Historical story

Baggerloch Forced Labor Camp

During World War II, Nazi Germany faced a lack of manpower to keep its factories running. The men had been mobilized and the women had to stay home to take care of the children. Because, unlike other nations, German women did not flock to factories until 1943, Hitler's Germany needed to find other sources of workers.

The solution came from the hand of forced labor. The SS concentration camps were a very important source of this vital workforce for the war, but the Ministry of Armament had a second source:the forced labor camps.

From the beginning of the Second World War until the end of the conflict, up to 6 million European citizens from the occupied countries were forced to move to forced labor camps where they served as semi-slaves. Bremen was an important center where 21 of these camps were concentrated and through which 15,000 people passed until the end of the war.

Baggerloch Camp was one of those camps. The presence of 400 French workers in the service of Nazi Germany's war industry in Bremen has been documented. Since 1988 there has been a small memorial in the place of the field that remembers what happened there.

How to get to Baggerloch Forced Labor Camp

The Barregloch forced labor camp is located in the center of the town of Bremerhaven, the port of Bremen at the mouth of the Weser river. The best way to get there is by private transportation.