapo in April, including Czech student protestors and Polish resistance members . The vast majority of
468-416: A Russian prisoner who intended to escape from the subcamp. In late August 1944, yet another Russian prisoner was shot; he had attempted to escape in a freight car leaving the new mine construction site. The escape attempt of a Polish prisoner named Gorewicz, working in the forge, also ended with his execution. Polish miners on the site helped a group of Polish prisoners by smuggling messages, food, and news of
585-464: A blue dye at the mine before shipping to its Northeastern U.S. markets to distinguish it from its competitors. Culm has different meanings in British and American English . In British English, culm is the imperfect anthracite, located predominantly north Devon and Cornwall , which was used as a pigment . The term is also used to refer to some carboniferous rock strata found in both Britain and in
702-457: A few thousand reached their destination. The prisoners were transported by rail to Oberviechtach , where they split into two groups. One of these traveled by foot and in trucks via Külz , Dieterskirchen , and Schwarzhofen , joining the earlier march of Jewish prisoners in Neunburg . Many prisoners remained in the town from 20–22 April, when the SS guards deserted. The United States Army arrived in
819-400: A form of recycling . The practice known as reclamation is being applied to culm piles antedating laws requiring mine owners to restore lands to their approximate original condition. Chemically, anthracite may be considered as a transition stage between ordinary bituminous coal and graphite , produced by the more or less complete elimination of the volatile constituents of the former, and it
936-663: A group from Ohrdruf concentration camp , and the survivors of the death march from Buchenwald. SS official Kurt Becher , who was involved in negotiations between Himmler and the Allies, visited Flossenbürg on 17 April and attempted to persuade Koegel not to evacuate the camp. A telegram from Himmler the next day repeated the order not to let any prisoner fall into enemy hands. On 19 April, some 25,000 to 30,000 remaining prisoners in Flossenbürg and its subcamps were ordered to evacuate to Dachau. About 16,000 prisoners actually set out, and only
1053-493: A manpower agency. In mid-January 1943, DEST accepted the offer; production started in early February. According to Yad Vashem historian Daniel Uziel , the conversion of Flossenbürg to armaments production was especially significant because it had been the most profitable DEST enterprise. The number of prisoners working for Messerschmitt increased greatly after the bombing of Messerschmitt's Regensburg plant on 17 August 1943. That month, 800 prisoners worked for Messerschmitt;
1170-526: A massive transfer of Soviet prisoners to the SS camp system. In poor condition due to their previous mistreatment , they spent several months recovering before they were deemed fit to work. They were accommodated in a special, cordoned-off area. By February 1943, Flossenbürg had 4,004 prisoners, not including the Soviet prisoners of war. From April 1943, the commandant was Max Koegel , described by American historian Todd Huebner as "a vicious martinet " who lacked
1287-412: A minimum carbon content of 95%. They also differ in usage from standard grade anthracite (used mainly for power generation), being employed mainly in metallurgy as a cost-efficient substitute for coke in processes such as sintering and pelletising , as well as pulverised coal injection (PCI) and direct injection into blast furnaces . They can also be used in water purification and domestically as
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#17328771320351404-469: A petition by the nephew of a defendant. One was convicted and the other acquitted, leading to judicial review of the charges against the defendants, but a War Crimes Board of Review found that the perjury had not affected the outcome of the trial. Two of the defendants who had received death sentences had their sentences reduced on appeal. The remaining death sentences were carried out on 3 and 15 October 1947 or 1948. Between December 1950 and December 1951,
1521-462: A site for a new camp that would meet the SS' specifications. On 24 March 1938, they chose a site near the small town of Flossenbürg , in the Upper Palatinate , for the establishment of a concentration camp due to the quarries of blue-gray granite located nearby. Unlike all other Nazi concentration camps to date, which were near rail junctions and population centers, the camp was to be located in
1638-481: A ten-week course covering both practical and theoretical topics but watched carefully by kapos . Those who failed to advance were sent to work in the quarries, while those whose productivity improved were given cigarettes and extra food. The stone that they cut was used for construction of the camp, the Autobahn , and various SS military projects, but later on it was destined for the monumental German Stadium project and
1755-421: A transport of 100 prisoners arrived from Dachau , establishing the camp. More prisoners arrived from Dachau on 9 and 16 May; Himmler visited the camp on 16 May with Pohl, indicating that the SS considered it an important project. The SS attempted to segregate prisoners incarcerated for criminal offences at Flossenbürg because forced labor in the quarries was considered a particularly harsh punishment. Most of
1872-598: A year later, 5,700 prisoners were employed in armaments production. Erla Maschinenwerk [ de ] , a subcontractor of Messerschmitt, established Flossenbürg subcamps to support its production: a subcamp at Johanngeorgenstadt , established in December 1943, to produce tailplanes for the Bf 109, and another subcamp at Mülsen-St. Micheln which produced aircraft wings, in January 1944. Despite strict regulations forbidding contact,
1989-493: Is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a submetallic lustre . It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy density of all types of coal and is the highest ranking of coals. The Coal Region of Northeastern Pennsylvania in the United States has the largest known deposits of anthracite coal in the world with an estimated reserve of seven billion short tons . China accounts for
