Rathen is a village in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains , in Saxony , Germany, about 35 kilometres (22 mi) southeast of Dresden . The village occupies both banks of the river Elbe and, as of 2020, has 339 inhabitants. Rathen is a popular tourist destination, the main sights are the Bastei cliffs, the Amselsee (a lake), and the outdoor theater "Felsenbühne Rathen" .
118-400: Rathen was founded in the 13th century around 1261 as place for a castle fortress. During World War II, a subcamp of Flossenbürg concentration camp was located here. The state-recognised climatic spa of Rathen is not only the base for tours in the western part of Saxon Switzerland, but also for the world-famous Bastei rocks. Other popular destinations in the local Amselgrund valley are
236-420: A completely crystalline rock. Granitic rocks mainly consist of feldspar , quartz , mica , and amphibole minerals , which form an interlocking, somewhat equigranular matrix of feldspar and quartz with scattered darker biotite mica and amphibole (often hornblende ) peppering the lighter color minerals. Occasionally some individual crystals ( phenocrysts ) are larger than the groundmass , in which case
354-735: 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
472-553: A basaltic magma to a granitic magma, but the quantities produced are small. For example, granitic rock makes up just 4% of the exposures in the South Sandwich Islands . In continental arc settings, granitic rocks are the most common plutonic rocks, and batholiths composed of these rock types extend the entire length of the arc. There are no indication of magma chambers where basaltic magmas differentiate into granites, or of cumulates produced by mafic crystals settling out of
590-520: A diapir it would expend far too much energy in heating wall rocks, thus cooling and solidifying before reaching higher levels within the crust. Fracture propagation is the mechanism preferred by many geologists as it largely eliminates the major problems of moving a huge mass of magma through cold brittle crust. Magma rises instead in small channels along self-propagating dykes which form along new or pre-existing fracture or fault systems and networks of active shear zones. As these narrow conduits open,
708-509: A few (known as leucogranites ) contain almost no dark minerals. Granite is nearly always massive (lacking any internal structures), hard (falling between 6 and 7 on the Mohs hardness scale) , and tough. These properties have made granite a widespread construction stone throughout human history. The word "granite" comes from the Latin granum , a grain, in reference to the coarse-grained structure of such
826-457: 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
944-610: A granite that is derived from partial melting of metasedimentary rocks may have more alkali feldspar, whereas a granite derived from partial melting of metaigneous rocks may be richer in plagioclase. It is on this basis that the modern "alphabet" classification schemes are based. The letter-based Chappell & White classification system was proposed initially to divide granites into I-type (igneous source) granite and S-type (sedimentary sources). Both types are produced by partial melting of crustal rocks, either metaigneous rocks or metasedimentary rocks. I-type granites are characterized by
1062-663: 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
1180-565: A high content of sodium and calcium, and by a strontium isotope ratio, Sr/ Sr, of less than 0.708. Sr is produced by radioactive decay of Rb, and since rubidium is concentrated in the crust relative to the mantle, a low ratio suggests origin in the mantle. The elevated sodium and calcium favor crystallization of hornblende rather than biotite. I-type granites are known for their porphyry copper deposits. I-type granites are orogenic (associated with mountain building) and usually metaluminous. S-type granites are sodium-poor and aluminum-rich. As
1298-541: A high-ranking SS commission led by Oswald Pohl and Theodor Eicke toured southern Germany, searching for 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,
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#17328594463251416-493: 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;
1534-526: 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
1652-820: A much higher proportion of clay with the Cecil soil series a prime example of the consequent Ultisol great soil group. Granite is a natural source of radiation , like most natural stones. Potassium-40 is a radioactive isotope of weak emission, and a constituent of alkali feldspar , which in turn is a common component of granitic rocks, more abundant in alkali feldspar granite and syenites . Some granites contain around 10 to 20 parts per million (ppm) of uranium . By contrast, more mafic rocks, such as tonalite, gabbro and diorite , have 1 to 5 ppm uranium, and limestones and sedimentary rocks usually have equally low amounts. Many large granite plutons are sources for palaeochannel -hosted or roll front uranium ore deposits , where
