Grafenort concentration camp

Background

The Grafenort concentration camp was a subcamp of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp located in Grafenort Castle, at modern Gorzanów in south-western Poland, which was operational throughout World War II. For 68 days from 1 March 1945, the camp was run exclusively as a women's subcamp, with between 250-400 prisoners of Jewish ethnicity from the Łódź region, transferred from the Mittelsteine concentration camp. Despite initial illusions of luxury, the prisoners at Grafenort were subjected to slave labor, building fortifications, anti-tank trenches, against the advancing Eastern Front of the Allies. They were known for receiving the most brutal treatment of any female concentration camp. Grafenort was one of thirteen Gross-Rosen subcamps located in the Giant Mountains, collectively holding over 13,000 prisoners, about 40% of whom perished. Positioned about 10.5 kilometres north of Bystrzyca Kłodzka in Lower Silesia, the camp was within proximity to significant locations like Wrocław and Prague.

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