Forced Labour in the AL Trostberg

The main purpose of the AL Trostberg was the deployment of prisoners as slave labourers for the armaments company Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW). However, the camp itself was not administered by BMW but came under the SS Economic and Administrative Main Office (SS-WVHA), like all concentration camps.

The Schutzstaffel (SS) operated the camp in Trostberg and "rented out" the prisoners for a small fee (depending on qualification, 4 or 6 Reichsmark per day, calculated on a working time of about 12 hours), which of course was not paid to the prisoners but went directly into the pockets of the SS. Although the AL Trostberg was set up primarily to provide prisoners for BMW, the SS also rented out some of the prisoners to other companies or to the town of Trostberg itself. A further part of the prisoners was employed by the SS itself in the so-called "prisoner self-administration".

Labour deployment for the Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW)

In the course of the Allied air raids on the armaments industry, BMW relocated its production sites several times. The BMW plant housed in Trostberg from autumn 1944 was part of the production of the 801 engine, a radial engine developed and produced by BMW that was used in both fighter and bomber aircraft of the National Socialist Luftwaffe.

For the production of the engine parts, BMW deployed in Trostberg a so-called "permanent staff" of prisoners. These were prisoners who had already had to work for BMW in other camps such as the AL Allach or AL Markirch. BMW not only trained the concentration camp prisoners but also specifically selected the prisoners in the camps according to their (professional) prior knowledge, physical condition and language skills. A former prisoner of the AL Trostberg describes that the concentration camp prisoners in the AL Allach were assessed by a chief engineer of BMW. At this "slave market", not only was the constitution of the prisoners examined but they were also asked about their profession and command of German.

The BMW aircraft engine production in Trostberg was housed in a hall of the Süddeutsche Kalkstickstoffwerke (SKW). Two-thirds of the building had been partitioned off for this purpose and equipped with BMW production machines. In the rear part of the SKW hall stood a low-shaft furnace where workers of the SKW company were engaged in iron-smelting experiments.

The way to work

The camp grounds had been set up immediately next to the company grounds of the SKW. The factory hall in which the prisoners had to work was therefore only about 200 metres as the crow flies from the sub-camp. Nevertheless, even this short distance to the workplace meant for the prisoners, who suffered from a catastrophic state of health and malnutrition as a result of the inhumane living conditions in the camp, an exhausting forced march. In addition, the camp was situated on a hill so that a difference in altitude had to be overcome between factory and camp. One prisoner reports that the journey, which had to be made under the guard of SS men, took 15 minutes.

The work for BMW

In the factory the prisoners had to manufacture parts for BMW aircraft engines at workbenches and machines. This involved the production of gears and the machining of crankcase blanks for the radial engine BMW 801. Prisoners also report on the production of parts for the V1 and V2 rockets. During the work, the prisoners were controlled and guarded both by civilian (foreman) workers of BMW and by SS men. If a part was carelessly worked on or broke, this could at any time be regarded as sabotage and punished by death.

Labour deployment for the town of Trostberg

In the spring of 1945 the town of Trostberg deployed at least 10 prisoners of the AL Trostberg in the construction of an air-raid tunnel in the old town. The tunnel was dug into the hill next to the then inn "Hartinger" (today pizzeria "Natalia & Giorgio", Schedling 2) and was to form a second entrance/exit further to the north at the inn "Linnerkeller". The prisoners had to transport away the rubble that arose from the excavation work using a narrow-gauge railway.

Labour deployment for the Süddeutsche Kalkstickstoffwerke (SKW)

The SKW company produced above all the fertiliser calcium cyanamide. In 1937, together with the Army High Command (OKH) and I.G. Farben, the construction of a standby facility for the production of components of synthetic petrol (thiodiglycol, ethylene hydrate and ethylene oxide) had been decided on the grounds of the SKW.

The SKW also deployed concentration camp prisoners for its own purposes. The prisoners had to carry out various tasks. Prisoners deployed in the construction department had to maintain paths or prune trees. Another part of the prisoners had to unload wagons of slag (iron filings). In addition, the prisoners had to dig a water pit on the SKW grounds.