| Ravensbruck |
| Established: May 15, 1939 Evacuated: April 23, 1945 Liberated: April 30, 1945 by Soviets Survivors: 3,500 at liberation Total Inmates: 107,000 Inmates at one time: 24,500 - 70,000 Estimated Deaths: 50,000 - 92,000 Subcamps: 5 |
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| Ravensbruck was the only Nazi concentration camp that was reserved for women only. The main industry of the camp was the remodeling of furs expropriated from Nazi victims for the wives of Nazi leaders. 14,000 women were released from Ravensbruck in April 1945 at the urging of Swedish diplomat Count Folke Bernadotte. Ravensbruck was constructed by 500 prisoners from Sachsenhausen in 1938. The first prisoners of Ravensbruck were from Germany and Austria. Ravensbruck was planned for 15,000 prisoners, although by 1944 it held over 40,000 women. Children were also imprisoned in Ravensbruck in sizable numbers beginning in 1942. By 1943, the crematorium in Ravensbruck was operable. Ashes from the crematorium were thrown into a nearby lake. Gas chambers were not added to the camp until 1944. Numerous medical experiments were conducted at Ravensbruck. (See Medical Experiments) Estimated 132,000 women and children were sent to Ravensbruck. All female Jehovah's Witnesses were sent to Ravensbruck. |