Sereď concentration camp

Sereď concentration camp was a concentration camp built during World War II in Slovak Republic (1939–45). The camp was founded as a labor camp for the Jewish population in September 1941. In September 1944, it was transformed to the concentration camp operated by SS units.

History

Labour camp (The First Sereď)

The government Decree no. 198/1941 about the legal status of the Jews from 9 September 1941 (known also as "The Jewish Codex") rid of remains of the human and civil rights of the Jewish population in Slovak Republic (1939–45). According to the decree, the Jews between 16-60 years were obliged to do work ordered by the Ministry of Interior. In one month, the ministry founded the concentration center and the labour camp for the Jews in Sereď.[1]

The camp consisted of several manufactories which produced joinery products, toys, clothing and other goods. It was originally guarded by the Hlinka Guard, humiliating the Jews in different ways. During the first wave of deportations from Slovakia, the camp served as a temporary concentration center for deported citizens. 4,463[2] people were deported from Sereď to Nazi "labour camps" in the occupied Poland, most of them did not survive. Last two trains carried patients from the Jewish hospital in Sereď and physically and mentally disabled people from various medical institutes. The conditions in the camp then became better. In the last phase, it was guarded by police, whose members opened the gates and let the Jews escape after the rise of Slovak National Uprising.[2] Many prisoners left to participate in the revolt.

Concentration camp (The Second Sereď)

In September 1944, the labour camp was transformed to the concentration camp. The camp was guarded by SS under the leadership of Bratislava German Franz Knollmayer. SS members committed serious crimes against the prisoners including torturing, raping and murdering. However, especially sexual assaults against Jewish women were evaluated as a violation of racial laws[3] and already at the end of September, Knollmeyer was replaced by Alois Brunner who had a mandate to finally resolve the "Jewish question" in Slovakia.[2] Sereď became the main concentration centre for the second wave of deportations. In separate parts of the camp were imprisoned soldiers of the Slovak insurrectionary army, partisans and people accused of the support of the uprising. Brunner organized 11 train transports which deported prisoners to Auschwitz, Sachsenhausen, Ravensbrück and Theresienstadt.[3] The last transport left Sereď on 31 March 1945, shortly before liberation by the Red Army.[4]

Legacy

The Sereď Holocaust Museum

The labour and the concentration camp in Sereď is a national cultural monument of Slovak Republic. It is the only one preserved camp of this kind in Slovakia (Nováky and Vyhne were not preserved). The Sereď Holocaust Museum located in the camp contains expositions related to the Jewish culture, life in the camp and the Jewish tragedy.

References

  1. ↑ Beránek 2016, p. 50.
  2. 1 2 3 Beránek 2016, p. 51.
  3. 1 2 Konečný 2016, p. 48.
  4. ↑ Beránek 2016, p. 52.

Bibliography

  • Beránek, Matej (2016). "Pracovný a koncentračný tábor v Seredi". Historická revue (in Slovak). 3. 
  • Konečný, Martin (2016). "Alois Brunner a jeho úloha v procese likvidácie európskych Židov". Historická revue (in Slovak). 3. 
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