2106-551: Is also being mined. Countries producing HG and UHG anthracite include Russia and South Africa. HG and UHG anthracite are used as a coke or coal substitute in various metallurgical coal applications ( sintering , PCI , direct BF charge, pelletizing ). It plays an important role in cost reduction in the steel making process and is also used in production of ferroalloys , silicomanganese, calcium carbide and silicon carbide . South Africa exports lower-quality, higher-ash anthracite to Brazil to be used in steel-making. Anthracite
2223-408: Is classified into three grades, depending on its carbon content. Standard grade is used as a domestic fuel and in industrial power-generation. The rarer higher grades of anthracite are purer – i.e., they have a higher carbon content – and are used in steel-making and other segments of the metallurgical industries. Technical characteristics of the various grades of anthracite are as follows: Anthracite
2340-436: Is confined to the contorted portion west of Swansea and Llanelli , the central and eastern portions producing steam coal , coking coal and domestic house coals. Anthracite shows some alteration by the development of secondary divisional planes and fissures so that the original stratification lines are not always easily seen. The thermal conductivity is also higher; a lump of anthracite feels perceptibly colder when held in
2457-423: Is difficult to ignite, and burns with a short, blue, and smokeless flame. Anthracite is categorized into several grades. Standard grade is used predominantly in power generation, and high grade (HG) and ultra high grade (UHG), are used predominantly in the metallurgy sector. Anthracite accounts for about 1% of global coal reserves, and is mined in only a few countries around the world. Anthracite derives from
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#17328771320352574-558: Is divided by size mainly into applications that need lumps (typically larger than 10 mm) – various industrial processes where it replaces metallurgical coke , and domestic fuel – and those that need fines (less than 10 mm), such as sintering and pelletising. The common American classification by size is as follows: Lump, steamboat, egg and stove coals, the latter in two or three sizes, all three being above 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 in (38 mm) size on round-hole screens. High grade (HG) and ultra high grade (UHG) anthracite are
2691-503: Is fed oxygen by vent paths that have not yet been discovered. These can smolder for years. Commonly, exhaust vents in populated areas are soon sensed and are sealed while vents in uninhabited areas remain undiscovered. Occasionally, vents are discovered via fumes sensed by passers-by, often in forested areas. Attempts to extinguish those remaining have at times been futile, and several such combustion areas exist today. The existence of an underground combustion site can sometimes be identified in
2808-585: Is found in the Lackawanna Coal Mine in northeastern Pennsylvania , United States in and around Scranton , Pennsylvania. Locally called the Coal Region , the deposit contains 480 square miles (1,200 km ) of coal-bearing rock which originally held 22.8 billion short tons (20.68 billion tonnes) of anthracite. The geographic region is roughly 100 miles (161 km) in length and 30 miles (48 km) in width. Because of historical mining and development of
2925-466: Is found most abundantly in areas that have been subjected to considerable stresses and pressures, such as the flanks of great mountain ranges. Anthracite is associated with strongly deformed sedimentary rocks that were subjected to higher pressures and temperatures (but short of metamorphic conditions) just as bituminous coal is generally associated with less deformed or flat-lying sedimentary rocks. The compressed layers of anthracite that are deep mined in
3042-440: Is less than 15 percent. The heat content of anthracite ranges from 26 to 33 MJ/kg (22 to 28 million Btu / short ton ) on a moist, mineral-matter-free basis. The heat content of anthracite coal consumed in the United States averages 29 MJ/kg (25 million Btu/ton), on the as-received basis, containing both inherent moisture and mineral matter. Since the 1980s, anthracite refuse or mine waste has been used for coal power generation in
3159-546: Is of standard-grade anthracite, which is used in power generation. Increased demand in China has made that country into a net importer of the fuel, mostly from Vietnam, another major producer of anthracite for power generation, although increasing domestic consumption in Vietnam means that exports may be scaled back. Current U.S. anthracite production averages around five million tons per year. Of that, about 1.8 million tons were mined in
3276-399: Is processed into different sizes by what is commonly referred to as a breaker . The large coal is raised from the mine and passed through breakers with toothed rolls to reduce the lumps to smaller pieces. The smaller pieces are separated into different sizes by a system of graduated sieves, placed in descending order. Sizing is necessary for different types of stoves and furnaces. Anthracite
3393-548: Is sold in the United Kingdom under trade names such as Phurnacite , Ancit and Taybrite. On the opposite end from high-grade anthracite coal, semianthracite coal is defined as a coal which is intermediate between anthracite coal and bituminous coal, and particularly a coal which approaches anthracite in nonvolatile character. Historically, from time to time, underground seams of coal have caught fire, often from careless or unfortunate mining activities. The pocket of ignited coal
3510-729: Is the world's largest previously undeveloped anthracite deposit. It is owned by the Australian publicly-traded company Atrum Coal and has 1.57 billion tonnes of high grade anthracite. Anthracites of newer Tertiary or Cretaceous age are found in the Crowsnest Pass part of the Rocky Mountains in Canada and at various places in the Andes in Peru. Flossenb%C3%BCrg concentration camp Flossenbürg
3627-615: The Aktion T4 mass killings toured several concentration camps to select ill inmates to be transported to euthanasia centers; they visited Flossenbürg in March 1942. Thousands of prisoners who were worn out by forced labor were sent to death camps such as Majdanek and Auschwitz . One transport from Flossenbürg to Auschwitz arrived on 5 December 1943 with more than 250 of the 948 prisoners dead. By 18 February, only 393 survived. Women unable to work were often deported to Ravensbrück concentration camp . The rate of executions increased during
