Photo 45680

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caption: Prisoners of the Flossenburg Concentration Camp in Germany were hung from this flagpole in the camp's courtyard. 800 Germans supervised this camp which was opened in 1939. Since that time according to records found in the camp, 54,890 men and over 10,000 women were held prisoners here. In the 14 month period preceding 20 April, 1945, 14,000 inmates died from starvation, exhaustion, mistreatment and various diseases. The prisoners worked in stone quarries and a nearby Messerschmidt Airplane Factory. On 20 April, 1945, 15,000 inmates, including children and elderly people, were marched away. Those that could not keep up the march were killed by the wayside. About 2,000 were left in the camp when U.S. troops arrived. Among those reported to have been in the camp were Kurt Von Schuschnig, former Chancellor of Austria; Leopold, King of Belgium, Prince Albrecht of Austria and Hjalmar Schacht, Reich Minister of Finances.