As producer of extremely important war material the Steyr-Daimler-Puch company was a high priority target for the Allies.
History
Background, Establishment of the camp, The concentration camp prisoners in Melk
Along with the “Anschluss” in March 1938 the German Reich started also in Austria to quickly adapt and expand the industry for armament purposes.
The 14.390 all male prisoners who were forced to work in the satellite camp of Melk came from more than 26 different countries.
Transports of prisoners from Mauthausen concentration camp to Melk were organized according to the needs of the building companies who constructed the tunnel complex near Roggendorf.
Within a year 4.874 prisoners lost their lives in the satellite concentration camp of Melk.
Until the end the SS tried by all available means to prevent the liberation of surviving concentration camp prisoners by the Allied forces.
Already in the first days after the liberation of Mauthausen concentration camp the US authorities began investigating potential Nazi criminals and imprisoned thousands of SS members and former prisoner functionaries in detention camps.
Upon their arrival in Melk the Red Army found the former satellite concentration camp deserted and used the grounds for a short time as a Soviet military base.
In the region around Melk Memorial and the museum ERLAUF REMEMBERS there are a few visible, but also lesser known and sometimes nearly forgotten places of remembrance.
