Block №20 "death barracks" | concentration camp

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"Aktion K“ was the term used for the execution in secret of prisoners-of-war who had attempted to flee but had been recaptured - the K stood for Kugel, (bullet), that is for execution by shooting. This operation, which was decreed in March 1944, foresaw that officers and sub officers, with the exception of British and Americans, who were recaptured after an escape attempt should not be taken back to a prisoner-of-war camp but to Mauthausen concentration camp.
From March 1944 until February 1945 in accordance with this decree a total of around 5000 prisoners, mostly from the Soviet Union, but also including several Polish, Yugoslav and Dutch officers and NCOs, were sent to Mauthausen. They were isolated in block 20 and were kept under 24-hour surveillance from two watchtowers on the far side of the camp wall. The prisoners had to sleep on the floor and were fed, sporadically, a root vegetable stew and twice weekly some bread. No medical care was provided. Each morning the prisoners had to queue for hours barefoot in front of the block and to passively await the arrival of the director of the camp prison, Josef Niedermayer. During role-call they had to lie on the ground following which they were generally further humiliated by having to crawl, wriggle on their bellies, jump or run. The prisoners spent the rest of the day on their feet outdoors. As a result of this treatment an average of 20 to 30 prisoners died daily, particularly in winter. Only few survived longer than 4 to 6 weeks.

In the wee hours of February 2, 1945, some 500 "K" prisoners, mostly Soviet officers from barracks 20, known as the "death barracks" (Todesblock) made an attempt to escape Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp. Using fire extinguishers from the barracks and blankets and boards as projectiles, one group attacked and occupied a watch tower while a second group used wet blankets and bits of clothing to cause a short circuit in the electrified fence. The prisoners then climbed over the fence.

Of those 500, 419 prisoners did manage to leave the camp grounds but many escapees were already too weakened from starvation to reach the woods and collapsed in the snow outside the camp, where they were shot that night by SS machine guns. All who failed to reach the woods and another 75 prisoners in the barracks who had remained behind because they were too sick to follow, were executed that night. Over 300 prisoners did manage to reach the woods that first night. Just 11 officers are known to have survived the manhunt till the end of World War II. In spite of the extremely high risk, a few farm families and civilian forced laborers hid escapees or brought food to those hiding in the woods. After three months, the war ended and the fugitives were safe.
The events of the Mühlviertel massacre gained prominence with the 1994 film The Quality of Mercy by director Andreas Gruber. Although it received a lukewarm review from Variety, the film was a box office success in Austria.


www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yeotgJjUWE