Glossary

B

• Daily routine and organisation in the camp : Barracks

  Hut – Block – Living quarters for prisoners. The three terms are used synonymously. Block is the term used in the administrative jargon of the camps. The Block is divided into two barrack rooms (Stube).

• Camp administration : Base camp

  Main camp – The main camp, which houses the headquarters of the Kommandantur and oversees the often smaller subcamps. Natzweiler was the main camp for 53 subcamps

• Daily routine and organisation in the camp : Block

  Barracks – Hut – