May 1940: The camp was built to house
Belgian and
French enlisted men captured in the
Battle of France; initial count: 600.
July 1941: About 20,000
Soviet prisoners captured during
Operation Barbarossa arrived. They were housed in the open while huts were being built. By the spring of 1942 an estimated 18,000 had died of hunger and disease, mainly
typhus fever.
April 1943: Part of the camp is turned into a hospital for POWs. The remainder of the camp is separated and taken over by the
SS to house
Jews ostensibly for shipment overseas in exchange for German civilians.
May 1940: The camp was built to house
Belgian and
French enlisted men captured in the
Battle of France; initial count: 600.
July 1941: About 20,000
Soviet prisoners captured during
Operation Barbarossa arrived. They were housed in the open while huts were being built. By the spring of 1942 an estimated 18,000 had died of hunger and disease, mainly
typhus fever.
April 1943: Part of the camp is turned into a hospital for POWs. The remainder of the camp is separated and taken over by the
SS to house
Jews ostensibly for shipment overseas in exchange for German civilians.