1770-536: A peculiar mineralogy and geochemistry, with particularly high silicon and potassium at the expense of calcium and magnesium and a high content of high field strength cations (cations with a small radius and high electrical charge, such as zirconium , niobium , tantalum , and rare earth elements .) They are not orogenic, forming instead over hot spots and continental rifting, and are metaluminous to mildly peralkaline and iron-rich. These granites are produced by partial melting of refractory lithology such as granulites in
1888-469: 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,
2006-568: A range of hills, formed by the metamorphic aureole or hornfels . Granite often occurs as relatively small, less than 100 km stock masses ( stocks ) and in batholiths that are often associated with orogenic mountain ranges. Small dikes of granitic composition called aplites are often associated with the margins of granitic intrusions . In some locations, very coarse-grained pegmatite masses occur with granite. Granite forms from silica-rich ( felsic ) magmas. Felsic magmas are thought to form by addition of heat or water vapor to rock of
2124-415: A result, they contain micas such as biotite and muscovite instead of hornblende. Their strontium isotope ratio is typically greater than 0.708, suggesting a crustal origin. They also commonly contain xenoliths of metamorphosed sedimentary rock, and host tin ores. Their magmas are water-rich, and they readily solidify as the water outgasses from the magma at lower pressure, so they less commonly make it to
2242-481: 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
2360-421: 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
2478-598: 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,
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#17328594463252596-466: Is grus , which is often made up of coarse-grained fragments of disintegrated granite. Climatic variations also influence the weathering rate of granites. For about two thousand years, the relief engravings on Cleopatra's Needle obelisk had survived the arid conditions of its origin before its transfer to London. Within two hundred years, the red granite has drastically deteriorated in the damp and polluted air there. Soil development on granite reflects
2714-539: Is microgranite . The extrusive igneous rock equivalent of granite is rhyolite . Granitic rock is widely distributed throughout the continental crust . Much of it was intruded during the Precambrian age; it is the most abundant basement rock that underlies the relatively thin sedimentary veneer of the continents. Outcrops of granite tend to form tors , domes or bornhardts , and rounded massifs . Granites sometimes occur in circular depressions surrounded by
2832-517: Is 3–6·10 Pa·s. The melting temperature of dry granite at ambient pressure is 1215–1260 °C (2219–2300 °F); it is strongly reduced in the presence of water, down to 650 °C at a few hundred megapascals of pressure. Granite has poor primary permeability overall, but strong secondary permeability through cracks and fractures if they are present. A worldwide average of the chemical composition of granite, by weight percent, based on 2485 analyses: The medium-grained equivalent of granite
2950-480: Is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic ) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz , alkali feldspar , and plagioclase . It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies underground. It is common in the continental crust of Earth, where it is found in igneous intrusions . These range in size from dikes only a few centimeters across to batholiths exposed over hundreds of square kilometers. Granite
3068-410: Is an excess of aluminum beyond what can be taken up in feldspars (Al 2 O 3 > CaO + K 2 O + Na 2 O) are described as peraluminous , and they contain aluminum-rich minerals such as muscovite . The average density of granite is between 2.65 and 2.75 g/cm (165 and 172 lb/cu ft), its compressive strength usually lies above 200 MPa (29,000 psi), and its viscosity near STP
3186-618: Is believed to have a mass of around 81 tonnes. It was the tallest temple in south India. Imperial Roman granite was quarried mainly in Egypt, and also in Turkey, and on the islands of Elba and Giglio . Granite became "an integral part of the Roman language of monumental architecture". The quarrying ceased around the third century AD. Beginning in Late Antiquity the granite was reused, which since at least
3304-434: Is called a binary or two-mica granite. Two-mica granites are typically high in potassium and low in plagioclase, and are usually S-type granites or A-type granites, as described below . Another aspect of granite classification is the ratios of metals that potentially form feldspars. Most granites have a composition such that almost all their aluminum and alkali metals (sodium and potassium) are combined as feldspar. This
3422-560: Is given to visitors: "Sie können Rathen wählen, ich würde Ihnen auch zu Wehlen raten." ("You can choose Rathen, I would also recommend Wehlen to you.") The Rathen Ferry , a passenger reaction ferry , connects Niederrathen, on the right bank of the Elbe river, to Oberrathen on the left bank. Kurort Rathen railway station , on the Dresden S-Bahn and the Dresden to Prague railway, is adjacent to
