Mauthausen Concentration CampShown in the photo above is the main entrance into the SS garage yard at the former Mauthausen Concentration Camp in Austria; behind the granite wall on the right is the prison compound, which was built on a higher level. In the foreground is what looks like a swimming pool, but is usually identified as a water reservoir. The iron bars above the door formerly held the Nazi eagle, the symbol of Hitler's Third Reich. When the camp was liberated by American soldiers on May 5, 1945, the prisoners pulled down the Nazi eagle which was held in place by iron bars over the main entrance. Shown in the photo above is the SS garage yard where the prisoners had to stand naked for hours while their clothes were being disinfected in an effort to prevent epidemics. The green buildings on the left on the upper level are the kitchen and the bunker, which was a prison within the prison. The walkway shown in the photo below is on top of the wall shown on the far right in the photo above. Red plastic fencing prevents visitors from getting near the arcade which runs along the wall on the right. From the walkway which runs along the garage yard wall, one can look out at the road which leads up to the camp. This walkway is now closed and visitors can no longer walk to the spot above the main gate where the Nazi eagle was formerly located. The farmhouse shown in the distance serves meals to tourists; no food is available in the camp, although there is a cafeteria where visitors can eat food which they have brought with them and buy a small cup of coffee from a machine. The SS yardPrisoners' GateGas ChamberBarracksBeautiful DoorsCatholic ChurchCamp ArtifactsHome |