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3744-512: The Confessing Church theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer . In all, the SS had executed at least 2,500 people at Flossenbürg. A total of 12,000 prisoners in seventeen transports arrived at Flossenbürg in late 1944 and early 1945, causing the camp to fall into a state of disarray. The first of these prisoners had been evacuated from Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp in summer 1944. In early 1945, 2,000 prisoners were sent to Flossenbürg during
3861-514: The Great Western Railway in the UK was able to use its access to anthracite (it dominated the anthracite region) to earn a reputation for efficiency and cleanliness unmatched by other UK companies. Internal combustion motors driven by the so-called "mixed", "poor", "semi-water" or " Dowson gas " produced by the gasification of anthracite with air (and a small proportion of steam) were at one time
3978-711: The Greek anthrakítēs ( ἀνθρακίτης ), literally "coal-like". Other terms which refer to anthracite are black coal , hard coal , stone coal , dark coal , coffee coal , blind coal (in Scotland), Kilkenny coal (in Ireland), crow coal or craw coal , and black diamond . "Blue Coal" is the term for a once-popular and trademarked brand of anthracite, mined by the Glen Alden Coal Company in Pennsylvania , and sprayed with
4095-501: The Mohs scale ), its higher relative density of 1.3–1.4, and luster, which is often semi-metallic with a mildly green reflection. It contains a high percentage of fixed carbon and a low percentage of volatile matter. It is also free from included soft or fibrous notches and does not soil the fingers when rubbed. Anthracitization is the transformation of bituminous coal into anthracite. The moisture content of fresh-mined anthracite generally
4212-512: The Nazi party rally grounds in Nuremberg . Of the five prewar concentration camps where economic industries were prominent, Flossenbürg was the one that was most significant and consistent in producing income for DEST . For example, it produced 2,898 cubic metres (102,300 cu ft) of stone in 1939, almost three-quarters of the total production that year. The largest buyer of Flossenbürg granite
4329-600: The Rhenish hill countries, also known as the Culm Measures . In Britain, it may also refer to coal exported from Britain during the 19th century. In American English, "culm" refers to the waste or slack from anthracite mining, mostly dust and small pieces not suitable for use in home furnaces. Anthracite is similar in appearance to the mineraloid jet and is sometimes used as a jet imitation. Anthracite differs from ordinary bituminous coal by its greater hardness (2.75–3 on
4446-586: The SS Main Economic and Administrative Office (SS-WHVA). In early 1944, 1,000 prisoners were still employed in the quarries. During 1942, the focus of the SS shifted towards war production, leading to negotiations with arms manufacturers to license their products to DEST. Messerschmitt AG was one of the most important armaments companies that demonstrated interest in acquiring the slave labor of concentration camp prisoners, opening negotiations with DEST via Rüstungskommando [ de ] Regensburg by
4563-526: The Schuylkill River . Anthracite was first experimentally burned as a residential heating fuel in the US on 11 February 1808, by Judge Jesse Fell in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania , on an open grate in a fireplace. Anthracite differs from wood in that it needs a draft from the bottom, and Judge Fell proved with his grate design that it was a viable heating fuel. In spring 1808, John and Abijah Smith shipped
4680-621: The Treaty of Versailles and the 1930s economic slump . Adolf Hitler's rise to power increased the demand for granite, earning the Nazi Party local support. The construction of the camp was funded by a contract with Albert Speer 's ministry for the reconstruction of Berlin ; it was the first occasion that economic considerations had determined the site of a camp. The order for the construction of eight barracks at Flossenbürg went through on 31 March, SS guards arrived in April, and on 3 May 1938,
4797-522: The United States Army liberated the main camp on 23 April and found 1,527 ill and weak prisoners in the camp hospital; more than 100 prisoners had died in the preceding three days. Despite the efforts of American medics, only 1,208 prisoners survived the immediate aftermath of liberation. Initially, the American authorities ordered the bodies to be burned in the camp crematorium, but after protests from
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4914-627: The Wehrmacht and five hundred SS women were recruited into the guard force at Flossenbürg. The expansion of the camp led to the establishment of subcamps , the first of which was established at Stulln in February 1942 to provide forced labor to a mining company. Many of them were located in the Sudetenland or across the border in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia . Initially, the subcamps were not involved in armaments production, which changed in
5031-558: The hot blast in 1828, which used waste heat to preheat combustion air, anthracite became a preferred fuel, accounting for 45% of US pig iron production within 15 years. Anthracite iron smelting was later displaced by coke . From the late 19th century until the 1950s, anthracite was the most popular fuel for heating homes and other buildings in the northern US, until it was supplanted by oil-burning systems, and more recently natural gas systems. Many large public buildings, such as schools, were heated with anthracite-burning furnaces through
5148-569: The 1980s. During the American Civil War , Confederate blockade runners used anthracite as a smokeless fuel for their boilers to avoid revealing their position to the blockaders. The invention of the Wootten firebox enabled locomotives to directly burn anthracite efficiently, particularly waste culm. In the early 20th century US, the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad started using only
5265-581: The Allies neared the camp in mid-April. At least 6,000 prisoners from Buchenwald arrived at Flossenbürg between 16 and 20 April; many of the Jews were sent on to the Theresienstadt Ghetto while non-Jewish prisoners remained at Flossenbürg. On 14 April, the population of Flossenbürg and its subcamps was 45,800, including 16,000 women. The main camp's population peaked at between 10,000 and 11,000. On 14 April 1945, SS leader Heinrich Himmler ordered all of