3540-433: Is limited by the amount of thermal energy available, which must be replenished by crystallization of higher-melting minerals in the magma. Thus, the magma is melting crustal rock at its roof while simultaneously crystallizing at its base. This results in steady contamination with crustal material as the magma rises. This may not be evident in the major and minor element chemistry, since the minerals most likely to crystallize at
3658-404: Is permeated by sheets and channels of light granitic rock (the leucosome ). The leucosome is interpreted as partial melt of a parent rock that has begun to separate from the remaining solid residue (the melanosome). If enough partial melt is produced, it will separate from the source rock, become more highly evolved through fractional crystallization during its ascent toward the surface, and become
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3776-454: Is relieved when overlying material is removed by erosion or other processes. Chemical weathering of granite occurs when dilute carbonic acid , and other acids present in rain and soil waters, alter feldspar in a process called hydrolysis . As demonstrated in the following reaction, this causes potassium feldspar to form kaolinite , with potassium ions, bicarbonate, and silica in solution as byproducts. An end product of granite weathering
3894-411: Is some concern that some granite sold as countertops or building material may be hazardous to health. Dan Steck of St. Johns University has stated that approximately 5% of all granite is of concern, with the caveat that only a tiny percentage of the tens of thousands of granite slab types have been tested. Resources from national geological survey organizations are accessible online to assist in assessing
4012-479: Is that magma will rise through the crust as a single mass through buoyancy . As it rises, it heats the wall rocks , causing them to behave as a power-law fluid and thus flow around the intrusion allowing it to pass without major heat loss. This is entirely feasible in the warm, ductile lower crust where rocks are easily deformed, but runs into problems in the upper crust which is far colder and more brittle. Rocks there do not deform so easily: for magma to rise as
4130-410: Is the case when K 2 O + Na 2 O + CaO > Al 2 O 3 > K 2 O + Na 2 O. Such granites are described as normal or metaluminous . Granites in which there is not enough aluminum to combine with all the alkali oxides as feldspar (Al 2 O 3 < K 2 O + Na 2 O) are described as peralkaline , and they contain unusual sodium amphiboles such as riebeckite . Granites in which there
4248-485: Is typical of a larger family of granitic rocks , or granitoids , that are composed mostly of coarse-grained quartz and feldspars in varying proportions. These rocks are classified by the relative percentages of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase (the QAPF classification ), with true granite representing granitic rocks rich in quartz and alkali feldspar. Most granitic rocks also contain mica or amphibole minerals, though
4366-409: Is typically orthoclase or microcline and is often perthitic . The plagioclase is typically sodium-rich oligoclase . Phenocrysts are usually alkali feldspar. Granitic rocks are classified according to the QAPF diagram for coarse grained plutonic rocks and are named according to the percentage of quartz , alkali feldspar ( orthoclase , sanidine , or microcline ) and plagioclase feldspar on
4484-428: Is uncommon, is classified simply as quartz-rich granitoid or, if composed almost entirely of quartz, as quartzolite . True granites are further classified by the percentage of their total feldspar that is alkali feldspar. Granites whose feldspar is 65% to 90% alkali feldspar are syenogranites , while the feldspar in monzogranite is 35% to 65% alkali feldspar. A granite containing both muscovite and biotite micas
4602-615: 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
4720-512: 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
4838-571: The Flossenbürg trial . The camp was repurposed for other uses before 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
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4956-466: 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
5074-586: 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
5192-621: 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,
5310-522: 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
5428-678: 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
5546-567: The A-Q-P half of the diagram. True granite (according to modern petrologic convention) contains between 20% and 60% quartz by volume, with 35% to 90% of the total feldspar consisting of alkali feldspar . Granitic rocks poorer in quartz are classified as syenites or monzonites , while granitic rocks dominated by plagioclase are classified as granodiorites or tonalites . Granitic rocks with over 90% alkali feldspar are classified as alkali feldspar granites . Granitic rock with more than 60% quartz, which
5664-581: 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
5782-598: The European Union safety standards (section 4.1.1.1 of the National Health and Engineering study) and radon emission levels well below the average outdoor radon concentrations in the US. Granite and related marble industries are considered one of the oldest industries in the world, existing as far back as Ancient Egypt . Major modern exporters of granite include China, India, Italy, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Sweden, Spain and
