Dalum Memorial Camp - Geeste

In May 1939, Camp Dalum was set up by the justice administration to hold around 1,500 penal prisoners, as part of the expansion of the Emsland camp system from seven to fifteen camps. However, before it could be used, World War II broke out in September 1939 and the Wehrmacht took over the site as a prisoner-of-war camp (Zweiglager) of main camp VI C Bathorn.

By September 1941, around 4,100 Soviet prisoners of war were held in Dalum. They were initially deployed for land reclamation, and later for agricultural and industrial labour. The combination of harsh forced labour, lack of food and shelter, and a brutal regime caused countless deaths.

In 1942, the Luftwaffe took over the camp for use as a storage and work facility. From January 1945, the site became a satellite camp of KZ Neuengamme, where prisoners were forced to build defensive structures during the winter of 1944/45 under horrific conditions. In March 1945, part of the group was transferred by the SS toward Neuengamme.

At the war cemetery in Dalum lie between 8,000 and 16,000 unidentified Soviet POWs in mass graves. There are also individual graves for 38 identified Soviet prisoners, one Italian, and nine unknown victims.

Today, the site serves as a memorial. Some of the original buildings have been restored and can be visited. Inside, an exhibition tells the story of the camp, the wider Emsland camp system and other wartime histories.