KZ Laura Memorial Site

The buildings of the nearby farm owned by the Oertel family were expanded and used as accommodation for a total of 2,600 people. The prisoners came from ten nations, mainly from France, Poland, the former Soviet Union, Italy and Belgium. They were forced to work until they were exhausted under inhumane conditions. The hard work in the pit and the mistreatment claimed numerous victims; at least 560 people died in Laura. On the morning of April 13, 1945, the SS evacuated the camp; almost all of the prisoners were transported to the Dachau concentration camp; only a few sick people survived the liberation by the American army on the same day.

From September 1943 to April 1945, the subcamp of the Buchenwald concentration camp, codenamed "Laura", existed. After the Peenemünde rocket testing facility was hit by Allied air raids, the army command moved weapons production to mostly remote areas and underground. Prisoners transported from Buchenwald had to further expand the tunnel system in the former Oertelsbruch slate mine and build an underground oxygen plant in the rock in order to be able to carry out engine tests for the V2 rocket weapon on site.

The subcamp of the Buchenwald concentration camp existed from September 1943 to April 1945 under the code name "Laura". It is located in close proximity to Schmiedebach in the Thuringian Slate Mountains. For tests of the V2 rocket weapon at the time, prisoners had to expand the tunnel system in the former "Oertelsbruch" slate mine. On the morning of April 13, 1945, the SS evacuated the camp and almost all of the prisoners were transported to the Dachau concentration camp. No entry is required to visit the memorial and you can move around the site very freely. Many signs give you information about the sad life in the camp.