Mauthausen
The Mauthausen concentration camp near Linz, Austria, specialized in working prisoners to death in its rock quarry. Of the 200,000 men, women, and children who passed through its gates, about 120,000 perished from neglect, overwork, and sadistic torture--the highest percentage of all camps within the Reich. The camp was designed according to the "Dachau model" and followed the established method of mistreating prisoners. But in addition to murder through starvation and beatings, Mauthausen also featured a unique brand of torture. It was devised by camp commander Franz "Babyface" Ziereis. Prisoners were forced to run up 186 steps from the camp's granite quarry, carrying stones weighing over 100 pounds. If dropped, they crushed the feet of those behind. Every Jew who dropped his load was beaten mercilessly, and the stones were again lifted to his shoulders. In despair, many committed suicide by leaping into the quarry from the cliff above. Some were thrown over the edge by guards, who referred to their victims as "parachute troops." Prisoners were also murdered by being forced to run into electrified fences, through shootings in the back of the neck, and with chemical injections directly into the heart.
Photo: Rijksinstituut voor Oorlogsdocumentatie/United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Photo Archive
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