The Gunskirchen Memorial is located on the grounds of the former Gunskirchen satellite camp and commemorates the more than 20,000 people – mostly Jewish prisoners – who were interned here under inhumane conditions. Many died of starvation, disease, and exhaustion.
The memorial site brings the history of the camp and its victims to light and preserves their memory. Along the memorial trail, glass steles convey the events that took place on site. QR codes provide access to in-depth content such as historical information, eyewitness accounts, photos, and audio and video material. The memorial trail can be experienced both on-site and digitally.
“The Gunskirchen concentration camp was a piece of hell on earth – for those of us who suffered there, it was the most terrible camp, even compared to other Nazi camps such as Dachau, Auschwitz-Birkenau or Mauthausen.”
Daniel Chanoch,
survivor of the Gunskirchen concentration camp
On this website, in-depth texts with additional information, images, videos, and audio recordings featuring contemporary witnesses' accounts supplement the content at each station. Prominent figures have lent their voices to concentration camp survivors and read from their memoirs. Additional information is available via the QR codes on the steles at the memorial site or by selecting a specific station directly.
A concise summary and a detailed version are available for each station.
Those who wish to explore the memorial site virtually can jump right into the digital tour and discover the history of this place online.
Listen to the five stations in German – at the memorial or at home.
In the final weeks of the war, thousands of people were driven across Austria in death marches. The concentration camp prisoners who arrived at the Gunskirchen satellite camp in April 1945 had already suffered terrible ordeals.
From April 1945, more than 20,000 people, almost all of them Jewish, were interned at the Gunskirchen satellite camp. The camp was not finished and was extremely crowded; there was little in the way of sanitary facilities. The conditions were absolutely appalling.
Life in Gunskirchen satellite camp was marked by inhumane conditions. Up to 200 people died every day. The camp was not a labour or death camp in the conventional sense but simply a “place to die”.
When the soldiers of the 71st Infantry Division of the Third U.S. Army reached Gunskirchen satellite camp on 4 May 1945, they found an unfathomable scene that would stay with many of them for their whole lives.
After the liberation, the traces of Gunskirchen satellite camp became less and less visible with time. But, even as early as 1945, the survivors were keen to preserve the memory of the thousands murdered there.
The Gunskirchen Memorial Site invites visitors to engage with the history of the former satellite camp, follow the traces of the past, and keep the memory of the victims alive.
Support is needed to ensure that this place of remembrance and learning can be preserved, maintained, and further developed in the future. Donations help secure the Gunskirchen Memorial Site for the long term and enable the educational, remembrance, and outreach work of the Mauthausen Committee Austria.
The memorial site can also be visited as part of the Mauthausen Committee Austria’s educational programs. Information on guided tours, including preparation and follow-up activities, as well as booking options, can be found on the Mauthausen Guides website.
Mauthausen Committee Austria (MKÖ) is the direct successor organisation to the Austrian Association of Mauthausen Survivors (ÖLM), founded by survivors of Mauthausen concentration camp and its satellite camps. It was established by key social institutions such as the Austrian Federation of Trade Unions (ÖGB), the Roman-catholic church and the Federation of Jewish Communities in 1997. In 2000, Mauthausen Committee Austria took over the legacy of the survivors of Mauthausen concentration camp and its satellite camps – and is committed to preserving and carrying on the legacy of the former prisoners of the concentration camp.
Based on this legacy, the MKÖ has made it its mission to commemorate the victims of Nazi terror, especially those who were imprisoned in Mauthausen concentration camp and its satellite camps, and to place historical education, as well as awareness-raising and prevention work, especially with young people, at the core of its projects and activities.
The organisation is non-political and non-religious. The MKÖ advocates a free and democratic society and the protection of human rights for all, regardless of nationality, political persuasion or religion and works to fight against all forms of fascism, racism, right-wing extremism, chauvinism and anti-semitism.
Daniel Chanoch, survivor of the Gunskirchen satellite camp
Translation in the archive