Memorial Natzweiler-Struthof

The monument was unveiled in August 2004, at the initiative of survivors and relatives of 'disappeared' Nacht-Und-Nebel prisoners.
At the foot is a plaque with the following explanation in French; The poignant and emaciated sculpture; 'Le Gisant', designed by Georges Halbout, is a copy of the statue placed at the entrance of the Natzweiler-Struthof camp.

Natzweiler-Struthof was the only German concentration camp on French territory, about 50 kilometers outside Strasbourg near the town of Natzwiller (also called Natzweiler), at an altitude of 800 meters. The camp was operational from May 1941 to November 1944. The location of the camp was specially chosen by Albert Speer because of the presence of pink granite, needed for the megalomaniac plans to build Germania, the new capital of the Third Reich. A total of 52,000 people were interned here, from countries including France, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Poland and the former Soviet Union. The prisoners had to perform heavy physical labor and this, in combination with the harsh living conditions and food shortages, led to many victims. Like Groß-Rosen, Natzweiler-Struthof was designated a Nacht und Nebel camp, where people had to disappear without a trace. 22,000 people died here from exhaustion or were murdered in the gas chambers. On November 23, 1944, Natzweiler-Struthof was officially liberated by the Americans.

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