Memorial Plaque for the Forced Laborers of the Concentration Camp Subcamp Uttendorf/Weißsee

The memorial plaque for the forced laborers of the largest sub-camp of the Dachau concentration camp in Salzburg remembers the numerous people who had to perform forced labor under inhumane conditions at the power plant construction and who died or were murdered as a result. Over 400 people deported from Dachau to the community of Uttendorf lived in three huts enclosed by barbed wire, so that any attempt to escape could be quickly prevented. The prisoners of war – mostly people from Belgium, France and Poland – were completely inadequately clothed for the conditions in the high mountains; at over 2,000 meters altitude, they had to perform heavy labor in their prison uniforms made of linen and in simple wooden and later leather shoes. Only later did some workers receive gloves, sweaters and coats; others, such as political prisoners from Austria, were given only a newspaper against the cold. In addition, all were at the mercy of the guards, who additionally abused the exhausted prisoners. The community of Uttendorf was reached by the US Army on 8 May 1945; the guards of the camp tried to flee into the mountains, the prisoners were freed and prepared for repatriation.