5382-466: The Fürstengrube subcamp and killed most of the remaining prisoners; some they shot, and some burned to death when the SS set their barracks on fire. Only the sudden arrival of Soviet troops forced the SS to flee, thus sparing a few of the prisoners. A mine employee who was present afterward reported that they buried 239 bodies. About 20 prisoners survived the massacre. One of them, former prisoner Rudolf Ehrlich, testified to these events on May 9, 1945, before
5499-578: The German civilian workers came into contact with prisoners and some helped by providing extra food or other assistance. The Flossenbürg camp system had become a key supplier of Bf 109 parts by February 1944, when Messerschmitt's Regensburg plant was bombed again during " Big Week ". Seven hundred Soviet prisoners who had been working at the Regensburg factory were transferred to Flossenbürg to continue working on Bf 109 production. Increased production at Flossenbürg
5616-611: The Investigation Commission for German Nazi Crimes at Auschwitz. In a United States Military Court trial in Dachau from November 15 to December 13, 1945, Otto Moll, the first commandant of the Fürstengrube subcamp, was sentenced to death by hanging for unrelated atrocities committed in Dachau concentration camp . The sentence was carried out on May 28, 1946. Anthracite Anthracite , also known as hard coal and black coal ,
5733-506: The Jewish prisoners were stranded after another aerial attack disabled the locomotive. The SS murdered any prisoners who were unable to continue the march on foot. After the liberation, 140 corpses were found in a nearby field; some of the victims had been killed in the air raid, while others had been murdered. One prisoner testified that "The SS men joked and laughed during the shooting ... the prisoners were led in groups of 15–20, they had to lie on
5850-462: The Netherlands, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Greece were also present. Starting in the spring of 1944, there were also several dozen non-Jewish Polish prisoners at Fürstengrube. For the first three months, the subcamp was under the direct charge of Auschwitz headquarters; after November 22, 1943, under Auschwitz III-Monowitz. Effective May 22, 1944, the 3rd Guard Company of Auschwitz III took charge of
5967-472: The SS began moving prisoners, probably including a few German prisoner foremen, from Auschwitz to the Fürstengrube subcamp, which appears as "Lager Süd" on mine maps. On September 4, 1943, the Auschwitz labor office reported that 129 prisoners were working at the Fürstengrube subcamp; by July 1944 that number had risen to approximately 1,200, 85 to 90 percent of whom were Jews. Polish Jews were the most numerous group, but Jews from Germany, Austria, France, Belgium,
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#17328771320356084-408: The SS loaded approximately 4,000 prisoners into open railway cars bound for Mauthausen. The authorities at Mauthausen did not accept the transport, however, as the camp was overcrowded, but sent the train on to Mittelbau (Dora), where it arrived on January 28. Out of 4,000 prisoners, only about 3,500 survived the seven-day trip. On January 27, 1945, at about 4:00 p.m., a dozen or so SS men entered
6201-496: The USSR in addition to its regular staff. Negotiations in July 1943 between Auschwitz Commandant Rudolf Höss and representatives of IG Farbenindustrie AG and Fürstengrube GmbH, led to an agreement to build a new camp for approximately 600 prisoners—increasing to 1,200-1,300 later—from Auschwitz. Mainly Jews built the new camp. They lived in the mine's forced-labor camp for Jews, which was under
6318-418: The ability to manage the camp during its rapid expansion. Continuing influxes of political prisoners from occupied countries caused Germans to become a minority that same year. During 1944, Flossenbürg's population expanded almost eightfold, from 4,869 to 40,437, due to a high influx of mainly non-German prisoners. This was part of an expansion that applied over the entire Nazi concentration camp system. By
6435-402: The area on 23 April and found 2,500 surviving prisoners. Many others were liberated on the road to Cham , 34 kilometres (20 mi) to the southeast. At many of Flossenbürg's subcamps, the SS massacred sick Jewish prisoners before evacuating. Including these massacres, the death marches cost the lives of about 7,000 prisoners from Flossenbürg and its subcamps. The 90th Infantry Division of
6552-474: The barracks. The prisoner functionaries at Flossenbürg were unusually brutal and corrupt because the positions had been taken by criminal prisoners even though overall only about 5% of prisoners had been classified as criminal. The final camp elder, Anton Uhl, was beaten to death by prisoners after liberation. Many of the criminal functionaries sexually abused young male prisoners, causing the commandant to isolate teenage boys in separate barracks. The SS hierarchy
6669-474: The bulk of prisoners switched to producing Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter planes and other armaments for Germany's war effort . Although originally intended for "criminal" and "asocial" prisoners, after Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union , the camp's numbers swelled with political prisoners from outside Germany. It also developed an extensive subcamp system that eventually outgrew the main camp. Before it
6786-475: The camp infirmary. SS doctors conducted periodic selections there and among the other prisoners as well; prisoners who were no longer able to work were moved to the Birkenau hospital sector (BIIf). The rotation of prisoners was significant as new prisoners replaced those who had been selected. For example, from May 8 to 14, 1944, as many as 42 Fürstengrube prisoners entered the hospital sector of Birkenau. In spite of
6903-522: The camps to be evacuated: "Not a single prisoner must fall alive into enemy hands". As soon as he received the order, Koegel sent some families of SS men away and prepared to evacuate the camp. At 5 am on 16 April, the 1,700 Jewish prisoners at Flossenbürg main camp were separated from the rest and ordered to assemble. Eight SS men guarded each column of 100 prisoners. When they reached the railway station, 4 miles (6.4 km) distant, they were loaded into closed and open freight cars, 60 to 75 each. The train
7020-399: The deaths at Flossenbürg occurred before 1943. The quarries caused the death rate to be higher at Flossenbürg than at camps with less physically demanding industries, such as brickworks ; the switch to armaments production in 1943 led to a decrease in the death rate. Prisoners also suffered from a shortage of fresh water, due to the elevation, and unusually cold and wet weather; their clothing
