Groß Hesepe Memorial Camp - Geeste

Camp Groß Hesepe was built in June 1938 by the justice administration as part of the expansion of the Emsland camps, with the aim of using around 1,000 penal prisoners for moorland reclamation.

After the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, the Oberkommando of the Wehrmacht took over the site and turned it into a prisoner-of-war camp (Zweiglager). Polish prisoners were held here temporarily in 1939; from 1941 onwards, French and later Soviet POWs followed. In July 1944, more than 2,000 Italian soldiers were also imprisoned here.

The treatment of the Soviet prisoners was particularly cruel, with poor nutrition, bad hygiene and overcrowded barracks, leading to many deaths.

Today, the site is a place of remembrance where you can learn about the camp’s history and the people who were imprisoned here. Information panels explain the background of the camp, the conditions the prisoners faced, and how the area was transformed after the war. Although few original buildings remain, the silence of the landscape itself speaks volumes.