Concentration camp Hodonin
Encyclopedia
The concentration camp in Hodonín
was a World War II
internment camp for Romani people (Gypsies) from the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
(which nowadays forms the larger part of the Czech Republic
).
be set up for "people avoiding work and living off crime" (at this time labour duty was mandatory).
The camp next to the village Hodonín
(near the town Kunštát
) was constructed later and was opened during December 1940. The camp consisted of several large and small wooden barracks, and were surrounded by a wooden fence. Projected capacity of the camp was 300 people during summer, 200 during winter. New barracks were added later, lifting official capacity to 750 prisoners in 1943. Running water, sewage and electricity infrastructure was planned but never finished. Czech gendarme
s (četníci) guarded the places (service in such camps was considered a disciplinary punishment). Štefan Blahynka, commander of Hodonín camp. Similar forced labor camps existed in Planá nad Lužnicí, Mirošov
, Hradišťko and other places; prisoners were typically used for hard labour such as road construction. In total, around 50,000 people went through such labour camps during the war. The total number of prisons and camps of all kinds within the boundaries of modern-day Czech Republic
was 2,125 (František Nedbálek, Místa utrpení a vzdoru, Prague 1984).
. On June 24, 1942, the Protectorate Minister of the Interior, Richard Bienert
, ordered the collection of statistics about "Gypsies, mixed Gypsies and people with gypsy style of life." Around 6,500 people were recorded in these statistics (based on older records and often on skin color).
On July 10, general Horst Böhme, Chief of Security Police, ordered Romani to be moved into two camps: Lety for Romani from Bohemia
, Hodonín for those from Moravia
.
On December 7, 1942, 78 "asocials" were transported to Auschwitz. In December 1942, typhoid started to take its toll in the camp and by the next May, only 5-10% of internees were considered healthy. A lack of medicine to treat the disease, as well as the horrible hygienic conditions, kept the epidemic going for months. On October 21, 1943, 784 prisoners were transported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Of the remaining 62 internees, some were released, and the rest were sent to Auschwitz in 1944.
Overall numbers:
was annihilated and the new ones, who came from Slovakia
and Romania
, had no knowledge about this tragedy. During the 1970s, a large factory pig farm was constructed near the place of Lety camp. In place of Hodonín camp, a tourist hotel has been built.
In 1992 the book Black Silence
by Paul Polansky
compiled historical records and testimonials of survivors. The book started heated discussions in the Czech Republic about Czech relations to the Romani and their history.
(texts in English)
Hodonín (Blansko District)
Hodonín is a small village in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic.-External links:* http://www.travel.cz/guide/87/index_en.html...
was a World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
internment camp for Romani people (Gypsies) from the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was the majority ethnic-Czech protectorate which Nazi Germany established in the central parts of Bohemia, Moravia and Czech Silesia in what is today the Czech Republic...
(which nowadays forms the larger part of the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
).
Background
On March 2, 1939, (two weeks before the German occupation), the Czecho-Slovak government ordered that a labor campLabor camp
A labor camp is a simplified detention facility where inmates are forced to engage in penal labor. Labor camps have many common aspects with slavery and with prisons...
be set up for "people avoiding work and living off crime" (at this time labour duty was mandatory).
The camp next to the village Hodonín
Hodonín (Blansko District)
Hodonín is a small village in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic.-External links:* http://www.travel.cz/guide/87/index_en.html...
(near the town Kunštát
Kunštát
Kunštát is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has around 2,600 inhabitants.Villages Hluboké u Kunštátu, Rudka, Sychotín, Touboř and Újezd are administrative parts of Kunštát....
) was constructed later and was opened during December 1940. The camp consisted of several large and small wooden barracks, and were surrounded by a wooden fence. Projected capacity of the camp was 300 people during summer, 200 during winter. New barracks were added later, lifting official capacity to 750 prisoners in 1943. Running water, sewage and electricity infrastructure was planned but never finished. Czech gendarme
Gendarmerie
A gendarmerie or gendarmery is a military force charged with police duties among civilian populations. Members of such a force are typically called "gendarmes". The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary describes a gendarme as "a soldier who is employed on police duties" and a "gendarmery, -erie" as...
s (četníci) guarded the places (service in such camps was considered a disciplinary punishment). Štefan Blahynka, commander of Hodonín camp. Similar forced labor camps existed in Planá nad Lužnicí, Mirošov
Mirošov
Mirošov is a town in Western Bohemia, the Czech Republic , 7 km southeast of Rokycany, 457 m. above sea level. Mirošov is located on the Skořický potok Stream that is joined by Příkosický potok Stream in the town's territory. In the east large forested complex of Brdy hills begins, its highest...
