One of the worst concentration camps used by the SS during the Second World War was Gusen.
It was a sub camp of the Mauthausen complex, and was found in Upper Austria. Initially it was made
up of Polish prisoners, but then a large number of other POWs found themselves imprisoned there.
Gusen was close to a number of quarries that produced granite, and prisoners would be forced
to work gruelling long days in which they received incredibly harsh treatment and insufficient food,
water and access to sanitation. It was said that the conditions at Gusen were some of the worst
of the concentration camp system, and that the life expectancy for prisoners was as short at
times as just 6 months. It’s estimated that at least 35,000 people died there from the horror,
and also from a number of mass executions that were carried out.
But Gusen had it’s own unique method of execution which it used to take the lives of prisoners.
The sick SS guards there experimented and invented a new execution method known as the Totbaden, or
the death Bath. But what is the story behind this? Join us today as we look at the Horrific Execution
of the Death Baths of Gusen, remember to support our channel, please make sure to subscribe.
As mentioned as well as the horrific conditions at Gusen prisoners also had to contend with the
executions that occurred there. Many prisoners were transported there, and because of the sheer
number of deaths inmates kept arriving in a constant stream. The work in the quarries was
intended to bring about the death of prisoners, and this work continued until the end of the war.
Prisoners were subjected to starvation and incredibly tough forced labour, whilst guards
and Kapos would be incredibly brutal and would regularly drive prisoners to work harder through
violent beatings. The inmates were overseen and watched by guards situated in watchtowers who
were armed with machine guns and would turn these on the workers if they were not doing what they
should have been. Some of the Kapos there such as a man named Wolf even executed prisoners himself
by hanging and them stamped on their bodies once dead. The Kapos, prisoners themselves who
were given power to oversee it appears went power mad, and one also took part in gassing prisoners.
But prisoners who could no longer conduct hard labour and the back breaking work were
then killed. Many arrived from nearby camps at Mauthausen to be specifically killed at Gusen.
The SS forced inmates to run to test their fitness, and those who did not live up to standard
were killed immediately. It was said that 3000 of the first 10000 people who arrived there were
instantly killed. In August 1940, two prisoners managed to escape and the 800 men in their work
group were forced to run carrying rocks, and they were beaten savagely by the guards, and then they
were forced to stand all night in the roll call yard without any food. Because of this 14 inmates
died and the two who escaped were later caught 2 days later and were beaten to death. A crematorium
was also found at Gusen, and this was used to deal with the bodies of the prisoners that died.
But It’s believed that the SS Commandant, SS Hauptsturmfuhrer Karl Chmieleski,
who was known for being incredibly brutal invented a new execution method that he used at the camp.
The Nazis throughout their command of the concentration camps regularly experimented
with methods of killing to find out what would be the most efficient way of mass murder.
They even tried to experiment with how to dispose of the bodies and inside of Auschwitz they even
threw grenades and explosives at them, which caused a horrific mess. But inside of Gusen,
the execution method that was developed was known as the Totbaden, or the death baths. Those inmates
who were deemed too sick to work, and were unwell were then subject to be bathed in ice-cold water.
They were forced to stand under the high pressure jets of freezing water. These cold showers were
completely brutal, and especially in winter they were deadly within minutes for the inmates.
It’s believed that up to 300 prisoners were killed in this way being blasted with the
gold and freezing high pressure water, and within minutes prisoners who were already weak died on
the spot suffering from heart failure cause by the instant hypothermia. What was worse also was that
often the drains got blocked very quickly as they were not cleaned and also could not cope with the
high pressure of water, and with this the showers then quickly filled up with water. With no escape,
the prisoners would then sometimes drown inside of the showers as they could not get out.
It has been stated that the drains were deliberately blocked because of this. Anyone
who did not want to go into the death baths was bludgeoned and violently beaten by the SS Guards.
This was an execution method exclusive to Gusen, however it was considered ineffective and too time
consuming. There were allegedly also stories of a number of prisoners who somehow managed
to survive their ordeal, but they then later died from pneumonia. They could be held inside
there for up to 2 hours, and usually a trip to the death baths resulted in execution within minutes.
The Death Baths stopped being used in January 1942, and it’s believed around 300 people were
executed using them. It was a brutal and sadistic method of execution, which would
cause the body to shut down. The SS Guards used the cold weather also to execute prisoners,
as in winter many were forced to stand outside their block naked in groups of 150.
Half would die each night, and it’s believed the rest died the next day.
Gusen was one of the most disgusting concentration camps used by the Third Reich.
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