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Uncovering evidence

More than 1,000 bodies of murdered prisoners were burned in the Ellrich-Juliushütte subcamp shortly before liberation. The picture shows the remains of the pyres at the Pontelteich pond, after 11 April 1945.
Photo: George Phillips (Sammlung K.-H. Schwerdtfeger)

In June 1945, US officer George Phillips was in Ellrich and the surrounding area. He used his private cameras to document everyday life in the occupied small town, where two of the Mittelbau concentration camp‘s subcamps had been located. Many photos show the site of the former Ellrich-Juliushütte subcamp.

The camp was empty when the US soldiers reached it on 12 April 1945. Just days before their arrival, the prisoners had been herded onto clearance transports. The Americans did, however, find evidence of the crimes committed here.

Remains of the funeral pyre, after 11 April 1945.
Photo: George Phillips (Sammlung K.-H. Schwerdtfeger)

A few years ago, photos were used to identify one of the largest burial sites of the prisoners who were murdered in Ellrich. Current archaeological findings confirm that the bodies of more than 1,000 concentration camp prisoners had been burned on a pyre near the camp's crematorium – just days before the arrival of the US troops.

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Using a historical aerial photograph and the background identification on the left-hand photo of the pyre, the location of the photographer (and thus the location of the crime) could be determined.
Photo: unknown (National Collection of Aerial Photography UK)
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Crematorium in the Ellrich-Juliushütte subcamp. The remains of the pyre were located a few meters to the west, to the left of where the photographer was standing.
Photo: George Phillips (Sammlung K.-H. Schwerdtfeger)
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View of the Ellrich-Juliushütte subcamp, taken from the Burgberg opposite. The kitchen building, partly concealed by the residential building in the middle of the picture, and the crematorium building above it are clearly visible. The cremation site can be seen to the right.
Photo: George Phillips (Sammlung K.-H. Schwerdtfeger)
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