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The barracks were burned down in an air raid on 25 October 1944. The
former kitchen building was patched, and the entire population was then crowded
into this building where they lived, notwithstanding the fact that rain leaked
in. The inmates slept upon a little straw on the floor. The washroom facilities
were destroyed and not replaced. During another air raid on 31 December 1944,
this building was hit, and thereafter the entire population lived in the cellar
of this bombed out building where it was damp and cold and ventilation was
poor. Stoves could not be used. The inmates carried planks to the cellar and
spread insufficient straw on the planks. They did not have two blankets per
person as prescribed by the SS. Only one blanket was furnished by the Krupp
firm. This the girls had to use not only as their sole item of bedding, but
also to protect them against the cold and rain during the long marches to and
from the plant and while at work. Washing facilities were no longer available,
and practically no sanitary facilities were available at the camp. These
conditions continued until March 1945, when the girls were evacuated from
Essen. Although these conditions were known to all responsible parties, no
efforts were made to provide other accommodations or to rebuild any of the
buildings within the camp.
Only one meal was served each day at the
camp. It was served to the day shift after they returned to the plant, and to
the night shift before their departure to the plant. The meal consisted of soup
and bread, supplemented with margarine or marmalade. On one occasion the
authorities at the Buchenwald concentration camp instituted an inquiry as to
the failure of the Krupp firm to furnish the sugar which it should have
provided to the prisoners. A plant meal, called “bunker soup” was
given at about noon time to the day shift workers during the first few weeks.
After the heavy air raids in October 1944, plant meals were no longer
furnished. No supplementary ration was ever given to the night shift workers.
Some of the German employees, out of pity for the “Hungarian
Jewesses” because of the insufficiency of food, surreptitiously gave some
to them.
The SS furnished coats with distinguishing colored patches to
the girls. Torn pieces of blankets were wrapped around the feet and legs of
some of the girls. Inmates were required at times to walk barefooted, as many
of them possessed neither stockings nor foot rags, and there were numerous
cases of frozen feet and chilblains. Some of these girls were required to carry
bricks and metal sheets without gloves or other protection. Because of the
requirements prescribed by the SS in permitting the employment of concentration
camp inmates by the Krupp firm, |
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