An estimated 197,464 prisoners passed through the Mauthausen concentration camp system between August 1938 and May 1945. At least 95,000 people were killed there.
Benjamin Soep
Benjamin, called "Benno" by his family and friends, grew up in a religious Jewish household in Amsterdam. Benno's father, a successful diamond manufacturer, was president of the Amsterdam Jewish community. Benno had two younger sisters and enjoyed collecting stamps.
1933-39: After he obtained some work experience in a department store, Benno joined his father in the diamond business. Benno adhered strictly to Jewish law. He loved tennis and skiing, and in 1938, while skiing in Switzerland, he met a girl and fell in love. Sensing that conditions in Europe were worsening for Jews, his girlfriend's family left the Netherlands for the United States in 1939.
1940-41: Benno's girlfriend returned to the Netherlands, and they were married in October 1940. The newlyweds took in a Jewish refugee who was training for agricultural work in Palestine. On June 11, 1941, the Gestapo came to Benno's door, looking for the refugee boarder; in reprisal for the murder of a German, the Nazis were rounding up foreign Jews. When Benno answered the door, the Nazi asked him if he was Jewish, too. Benno said he was, and the Nazi said, "Then you will come, too."
Benno was deported to the Schoorl labor camp in the Netherlands, and then to the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria, where he perished at age 22.
Item ViewHenia Ring
The youngest of two children, Henia was born to a Jewish family in the town of Krzepice. By the early 1930s, the Jewish population of Krzepice comprised more than 40 percent of the town's inhabitants. Henia's father made his living trading cattle in the area. Henia attended a public elementary school.
1933-39: On September 1, 1939, the Germans invaded Poland; a day later, they entered Henia's town. Her family tried to escape to Warsaw but the German forces quickly overtook them and ordered them back to Krzepice. Several days later the Germans set up a ghetto in Krzepice. Henia and her family weren't allowed to leave the ghetto on penalty of death. Many people were shot for doing so, but rather than starve, Henia sometimes sneaked out to search for food.
1940-44: In 1941, hearing that the Germans were seizing people for work details, Henia escaped to a nearby village. But she missed her parents so she returned. Searching for them, she was arrested and eventually deported to the Mauthausen camp. While digging a ditch in a field Henia tried to escape into the woods. After two days, SS guards with dogs hunted her down. They beat her ruthlessly, breaking her nose. As she lay on the ground she heard the guards say, "Don't waste a bullet on her, she's dying." Later, Henia crawled back to the barracks.
Henia was then deported to the Bergen-Belsen camp. She was liberated by British troops on April 15, 1945. After recuperating in Sweden, she immigrated to the United States in 1947.
Item ViewSaul Ingber
Saul was born to a Jewish family in the small northern Transylvanian town of Moisei, famous for its 18th-century monastery, to which many Christians came on pilgrimage. Saul's family was religious. His father transported lumber to several mills in the area.
1933-39: Saul and his brothers attended a Jewish school held at their neighbor's home. A rabbi led them in prayers and they learned quotations from holy texts. After his schooling he needed to learn a trade, so he decided to become a tailor. Jews were not well-liked in his town. Returning home from work, Saul's father was harassed by several townspeople; to humiliate him, they caught his father and pretended to baptize him.
1940-45: In 1940 Hungary annexed northern Transylvania. Saul was deported to various labor camps until 1944, when he arrived at Ebensee, a subcamp of Mauthausen. He was digging a trench when a guard pulled him out of line. At first he spoke to Saul in a friendly tone, but then he stepped forward and pushed up his chin, demanding, "Where's your God?" When Saul pointed to the sky he punched him in the gut. He repeated his question; he answered the same and he punched Saul in the face. As Saul spit out his teeth he asked again; Saul pointed at him.
Saul was liberated in May 1945 when the U.S. Army reached Dachau. After living in Austria for some time, Saul immigrated to Israel and later moved to the United States.
Item ViewSaul Ingber describes forced labor and brutality in the Gusen subcamp of the Mauthausen concentration camp
Saul grew up in a religious Jewish family. He was trained as a tailor. In 1939 he was sent to forced labor along with most of the young men of his town. He worked in many different labor camps before being deported to the Mauthausen concentration camp system in 1944. While working there, Saul's hand was broken by an SS guard. He eventually ended up in the hospital in the Dachau camp. He was liberated by US troops in May 1945. After the war he returned to his hometown and was reunited with his sister. They lived in a displaced persons camp in Austria, where Saul met and married his wife, Miriam. Saul, his wife, and their two children settled in the United States in 1957.
Item ViewColonel Richard R. Seibel describes US Army procedures for burial of the dead after liberation of Mauthausen
In June 1941, Richard was ordered to active duty in the US Army. After a period of training, he was sent to Europe. He entered Austria in April 1945. A patrol came upon the Mauthausen camp and Richard was appointed to take command of the camp. He organized those inmates who had survived in the camp until liberation in May 1945, and brought in two field hospitals. After 35 days in Mauthausen, he was transferred to a post in the Austrian Alps.
Item ViewUS veteran Raymond Buch describes forcing civilians to bury the dead
As a US Army sergeant, Raymond fought in the Battle of the Bulge. In May 1945, his unit was deployed to the Mauthausen camp in Austria to bulldoze mass graves for the victims. He watched as German civilians, on US orders, hauled bodies to the mass graves. He also saw stronger camp survivors pull clothes off their weaker counterparts to replace their own tattered uniforms. Raymond went on to Mauthausen's Ebensee camp and Gusen, guarding SS men.
Item ViewColonel Richard R. Seibel describes aid given to survivors after liberation in Mauthausen and their plans for emigration
In June 1941, Richard was ordered to active duty in the US Army. After a period of training, he was sent to Europe. He entered Austria in April 1945. A patrol came upon the Mauthausen camp and Richard was appointed to take command of the camp. He organized those inmates who had survived in the camp until liberation in May 1945, and brought in two field hospitals. After 35 days in Mauthausen, he was transferred to a post in the Austrian Alps.
Item ViewColonel Richard R. Seibel describes food distribution after liberation of the Mauthausen camp
In June 1941, Richard was ordered to active duty in the US Army. After a period of training, he was sent to Europe. He entered Austria in April 1945. A patrol came upon the Mauthausen camp and Richard was appointed to take command of the camp. He organized those inmates who had survived in the camp until liberation in May 1945, and brought in two field hospitals. After 35 days in Mauthausen, he was transferred to a post in the Austrian Alps.
Item View![Forced labor in the quarry of the Mauthausen concentration camp. [LCID: 18229]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/thumb/f8f2cb78-747e-48f1-9210-b28b717c9497.jpg)