7137-408: The defendants were low-ranking SS members, sixteen were former prisoner functionaries, and two were civilians. Charges against seven were dropped and five were found not guilty. Of the remainder of the defendants, fifteen received death sentences, eleven life sentences, and the remainder jail terms of varying length. After the trial, two of the prosecution witnesses were tried for perjury following
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#17328771320357254-498: The disorder, he founded a camp police force composed of ethnic German prisoners, mostly criminals. These prisoners mistreated non-German prisoners. During the last months of the camp's existence, many of the prisoners were idle because no raw materials for their work had arrived. Because of its location near the border of the Protectorate, Flossenbürg was the destination for evacuation transports from Buchenwald concentration camp when
7371-501: The end of 1942 to produce parts for the Messerschmitt Bf 109 aircraft at Flossenbürg. Under the terms of the deal, Messerschmitt would provide skilled technicians, raw materials, and tools, paying DEST 3 Reichsmarks per day for a skilled laborer and 1.5 Reichsmarks per day for an unskilled prisoner. Thus, Messerschmitt could increase its profit margin by reducing labor costs, while DEST could reduce its administrative costs by acting as
7488-491: The end of 1943, the number of guards had increased to about 450, including 140 Ukrainian auxiliaries . As with other concentration camps, guards initially consisted of SS men from Germany and Austria, whose ranks were augmented with Volksdeutsche recruits after 1942. The number of guards increased sixfold during 1944 and reached 4,500 by the time the camp was evacuated. Due to manpower shortages, fit young guards were called up for front-line service and many older men, members of
7605-511: The evacuation of Auschwitz concentration camp. 9,500 prisoners arrived after the evacuation of Gross-Rosen ; of 3,000 on one transport, only 1,000 arrived alive. The influx of prisoners caused conditions to worsen and the death rate to increase dramatically: 3,370 prisoners died between mid-January and 13 April. As there was not enough space in the infirmary for all of the sick prisoners, commandant Max Koegel ordered hundreds of sick prisoners sent to Bergen-Belsen in April. In order to cope with
7722-437: The final months of the camp. The SS liquidated prisoners who they suspected might try to escape or organize resistance; most of the victims were Russians. Some of them were high-profile prisoners who had been kept alive previously for interrogation. During the last days of the camp's existence, the SS executed thirteen Allied secret agents and seven prominent German anti-Nazis, including former Abwehr head Wilhelm Canaris and
7839-446: The fine particles used as filter media, and as an ingredient in charcoal briquettes . Anthracite was an authorised fuel in terms of the United Kingdom's Clean Air Act 1993 , meaning that it could be used within a designated Smoke Control Area such as the central London boroughs. China today mines by far the largest share of global anthracite production, accounting for more than three-quarters of global output. Most Chinese production
7956-565: The first barracks complete, in 1939 work began on an internal jail, guard towers, a washing facility, and a sewer system. In April 1939, the economic productivity of the camp led to Pohl ordering the camp to be expanded to fit 3,000 prisoners. To build additional barracks, terraces had to be cut into the hillsides, an arduous task that led to many injuries. Fifty-five prisoners died before the outbreak of World War II in September 1939. During mid-1939, Nazi authorities planned to invade Poland . It
8073-468: The first commercially mined load of anthracite down the Susquehanna River from Plymouth, Pennsylvania, marking the birth of commercial anthracite mining in the United States. From that first mine, production rose to an all-time high of over 100 million tons in 1917. The difficulty of igniting anthracite inhibited its early use, especially in blast furnaces for smelting iron. With the development of
8190-551: The first victims were Polish political prisoners. Victims were separated after the evening roll call and read their sentences. After a night in the camp jail, they were shot at the firing range adjacent to the crematorium. After a mass execution of 80 Polish prisoners on 8 September, the execution method was changed to lethal injection due to complaints from local residents of blood and body parts washing up in nearby streams. The primary victims were Polish political prisoners and Soviet prisoners of war. Doctors who had participated in
8307-547: The folded Ridge and Valley Province of the Appalachian Mountains of the Coal Region of East-central Pennsylvania are extensions of the same layers of bituminous coal that are mined on the generally flat lying and undeformed sedimentary rocks further west on the Allegheny Plateau of Kentucky and West Virginia , Eastern Ohio , and Western Pennsylvania . In the same way the anthracite region of South Wales
8424-503: The former prisoner laundry and kitchen were used commercially until the 1990s. The Flossenbürg camp quarry is on land owned by the Bavarian state government but is currently leased to a private company. The lease expires in 2024, and the Green Party is attempting to prevent the lease from being renewed so that the quarry can be incorporated into the memorial. The first memorial on the site
8541-577: The ground and were shot in the nape". The survivors were divided into columns 100-strong and marched through heavy rain and mud. Many were ill with fever, but anyone unable to keep up was shot on the spot. At Neukirchen-Balbini , the death march joined up with the larger one of non-Jewish prisoners. Another group of Jewish evacuees continued towards Theresienstadt , arriving in early May. Evacuation of non-Jewish prisoners began on 17 April, when 2,000 prisoners left on foot, arriving at Dachau on 23 April. This group consisted of longtime Flossenbürg prisoners,
8658-440: The guard duty. SS Master Sergeant Otto Moll was named the subcamp's first commandant; he served in that position until March 1944. SS Technical Sergeant Max Schmidt succeeded Moll until the subcamp was shut down in January 1945. The SS staff at the beginning of 1944 consisted of 47 SS men and grew to 64 at the end of the year. Prisoners from Auschwitz who went to the Fürstengrube subcamp were mostly put to work extracting coal in
