The director of the former Neuengamme concentration camp, Oliver von Wrochem, visited the Soviet War Cemetery Foundation last week. Von Wrochem also visited Camp Amersfoort, the war graves at the Rusthof cemetery and various other memorial sites in the region. A delegation from Leusden had already gone to see Neuengamme in early May.
Von Wrochem also got a glimpse of the museum of the Soviet War Cemetery, which will open its doors next year. He was surprised at the speed with which the project is being realized, although as far as we are concerned it cannot go fast enough.
In Neuengamme and in nearby camps, tens of thousands of Nazi prisoners died, including many men who had been transferred from Amersfoort. In the winter of 1941/1942 alone, more than 40,000 Soviet prisoners of war perished in the three POW camps on the Lüneburg Heath. Their story has been underexposed in Neuengamme and the surrounding area too, Von Wrochem noted.
More information about war victims from the Soviet Union in Neuengamme and the surrounding area can be found here and here.
Photo: Henri Schouten
