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Aerial photograph of the former Schäferberg labor camp, 2012 — Schäferberg, aerial photos, 2012 This aerial photo shows the former labor camp belonging to Henschel at Schäferberg, Kassel, where forced laborers were housed during WW II. After being utilized after the war as housing for German minorities expelled from Eastern Europe, they functioned as housing for the first generation of guest workers, who arrived in Kassel in 1955. The horizontal projection of the Schäferberg camp retains its original form to this day, as do those of many of the other camps. Klaus Mosch-Wicke researched this camp in particular, developing the publication “SCHÄFERBERG: Ein Henschel-Lager für ausländische Zwangsarbeiter” [SCHÄFERBERG: A Henschel camp for foreign forced laborers] The following description can be found on page 69 f: “The way to Kassel” “For the workers from the Schäferberg camp, the day started with a long walk to their working premises. According to first hand accounts of Frau I, they boarded the 5:30 am train at Mönchehof station, as long as railway operations were not crippled by air raids. Even this meant setting off on kilometer-long marches from the camp to Mönchehof and from Kassel Main Station to Mittelfeld. Every day, however, a certain number of the forced laborers probably had to walk all the way from Schäferberg to Kassel, a hike of about six kilometers. In the event that trains were not running, everyone had to cover the distance on foot. One way lasted at least one and a half hours, and the walk back to camp was an uphill climb. The forced laborers left the camp in the morning at 5 o’clock and their return never happened until 7 pm, at the earliest—14 hours later. To measure the added strain that such a long march imposed, one must visualize these foreigners as they were—starving, usually wearing on their feet only rags, wooden clogs, or, in rare cases, shoes. Under these conditions, the march must have been nothing less than torture, especially in winter. Various eye witnesses recall the ‘miserable caravan’ that trudged along Holländische Straße through Obervellmar.” (information gathered from conversations with Frau H. and Frau I., Frau F. and Mr. R.)

Aerial photograph of the former Schäferberg labor camp, 2012 — Schäferberg, aerial photos, 2012 This aerial photo shows the former labor camp belonging to Henschel at Schäferberg, Kassel, where forced laborers were housed during WW II. After being utilized after the war as housing for German minorities expelled from Eastern Europe, they functioned as housing for the first generation of guest workers, who arrived in Kassel in 1955. The horizontal projection of the Schäferberg camp retains its original form to this day, as do those of many of the other camps. Klaus Mosch-Wicke researched this camp in particular, developing the publication “SCHÄFERBERG: Ein Henschel-Lager für ausländische Zwangsarbeiter” [SCHÄFERBERG: A Henschel camp for foreign forced laborers] The following description can be found on page 69 f: “The way to Kassel” “For the workers from the Schäferberg camp, the day started with a long walk to their working premises. According to first hand accounts of Frau I, they boarded the 5:30 am train at Mönchehof station, as long as railway operations were not crippled by air raids. Even this meant setting off on kilometer-long marches from the camp to Mönchehof and from Kassel Main Station to Mittelfeld. Every day, however, a certain number of the forced laborers probably had to walk all the way from Schäferberg to Kassel, a hike of about six kilometers. In the event that trains were not running, everyone had to cover the distance on foot. One way lasted at least one and a half hours, and the walk back to camp was an uphill climb. The forced laborers left the camp in the morning at 5 o’clock and their return never happened until 7 pm, at the earliest—14 hours later. To measure the added strain that such a long march imposed, one must visualize these foreigners as they were—starving, usually wearing on their feet only rags, wooden clogs, or, in rare cases, shoes. Under these conditions, the march must have been nothing less than torture, especially in winter. Various eye witnesses recall the ‘miserable caravan’ that trudged along Holländische Straße through Obervellmar.” (information gathered from conversations with Frau H. and Frau I., Frau F. and Mr. R.)

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Forced labour workers in front of Henschel's camp

Henschel factories until 1945

People

Air

Aerial photos Schäferberg