5900-453: 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, 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
6018-529: 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
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#17328594463256136-506: 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
6254-576: The Oberrathen ferry terminal. Rathen is also a stop for the Sächsische Dampfschiffahrt ships, including historic paddle steamers , operating between Dresden and the Czech border. Road access to Niederrathen is by means of a road from Bad Schandau , whilst Oberrathen is linked by road to Struppen . There is no direct vehicular connection across the river between the two halves of the village, and
6372-585: 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 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
6490-504: The United States. The Red Pyramid of Egypt ( c. 2590 BC ), named for the light crimson hue of its exposed limestone surfaces, is the third largest of Egyptian pyramids . Pyramid of Menkaure , likely dating 2510 BC, was constructed of limestone and granite blocks. The Great Pyramid of Giza (c. 2580 BC ) contains a huge granite sarcophagus fashioned of "Red Aswan Granite". The mostly ruined Black Pyramid dating from
6608-418: 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
6726-402: 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
6844-474: 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
6962-419: The base of the chamber are the same ones that would crystallize anyway, but crustal assimilation is detectable in isotope ratios. Heat loss to the country rock means that ascent by assimilation is limited to distance similar to the height of the magma chamber. Physical weathering occurs on a large scale in the form of exfoliation joints , which are the result of granite's expanding and fracturing as pressure
7080-418: The big difference in rheology between mafic and felsic magmas makes this process problematic in nature. Granitization is an old, and largely discounted, hypothesis that granite is formed in place through extreme metasomatism . The idea behind granitization was that fluids would supposedly bring in elements such as potassium, and remove others, such as calcium, to transform a metamorphic rock into granite. This
7198-440: The camp was to be located in 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
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#17328594463257316-522: 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
7434-399: 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
7552-408: 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
7670-498: 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
7788-404: The division between S-type (produced by underplating) and I-type (produced by injection and differentiation) granites, discussed below. The composition and origin of any magma that differentiates into granite leave certain petrological evidence as to what the granite's parental rock was. The final texture and composition of a granite are generally distinctive as to its parental rock. For instance,
7906-467: The early 16th century became known as spolia . Through the process of case-hardening , granite becomes harder with age. The technology required to make tempered metal chisels was largely forgotten during the Middle Ages. As a result, Medieval stoneworkers were forced to use saws or emery to shorten ancient columns or hack them into discs. Giorgio Vasari noted in the 16th century that granite in quarries
8024-501: 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
8142-491: 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
8260-511: 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
8378-437: 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
8496-565: 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
8614-579: The first magma to enter solidifies and provides a form of insulation for later magma. These mechanisms can operate in tandem. For example, diapirs may continue to rise through the brittle upper crust through stoping , where the granite cracks the roof rocks, removing blocks of the overlying crust which then sink to the bottom of the diapir while the magma rises to take their place. This can occur as piecemeal stopping (stoping of small blocks of chamber roof), as cauldron subsidence (collapse of large blocks of chamber roof), or as roof foundering (complete collapse of
8732-551: 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
8850-503: 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
8968-505: The founding of new concentration camps to expand the SS economic empire. The SS intended to exploit 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,
9086-684: The grotto is a highly regarded piece of Buddhist art , and along with the temple complex to which it belongs, Seokguram was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1995. Rajaraja Chola I of the Chola Dynasty in South India built the world's first temple entirely of granite in the 11th century AD in Tanjore , India . The Brihadeeswarar Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva was built in 1010. The massive Gopuram (ornate, upper section of shrine)
