Neusustrum

The camp was established in 1933 and it was intended for 1,000 prisoners; in 1937 already 1,500 people were kept there. Before the war they were mainly political opponents of the Nazi regime. After Poles were imprisoned here, about 450 French and Belgian prisoners were kept here from 1943 and about 70 Jews. Later it was used to imprison former German soldiers who were convicted by military courts. The number of people who died in the camp was probably much higher. They were buried at Börgermoor camp cemetery, today's burial place being Esterwegen.

During the war the prisoners worked - regardless of the time of the year - on draining wetlands and local swamps and on road building and peat extraction. Food and medical care were extremely insufficient, not to mention physical and mental tortures used by the camp guards. At the moment of liberation by Allied Forces there were 281 prisoners in the camp. At present, there is a school and a sports field at the location of the former camp, no camp buildings or facilities were preserved.

On the 8th of May 1995, on the 50th anniversary of World War II ending, memorial plaques were officially unveiled at the site of the former camp and wreaths were placed there. The ceremony was attended by a group of former prisoners of Neusustrun and Oberlangen camps, Andrzej Przewoźnik - Secretary General of the Council for the Protection of Struggle and Martyrdom Sites, Consul Stanisław Sulowski from Consulate General in Hamburg and representatives of Polish minority organisations, regional and local authorities as well as inhabitants of neighbouring towns:

The Polish inscription on the plaque reads:

W TYM MIEJSCU MIEŚCIL SIĘ

OBÓZ W NEUSUSTRUM

PODLEGŁY CENTRALNEMU ZARZĄDOWI

KARNYCH OBOZÓW WIĘZIENNYCH

W PAPENBURGU

W L. 1940–1943. WIĘZIONO W NIM

KILKA TYSIECY POLAKÓW

CZEŚĆ PAMIĘCI WSZYSTKICH

KTÓRZY TU CIERPIELI I UMARLI

NEUSUSTRUM

8.5.1995

KOLEDZY I RODACY