, Hradišťko and other places; prisoners were typically used for hard labour such as road construction. In total, around 50,000 people went through such labour camps during the war. The total number of prisons and camps of all kinds within the boundaries of modern-day Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
was 2,125 (František Nedbálek, Místa utrpení a vzdoru, Prague 1984).
Situation of Romani people in the Protectorate
Starting in 1940, Romani were forbidden to travel. In 1942, the measures already in force in Germany were applied in the Protectorate as well and, as an immediate result, a few hundred people deemed "asocial" were deported to Auschwitz-BirkenauAuschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
. On June 24, 1942, the Protectorate Minister of the Interior, Richard Bienert
Richard Bienert
Richard Bienert was a Czechoslovakian politician. He served as Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia from January 19, 1945 to May 5, 1945, under the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia...
, ordered the collection of statistics about "Gypsies, mixed Gypsies and people with gypsy style of life." Around 6,500 people were recorded in these statistics (based on older records and often on skin color).
On July 10, general Horst Böhme, Chief of Security Police, ordered Romani to be moved into two camps: Lety for Romani from Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
, Hodonín for those from Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
.
Hodonín
All pre-existing prisoners at Hodonín were released or transferred, except for seven Romani already imprisoned. During the first month after it was re-opened, 1,229 people arrived. On October 1, 1942, the camp held 205 men, 287 women and 561 children and youths. Internees were assigned to work, typically on construction of local roads; those not performing were beaten. Like in Lety, the food and winter clothing provided was insufficient.On December 7, 1942, 78 "asocials" were transported to Auschwitz. In December 1942, typhoid started to take its toll in the camp and by the next May, only 5-10% of internees were considered healthy. A lack of medicine to treat the disease, as well as the horrible hygienic conditions, kept the epidemic going for months. On October 21, 1943, 784 prisoners were transported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Of the remaining 62 internees, some were released, and the rest were sent to Auschwitz in 1944.
Overall numbers:
- Around 1300 prisoners passed through the camp
- 207 deaths
- 262 released
- 67 successfully escaped (those caught were brutally beaten)
- 863 deported to Auschwitz
Extermination at Auschwitz
During the course of the war, a total of 4,831 Romani from the Protectorate were sent to Auschwitz. Of those, few survived. Estimations vary, but well over 4,000 of them died there.Postwar investigations
When rumors about atrocities in the camp appeared after the war, Commander Blahynka wrote a statement in 1946 denying any wrongdoings. No official investigation against him had started. Former prisoner Blažej Dydy, acting as Kapo (a supervisor of other prisoners) in Hodonín and Auschwitz, was sentenced to life in prison in 1947 for theft and the murder of other inmates.Forgotten and Rediscovered History
After the war, the existence of Romani camps was practically forgotten outside the Romani community, except by specialized historians. The whole community of Czech RomaniRelations between ethnic Czechs and Roma
The Roma people , commonly known as Gypsies , constitute a minority in the Czech Republic. According to the last census from 2001, only 11,746 persons declared themselves as Roma. But the actual number is much higher, estimated at 200–300,000 people...
was annihilated and the new ones, who came from Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
and Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, had no knowledge about this tragedy. During the 1970s, a large factory pig farm was constructed near the place of Lety camp. In place of Hodonín camp, a tourist hotel has been built.
In 1992 the book Black Silence
Black Silence
Black Silence is a book by American author Paul Polansky, dealing with the testimony of the survivors of the Lety concentration camp in today's Czech Republic....
by Paul Polansky
Paul Polansky
Paul Polansky is an American author and activist working for the rights of the Roma people in Eastern Europe and the Balkans. He has also lived with Roma for the past ten years in Eastern Europe, collecting their oral histories and writing several books about their lives in the Czech republic and...
compiled historical records and testimonials of survivors. The book started heated discussions in the Czech Republic about Czech relations to the Romani and their history.
External links
(texts in Czech language)- Details of Lety camp, bibliography
- Details of Hodonín camp, bibliography
- Lety: short overview, schema of the camp, photo
- Hodonín: short overview, schema of the camp, photo
(texts in English)
- Government not to liquidate pig farm in Lety - Dzeno Association News