9204-577: 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,
9322-573: The lake of Amselsee and the Rathen Open Air Stage . There are a good 400 inhabitants on both sides of the Elbe , linked by the historic Rathen Ferry , which is a protected monument . In addition to the Old Mill of 1567, which was nearly demolished after the hundred year flood , there is a range of other timber-framed houses . Due to its proximity to the town of Wehlen the following wordplay saying
9440-474: The lower crust , rather than by decompression of mantle rock, as is the case with basaltic magmas. It has also been suggested that some granites found at convergent boundaries between tectonic plates , where oceanic crust subducts below continental crust, were formed from sediments subducted with the oceanic plate. The melted sediments would have produced magma intermediate in its silica content, which became further enriched in silica as it rose through
9558-697: The lower continental crust at high thermal gradients. This leads to significant extraction of hydrous felsic melts from granulite-facies resitites. A-type granites occur in the Koettlitz Glacier Alkaline Province in the Royal Society Range, Antarctica. The rhyolites of the Yellowstone Caldera are examples of volcanic equivalents of A-type granite. M-type granite was later proposed to cover those granites that were clearly sourced from crystallized mafic magmas, generally sourced from
9676-435: The magma is inevitable once enough magma has accumulated. However, the question of precisely how such large quantities of magma are able to shove aside country rock to make room for themselves (the room problem ) is still a matter of research. Two main mechanisms are thought to be important: Of these two mechanisms, Stokes diapirism has been favoured for many years in the absence of a reasonable alternative. The basic idea
9794-426: The magma. Other processes must produce these great volumes of felsic magma. One such process is injection of basaltic magma into the lower crust, followed by differentiation, which leaves any cumulates in the mantle. Another is heating of the lower crust by underplating basaltic magma, which produces felsic magma directly from crustal rock. The two processes produce different kinds of granites, which may be reflected in
9912-408: The magmatic parent of granitic rock. The residue of the source rock becomes a granulite . The partial melting of solid rocks requires high temperatures and the addition of water or other volatiles which lower the solidus temperature (temperature at which partial melting commences) of these rocks. It was long debated whether crustal thickening in orogens (mountain belts along convergent boundaries )
10030-404: 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
10148-509: 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;
10266-405: The mantle. Although the fractional crystallisation of basaltic melts can yield small amounts of granites, which are sometimes found in island arcs, such granites must occur together with large amounts of basaltic rocks. H-type granites were suggested for hybrid granites, which were hypothesized to form by mixing between mafic and felsic from different sources, such as M-type and S-type. However,
10384-514: 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
10502-454: 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,
10620-619: 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
10738-441: The overlying crust. Early fractional crystallisation serves to reduce a melt in magnesium and chromium, and enrich the melt in iron, sodium, potassium, aluminum, and silicon. Further fractionation reduces the content of iron, calcium, and titanium. This is reflected in the high content of alkali feldspar and quartz in granite. The presence of granitic rock in island arcs shows that fractional crystallization alone can convert
10856-466: 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
10974-403: 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
11092-475: 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
11210-430: 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
11328-702: The reign of Amenemhat III once had a polished granite pyramidion or capstone, which is now on display in the main hall of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo (see Dahshur ). Other uses in Ancient Egypt include columns , door lintels , sills , jambs , and wall and floor veneer. How the Egyptians worked the solid granite is still a matter of debate. Tool marks described by the Egyptologist Anna Serotta indicate
11446-416: 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,
11564-551: The risk factors in granite country and design rules relating, in particular, to preventing accumulation of radon gas in enclosed basements and dwellings. A study of granite countertops was done (initiated and paid for by the Marble Institute of America) in November 2008 by National Health and Engineering Inc. of USA. In this test, all of the 39 full-size granite slabs that were measured for the study showed radiation levels well below