8775-442: The hard conditions and fight for survival, despite the beatings and persecution, there were attempts to maintain a cultural life at the subcamp, in the form of band concerts and plays. Some prisoners secretly drew portraits of their fellow inmates. Only a few escapes and escape attempts from the Fürstengrube subcamp are known. Gabriel Rothkopf, a Polish Jew, escaped during the night of December 18–19, 1943, while returning from work at
8892-491: The highest grades of anthracite coal. They are the purest forms of coal, having the highest degree of coalification, the highest carbon count and energy content and the fewest impurities (moisture, ash and volatiles). High grade and ultra high grade anthracite are harder than standard grade anthracite, and have a higher relative density. An example of a chemical formula for high-grade anthracite would be C 240 H 90 O 4 NS, representing 94% carbon. UHG anthracite typically has
9009-649: The lands overlying the coal, it is estimated that 7 billion short tons (6.3 billion tonnes) of minable reserves remain. Other areas of the United States also contain several smaller deposits of anthracite, such as those historically mined in Crested Butte, Colorado . Among current producers, Russia, China, Poland, and Ukraine have the largest estimated recoverable reserves of anthracite. Other countries with substantial reserves include Vietnam and North Korea. The Groundhog Anthracite Deposit in British Columbia , Canada,
9126-404: The main camp, and the total planned output was 12,000 cubic metres (420,000 cu ft) annually. The stone was average quality blue-gray and yellow-gray granite, 90% of which was suitable for architectural purposes. Production gradually increased during 1940, but remained constant in 1941. Initially all work was done by manual labor; prisoners worked alongside civilian laborers and performed
9243-509: The main causes of death were malnutrition and disease. Between 13,000 and 15,000 prisoners died at the main camp and more than 10,000 at the satellite camps. An estimated three-quarters of the deaths occurred in the nine months before liberation. Due to increased mortality from the harsh conditions, the SS ordered the construction of an on-site crematorium, which was completed in May 1940. Executions by shooting began at Flossenbürg on 6 February 1941;
9360-539: The majority of global production; other producers include Russia , Ukraine , North Korea , South Africa , Vietnam , Australia , Canada , and the United States . Total production in 2020 was 615 million tons. Anthracite is the most metamorphosed type of coal, but still represents low-grade metamorphism, in which the carbon content is between 86% and 97%. The term is applied to those varieties of coal which do not give off tarry or other hydrocarbon vapours when heated below their point of ignition . Anthracite
9477-440: The mine's civilian staff as well as prisoner-foremen. The prisoners building the new mine faced equally brutal and exhausting work. They worked in one shift, a day shift, doing all sorts of construction and assembly jobs in groups of painters, bricklayers, welders, metalworkers, and assemblers. Additionally, when the shifts were over, many of the prisoners then had to work to expand the camp. Only very sick prisoners were admitted to
9594-423: The more expensive anthracite coal in its passenger locomotives, dubbed themselves "The Road of Anthracite", and advertised widely that travelers on their line could make railway journeys without getting their clothing stained with soot. The advertisements featured a white-clad woman named Phoebe Snow and poems containing lines like "My gown stays white / From morn till night / Upon the road of Anthracite". Similarly,
9711-514: The most arduous and dangerous tasks. Accidents led to many deaths. Beginning in 1940 and 1941, machines were introduced to increase efficiency. In mid-1939, the quarries became the main use of labor in the camp and the following year they consumed half of the total labor, which was valued at 367,000 Reichsmarks . From November 1940, some prisoners were trained as stonemasons in a specialized workshop; their numbers reached 1,200 by December 1942. The prisoners were instructed by civilian experts in
9828-592: The most economical method of obtaining power, requiring only 1 pound per horsepower-hour (0.6 kg / kWh ), or less. Large quantities of anthracite for power purposes were formerly exported from South Wales to France, Switzerland and parts of Germany. As of April 2013 , widespread commercial anthracite mining in Wales has now ceased, although a few large open cast sites remain, along with some relatively small drift mining operations. Anthracite generally costs two to six times as much as regular coal. In June 2008,
9945-454: The most physically demanding work details and allocated less food than other prisoners. There was an epidemic of dysentery in January 1940 that shut down work at the camp, and typhus epidemics in September 1944 and January 1945 claimed many lives. The total number of prisoners who passed through Flossenbürg and its subcamps has been estimated at 89,964 or over 100,000. About 30,000 of the prisoners died at Flossenbürg or during its evacuation,
10062-666: The new foreign prisoners were incarcerated due to their opposition to the Nazi regime; a few of them were Jews. Most of the Jewish political prisoners were executed or died shortly after arriving from mistreatment. The last twelve surviving Jews were deported to Auschwitz on 19 October 1942, pursuant to Himmler's order to make the Reich Judenrein . The number of Polish prisoners increased sharply in 1941; on 23 January, 600 arrived from Auschwitz. In mid-October 1941, 1,700 to 2,000 Soviet prisoners of war arrived at Flossenbürg as part of
10179-424: The old mine and building the new one. Prisoners working in the old mine were divided up into three shifts: morning (5 a.m. to 1 p.m.), day (1 p.m. to 9 p.m.), and night (9 p.m. to 5 a.m.). Work at the mine was especially difficult and dangerous because of the low galleries and the abundance of water. Prisoners did not receive the required protective clothing and they were constantly vulnerable to beatings and abuse from
10296-463: The old mine. In response, Commandant Moll personally shot a randomly selected group of prisoners in front of their fellows and left their bodies on the assembly ground until the next shift returned. Ivan Potekhnin, a Russian prisoner, escaped on April 15, 1944. In the spring of 1944, a group of prisoners dug a tunnel from a barrack, but during an inspection five German Jews were apprehended in it; they were later hanged. In June 1944, Commandant Schmidt shot
