Work routine

Working in Wulkow was considered a form of "life insurance" for the prisoners as their families, who were still in Theresienstadt, were generally protected from deportation to the extermination camps. But the prisoners themselves were also spared deportation if they endured and were able to complete the work. While prisoners in the final months of the war were forced to perform extremely hard labour with the aim of ensuring that they did not survive ("extermination through labour"), the situation was different in Wulkow.

„First we built the barracks. Of course they were much more modest than the barracks that we built for the Germans. But you could still live there and sleep there.“

Hanuš Hron during the contemporary witness interview at Trebnitz castle, 2021

For this reason, many men in Theresienstadt who had previously worked as craftsmen in various fields volunteered to work in Wulkow.

There was nothing in the forest near Wulkow when the first group of prisoners arrived. They had to spend the first night in the open air in winter before starting work the next day. First, the prisoners built their own barracks, cleared the forest and laid paths. Later, they erected fences and laid water and construction pipes.

„If I summarise this labour detail today, I realise that all the work in Wulkow was completely superfluous and pointless. [...] Only one person benefited from this work: it was Stuschka, he was able to avoid being sent to the front.“

Walter Grunwald in his report "Erlebtes" ("Experiences"

Prisoners building a gate, drawn by Herbert Kolb

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In addition to building the camp, camp commandant Franz Stuschka punished the prisoners with extra labour details. The prisoners considered these tasks pointless, as they included, for example, sweeping the forest floor with brooms or washing trees. In his testimony at the trial against Franz Stuschka, Albert Youngmann explained that he was forced to empty the fire pond with a ladle as a punishment.

„We performed superhuman work there, and yet the performance was always too little according to Stuschka. He introduced Sunday work and we often had to work at night.“

Alfred Neufeld, 1949

If Stuschka thought that the prisoners were no longer working to his expectations and their labour was failing, he first deported them from Wulkow to Theresienstadt, from where they were then deported "to the East", to the extermination camps. Although Stuschka did not mention it anywhere, he was aware that this was a death sentence for the prisoners. As a result of these deportations, new prisoners who were fit for labour were brought from Theresienstadt to Wulkow.

The (punitive) work also included hauling trees, drawn by Herbert Kolb

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The men who volunteered to work in Wulkow had a variety of manual skills deemed useful. In Wulkow they worked as electricians, plumbers, carpenters, joiners, well builders and cooks. The 34 women who spent time in Wulkow worked in the kitchen, in the laundry or were assigned to heavy clean-up work.

The prisoners Ervin Kosiner and Karel Rutar had special roles. Kosiner was an engineer and supervised the construction of the barracks, and Rutar was the foreman of the carpenters in Wulkow. This meant that they were always the focus of Stuschka's watchful eye and were held responsible for all deficiencies.

Local craftsmen and companies were also brought in to work with the prisoners on some jobs. The companies supplied the building materials and gave instructions, and the prisoners worked there as "labourers". For example, the well builder Wilhelm Voss came from Berlin and drilled around twelve wells with the help of six prisoners.

„In very basic conditions, we had to drill the first well on this site without any mechanical aids. Everything was done by hand. The ground was pure sand, so drilling was not too difficult. It wasn't really drilling in the sense of the word, but a sort of 'pumping‘“.

Walter Grunwald in his report "Erlebtes" ("Experiences")

Two prisoners doing planning work, drawn by Herbert Kolb

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