Mauthausen, Austria. After the Anschluss (annexation of Austria to the Reich), the main camp was built on a hill overlooking the town of Mauthausen (near Linz), near a granite quarry ceded by the City of Vienna to DEST, a company owned by the SS. German, Austrian, Czech, and Bohemian prisoners, mostly from the Dachau camp, were assigned to build the camp (1938–1939). Within three years, the number of prisoners reached 8,000. During this period, the prisoners fell into the following categories: common criminals, “asocials,” political prisoners, Jehovah’s Witnesses (Bibelforscher), and Gypsies. The heart of the camp’s work was the granite quarry, which also provided the material for the construction of the perimeter walls, towers, and entrance gates.