10413-504: The opening of a memorial and museum in 2007. During the first half of 1938, the Nazi concentration camp population expanded threefold due to increased arrests by the Schutzstaffel (SS) of individuals deemed undesirable, especially " asocial " and "criminal" prisoners, to create a slave labor force. SS leader Heinrich Himmler ordered the founding of new concentration camps to expand the SS economic empire. The SS intended to exploit
10530-466: The previous six months. The staffing of these new camps was increasingly filled by Luftwaffe soldiers , Volksdeutsche SS men (ethnic Germans from outside the Reich), and SS women , for the subcamps containing female prisoners. By April 1945, 80% of the prisoners were at the subcamps. Three quarries were operational by the end of 1938, and a fourth opened in April 1941. All four quarries were located near
10647-403: The prisoner labor was still going to the quarries. Although civilian production was being scaled back in order to reorient the economy to total war , DEST managed to secure permission to keep many of its quarries open into 1944. At Flossenbürg, the company maintained strong control over the economic enterprises of the camp, despite the fact that this aspect was supposed to be under the control of
10764-475: The prisoners at Flossenbürg were classified as criminal, with some "asocial" and a few homosexual prisoners ; the criminals quickly took over the prisoner functionary positions. The new prisoners had to construct the camp themselves, beginning with the barbed wire fence; this was initially the main use of forced labor. While performing this heavy and dangerous work, the prisoners lived in makeshift structures. Simultaneously, hundreds of prisoners had to work in
10881-430: The quarries. The camp's population had increased to 1,500 following arrivals from Dachau, Sachsenhausen , and Buchenwald . In January 1939, the first commandant, Jakob Weiseborn , unexpectedly died. He was replaced by a former SS officer at Dachau, Karl Künstler , who presided over an era in which the camp became an economically productive center for granite quarrying, and increasingly deadly for its prisoners. With
10998-416: The remaining twenty-six prisoners had their sentences reviewed. Most were commuted to time served or a shorter term. The last prisoner was paroled in 1957 and had his sentence remitted on 11 June 1958. After liberation, Flossenbürg was used to hold Axis Disarmed Enemy Forces and later as a displaced persons camp . During the following decades, much of the camp was built over or repurposed. For example,
11115-410: The remote Upper Palatine Forest near Flossenbürg Castle [ de ] , formerly owned by Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa . Flossenbürg was a poor rural area, with about 1,200 inhabitants who mostly worked on the quarries, which had existed since the 19th century. The local economy, especially the stone industry, was negatively impacted by the new border with Czechoslovakia after
11232-507: The second half of 1944 due to a large influx of available prisoners and the activities of the Jägerstab , which sought to increase German aircraft production. The Jägerstab ' s dispersal of aircraft production spurred the expansion of the subcamp system in 1944 and resulted in the establishment of the two largest of the subcamps, at Hersbruck and Leitmeritz . In the second half of 1944, 45 new camps were created, compared to three camps in
11349-617: The situation on the fronts. However, the camp's political branch got word of the activity, probably in late August 1944. The prisoners were sent to Auschwitz I and, after approximately two months of interrogation, they were brought back to Fürstengrube and hanged on October 10, 1944. In September, November, and December 1944, the Polish and Russian prisoners were moved to the Flossenbürg , Buchenwald , and Mauthausen concentration camps. As of January 17, 1945, 1,283 prisoners, chiefly Jews, remained in
11466-464: The slave labor of prisoners to quarry granite , which was in high demand for monumental building projects in the Nazi style . This would also profit the SS-owned and -operated company German Earth and Stone Works (DEST), which had been founded in April. During the second half of March 1938, a high-ranking SS commission led by Oswald Pohl and Theodor Eicke toured southern Germany, searching for
11583-476: The smaller Rice and Buckwheat are used in automatic stoker furnaces. Rice is currently the most sought-after size due to the ease of use and popularity of that type of furnace. In South Wales , a less elaborate classification is adopted, but great care is exercised in hand-picking and cleaning the coal from particles of pyrites in the higher qualities known as best malting coals, which are used for kiln-drying malt. Anthracite dust can be made into briquettes and
11700-400: The so-called Organisation Schmelt; that camp was called Lager Ostland. The Jewish prisoners from that camp were taken away even before the prisoners were moved from the Auschwitz concentration camp. The camp report for August 1943 no longer mentions the number of Jews employed. The prisoners moved from Auschwitz then continued the subcamp 's construction and expansion. In early September 1943,
11817-403: The state of Pennsylvania. Mining of anthracite coal continues to this day in eastern Pennsylvania, and contributes up to 1% to the gross state product. More than 2,000 people were employed in the mining of anthracite coal in 1995. Most of the mining as of that date involved reclaiming coal from slag heaps (waste piles from past coal mining) at nearby closed mines. Some underground anthracite coal
11934-518: The subcamp. On January 19, having burnt the camp's records, the SS led approximately 1,000 prisoners out of the camp, headed for Gliwice (Gleiwitz) via Mikolow. Severe cold and icy roads made the march difficult, and SS men killed anyone who fell out. On the evening of January 20, 1945, the Fürstengrube prisoners reached the Gleiwitz II subcamp, where they joined prisoners from Auschwitz III-Monowitz as well as some other subcamps. The next day, January 21,
