Gedenkstätten Gestapokeller und Augustaschacht e.V.

The non-profit association Gestapokeller and Augustaschacht memorial founded and run two memorials in the Osnabrück region: The Augustaschacht memorial is located at the site of the former Labor Education Camp Ohrbeck labor education camp (AEL). More than 2,000 men and boys were imprisoned in the AEL Ohrbeck under inhuman conditions. They came from 17 different countries, in particular the Netherlands, the former Soviet Union, Italy and Poland. At least one hundred inmates, primarily from the Netherlands, died in the AEL Ohrbeck. Most of the prisoners were foreign forced laborers. The AEL Ohrbeck was established and supervised by the Gestapo in Osnabrück. The camp existed from January 1944 to April 1945. The Gestapo selected the Augustaschacht as the location for its labor education camp. The camp buildings belonged to the Klöckner factory in Georgsmarienhütte, which cooperated with the Gestapo. The Gestapokeller memorial includes three prison cells of the former Osnabrück (Gestapo). During the Nazi era the Gestapo monitored the population. It persecuted political opponents and deported Jewish people to ghettos and extermination camps. The Gestapo had the special power to imprison people indefinitely, to torture and to kill. During World War II, its most important ask was to monitor people from other countries who were forced to work in Germany against their will. The Osnabrück Gestapo had its headquarters in the west wing of the palace from 1938 to 1940 and again from 1943 to 1945. Its offices were located on the upper levels; the prison cells were in the cellar. The main aims are to remember the victims of Police Brutality and Forced Labor in the Osnabrück region, e.g. of the Gestapo and the AEL Ohrbeck, to realize activities in the field of historical-political education which are committed to encouraging action against racism and raising awareness for democracy and to strengthen international mutual understanding by conducting international work camps for young people and encounter projects with former forced laborers, their families and pupils. Current offers of the memorials are: Tours and workshops for groups and school classes can be booked in advance and are not subject to opening hours. Topics can be arranged upon request. Special educational offerings and projects can be booked in consultation with us. A series of events, including lectures, readings, conversations with survivors and eyewitnesses, trips to memorial sites, films, theater and concerts, take place in cooperation with the Osnabrück adult education centers and the Museumsquartier Osnabrück. International and regional work camps for adolescents and young adults who volunteer to work for the memorial sites can be arranged for summer. Publications about the Gestapo Osnabrück, the AEL Ohrbeck (ArbeitsErziehungsLager = Labor Education Camp) and other exhibition topics are available at the Memorial Sites. The Gestapokeller and Augustaschacht memorials cooperates with the Nationaal Onderduikmuseum in Aalten in the Netherlands, the dutch memorial site Kamp Amersfoort and the Nationale Hannie Schaft Stichting in Haarlem / NL. The main target groups are children, youth and elderly people. Most of the activities are open to everyone.