page_title: Kaufering concentration camp complex
section_title: List of Kaufering subcamps
hierarchical_section_title: Kaufering concentration camp complex / Command and organization / List of Kaufering subcamps
caption_attribution_description: English: Kaufering IV was a subcamp of Dachau
context_page_description: Kaufering was a system of eleven subcamps of the Dachau concentration camp located around the town of Landsberg am Lech in Bavaria, which operated between 18 June 1944 and 27 April 1945. Previously, Nazi Germany had deported all Jews from the Reich, but having exhausted other sources of labor, Jews were deported to Kaufering to create three massive underground bunkers, Weingut II, Diana II, and Walnuss II, which would not be vulnerable to the Allied bombing which had devastated German aircraft factories. The bunkers were intended for the production of Messerschmitt Me 262 aircraft, but none were produced at the camps before the United States Army captured the area.
  Kaufering was the largest of the Dachau subcamps and also the one with the worst conditions; about half of the 30,000 prisoners died from hunger, disease, executions, or during the death marches. Most of the sites were not preserved and have been repurposed for other uses.
context_section_description: Kaufering I (before late September, designated Kaufering III) was opened on 22 June 1944 and served as the headquarters of the Kaufering command from September. Located near Landsberg am Lech, the main purpose of this camp was the construction of bunker Weingut II. Between 2000 and 5000 men lived there; in February 1945, 200 women also arrived there. Because of overcrowding, Kaufering XI was established and some prisoners moved. A group of seven Hungarian Jewish women, known as the "Schwanger Kommando", who had conceived before their deportation to Auschwitz, was allowed to remain alive and bear their children.
  Kaufering II was established on 24 August. Its prisoners, about 1200 men and women, mostly worked at the "Diana II" construction site. The camp existed at two locations, a summer camp built with plywood and a later camp, occupied during the winter months, which offered slightly better protection against the winter weather.
  Kaufering III (designated Kaufering I until September) was the original Kaufering camp, located near Kaufering and established by 1000 Hungarian Jewish men from Auschwitz on 18 June. These prisoners were forced to build their own accommodation. Later, prisoners were forced to work on the Weingut II bunker as well as the construction of Kaufering I and II. It served as the SS headquarters of the Kaufering complex until this was moved to Kaufering I in September 1944. The average population was 2000 men and 339 women. The senior prisoner was Victor Nečas, an Austrian political prisoner who communicated with the prisoners mostly in Hungarian.
  Kaufering IV [de, he, pl], located between Kaufering and Hurlach, was established in September 1944 for 500 prisoners; the population later grew to 3000. Prisoners were forced to work at the Lagerlechfeld airfield, in road construction, and on the bunker Walnuss II until Kaufering IV was converted into a "sick camp", where prisoners were sent to die after they could no longer work. A typhus epidemic broke out, and Dr. Blancke and the SS guards would not enter the barracks to avoid infection. Prisoner doctors could do little, as they had no medicine or equipment.
  Kaufering V, near Utting, has an unclear history due to inconsistent testimony from survivors. It is possible that it was only a subarea of Kaufering X, such as the kitchen, rather than a separate subcamp.
  Kaufering VI [de] was established in October 1944 at Türkheim, and housed between 1000 and 2500 prisoners, who were forced to work clearing nearby forests, in agriculture, and in construction. Many of the prisoners were later transported to other Kaufering subcamps to work on the bunkers.
  Kaufering VII was established on 11 November 1944 near the offices of Held & Francke. Between 2000 to 3000 men and 118 to 272 women were forced to live in huts and clay bunkers and work on prefabricated parts for "Diana II". After a typhus epidemic, sick prisoners were taken to Kaufering IV.
  Kaufering VIII, at Seestall, was probably established as a mistake on the Germans' part, because the local soil was not suitable for the construction of bunkers. It was smaller than the other camps, and prisoners were forced to work on agriculture and gravel extraction.
  Kaufering IX was a men's camp that existed from 14 October 1944 in Obermeitingen. Its prisoners were forced to work on Walnuss II.
  Kaufering X, established on Holzhauser Street in Utting on 26 September, housed 200 to 400 men forced to produce prefabricated components for the Dyckerhoff & Widmann firm. Because the prisoners worked indoors, their chances of survival were higher than at other subcamps.
  Kaufering XI, from late October, was established on Mühlweg Street in Landsberg to house surplus prisoners from Kaufering I. It consisted of barracks, clay bunkers, earthen huts, and a delousing center.
caption: Kaufering IV on the day of liberation
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