11682-460: The road journey between the two is some 23 kilometres (14 mi) in length. Flossenb%C3%BCrg concentration camp Flossenbürg 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
11800-418: The rock's high quartz content and dearth of available bases, with the base-poor status predisposing the soil to acidification and podzolization in cool humid climates as the weather-resistant quartz yields much sand. Feldspars also weather slowly in cool climes, allowing sand to dominate the fine-earth fraction. In warm humid regions, the weathering of feldspar as described above is accelerated so as to allow
11918-414: The rocks often bear a close resemblance. Under these conditions, granitic melts can be produced in place through the partial melting of metamorphic rocks by extracting melt-mobile elements such as potassium and silicon into the melts but leaving others such as calcium and iron in granulite residues. This may be the origin of migmatites . A migmatite consists of dark, refractory rock (the melanosome ) that
12036-489: The roof of a shallow magma chamber accompanied by a caldera eruption.) There is evidence for cauldron subsidence at the Mt. Ascutney intrusion in eastern Vermont. Evidence for piecemeal stoping is found in intrusions that are rimmed with igneous breccia containing fragments of country rock. Assimilation is another mechanism of ascent, where the granite melts its way up into the crust and removes overlying material in this way. This
12154-507: 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
12272-435: The surface than magmas of I-type granites, which are thus more common as volcanic rock (rhyolite). They are also orogenic but range from metaluminous to strongly peraluminous. Although both I- and S-type granites are orogenic, I-type granites are more common close to the convergent boundary than S-type. This is attributed to thicker crust further from the boundary, which results in more crustal melting. A-type granites show
12390-478: 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
12508-440: The texture is known as porphyritic . A granitic rock with a porphyritic texture is known as a granite porphyry . Granitoid is a general, descriptive field term for lighter-colored, coarse-grained igneous rocks. Petrographic examination is required for identification of specific types of granitoids. Granites can be predominantly white, pink, or gray in color, depending on their mineralogy . The alkali feldspar in granites
12626-531: 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
12744-502: The uranium washes into the sediments from the granite uplands and associated, often highly radioactive pegmatites. Cellars and basements built into soils over granite can become a trap for radon gas, which is formed by the decay of uranium. Radon gas poses significant health concerns and is the number two cause of lung cancer in the US behind smoking. Thorium occurs in all granites. Conway granite has been noted for its relatively high thorium concentration of 56±6 ppm. There
12862-599: The use of flint tools on finer work with harder stones, e.g. when producing the hieroglyphic inscriptions. Patrick Hunt has postulated that the Egyptians used emery , which has greater hardness. The Seokguram Grotto in Korea is a Buddhist shrine and part of the Bulguksa temple complex. Completed in 774 AD, it is an artificial grotto constructed entirely of granite. The main Buddha of
12980-408: 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
13098-417: 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
13216-555: 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
13334-553: 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
13452-419: 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
13570-543: Was set up in 1946, and the cemetery was added during the 1950s. A small exhibition was opened in 1985, and a permanent museum opened in what had been the laundry room in 2007. A second exhibition has existed since 2010 in the prisoner kitchen. A list of the names of more than 21,000 prisoners who died at the camp is available on the museum's website. 49°44′8″N 12°21′21″E / 49.73556°N 12.35583°E / 49.73556; 12.35583 Granite Granite ( / ˈ ɡ r æ n ɪ t / GRAN -it )
13688-569: 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
13806-405: Was sufficient to produce granite melts by radiogenic heating , but recent work suggests that this is not a viable mechanism. In-situ granitization requires heating by the asthenospheric mantle or by underplating with mantle-derived magmas. Granite magmas have a density of 2.4 Mg/m , much less than the 2.8 Mg/m of high-grade metamorphic rock. This gives them tremendous buoyancy, so that ascent of
13924-564: Was supposed to occur across a migrating front. However, experimental work had established by the 1960s that granites were of igneous origin. The mineralogical and chemical features of granite can be explained only by crystal-liquid phase relations, showing that there must have been at least enough melting to mobilize the magma. However, at sufficiently deep crustal levels, the distinction between metamorphism and crustal melting itself becomes vague. Conditions for crystallization of liquid magma are close enough to those of high-grade metamorphism that
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