4. Prisoner-of-War Camp: Captivity and Forced Labor (1939 – 1945)

At the outbreak of the Second World War, the Reich Party Congresses no longer take place. The Wehrmacht, however, continues to use the SA tent camp with its buildings and establishes a prisoner-of-war camp.

By the end of the war, tens of thousands of prisoners from various countries arrive at the Langwasser camp. From here, they are sent to forced labor. Many Soviet prisoners die due to poor conditions or are taken by the Wehrmacht and Gestapo to Dachau, where they are executed.

The Nazis also use the camp to distribute thousands of civilian forced laborers to workplaces throughout northern Bavaria. On April 17, 1945, the U.S. Army liberates 14,000 sick prisoners left behind by the Wehrmacht at Langwasser. Many still die after liberation.