12051-478: The survivors, held a funeral for 21 former prisoners on 3 May. Some of Flossenbürg's eastern subcamps, located east of the demarcation line , were liberated by the Red Army . Investigation of Nazi war criminals at Flossenbürg began on 6 May 1945, when the United States Army appointed eleven investigators. SS- Hauptsturmführer Friedrich Becker, the head of the labor department at Flossenbürg, had signed most of
12168-531: The transport lists and was considered the most important perpetrator by the American prosecutors; Koegel had committed suicide by hanging shortly after being captured by the Americans in 1946. After a year of pretrial investigation, the United States charged Becker and fifty other defendants on 14 May 1946. The defendants, who were tried before a United States military court at Dachau between 12 June 1946 and 22 January 1947, all pleaded not guilty. Thirty-three of
12285-456: The warm hand than a similar lump of bituminous coal at the same temperature. Anthracite has a history of use in blast furnaces for iron smelting; however, it lacked the pore space of metallurgical coke , which eventually replaced anthracite. In southwest Wales , anthracite has been burned as a domestic fuel since at least medieval times, when it was mined near Saundersfoot . More recently, large-scale mining of anthracite took place across
12402-618: The western part of the South Wales Coalfield until the late 20th century. In the United States, anthracite coal history began in 1790 in Pottsville, Pennsylvania , with the discovery of coal made by the hunter Necho Allen in what is now known as the Coal Region . Legend has it that Allen fell asleep at the base of Broad Mountain and woke to the sight of a large fire because his campfire had ignited an outcrop of anthracite coal. By 1795, an anthracite-fired iron furnace had been built on
12519-445: The wholesale cost of anthracite was US$ 150/ short ton , falling to $ 107/ton in 2021; it makes up 1% of U.S. coal production. The principal use of anthracite today is for a domestic fuel in either hand-fired stoves or automatic stoker furnaces. It delivers high energy per its weight and burns cleanly with little soot, making it ideal for this purpose. Its high value makes it prohibitively expensive for power plant use. Other uses include
12636-459: The winter where fallen snow is seen to be melted by the warmth conducted from below. Proposals for harnessing this heat as geothermal energy have not been successful. A vein of anthracite that caught fire in Centralia, Pennsylvania , in 1962 has been burning ever since, turning the once-thriving borough into a ghost town . Geologically, the largest most concentrated anthracite deposit in the world
12753-408: Was Albert Speer's office for the reconstruction of Berlin . Within this project the largest and most significant orders were for Wilhelm Kreis ' Soldiers' Hall ( Soldatenhalle ) project, beginning in 1940. Increasing amounts of stone were used for road building; 15% in 1939 but 60% the next year. The first quarry shut down in May 1943 and its workers were reassigned to arms production, but half of
12870-493: Was a Nazi concentration camp built in May 1938 by the SS Main Economic and Administrative Office . Unlike other concentration camps, it was located in a remote area, in the Fichtel Mountains of Bavaria , adjacent to the town of Flossenbürg and near the German border with Czechoslovakia . The camp's initial purpose was to exploit the forced labor of prisoners for the production of granite for Nazi architecture . In 1943,
12987-417: Was also known for corruption and brutality. Prisoners were mistreated in various ways, from being beaten or doused with cold water to being shot by guards during alleged escape attempts. The prisoners were chronically undernourished and disease was rampant. Conditions differed based on a prisoner's status and race. Polish and Soviet prisoners occupied the lowest rungs on the prisoner hierarchy, being put on
13104-506: Was decided to stage false flag attacks in order to justify a German declaration of war. Several prisoners from Flossenbürg and other concentration camps were secretly transferred to a Gestapo prison in Breslau , poisoned, and dressed in Polish uniforms. On 31 August 1939, the bodies were dumped at a border post in Hochlinden where they were shot and hacked; photographs were taken as "proof" of
13221-553: Was essential to restoring production in the aftermath of the attack. Aircraft manufacturer Arado eventually became one of the primary users of slave labor at the subcamps for the Arado Ar 234 jet bomber project, at Freiberg among other locations. Other prisoners in the subcamps were forced to work on synthetic oil production or repairing railways. Before the end of the war, about 18,000 prisoners at Flossenbürg and its subcamps were working on aviation-related projects. Ten percent of
13338-409: Was liberated by the United States Army in April 1945, 89,964 to 100,000 prisoners passed through Flossenbürg and its subcamps. Around 30,000 died from malnutrition, overwork, executions, or during the death marches . Some of those responsible for these deaths, including administrators, guards, and others, were tried and convicted in the Flossenbürg trial . The camp was repurposed for other uses before
13455-419: Was not adequate for these conditions. The main camp, situated in a narrow valley, had little room for expansion. Originally constructed for only 1,500 prisoners, the population of the main camp increased to between 10,000 and 11,000 before it was evacuated in April 1945. In order to increase productivity, the prisoners were forced to sleep and work in shifts. This also helped alleviate the chronic overcrowding in
13572-569: Was strafed by United States aircraft soon after setting out, causing the guards to flee temporarily. Many prisoners were injured or killed; others rummaged for food that the SS guards had left behind. After the raid, the guards returned and shot injured prisoners. The total number of deaths was several dozen, increasing in the next two days as the prisoners were not provided with food or water. The route proceeded by rail through Neunburg vorm Wald , Weiden in der Oberpfalz , Pfreimd , Nabburg , and Schwarzenfeld , where, on 19 or 20 April, about 750 of
13689-404: Was to provide for greater coal output in the future. Coal production at the new mine was anticipated to start in late 1943, so construction was treated as very urgent; however, that plan proved to be unfeasible. In the period before the Auschwitz concentration camp prisoners were sent to work at Fürstengrube, the mine employed Soviet prisoners of war, Jewish slave laborers, and forced laborers from
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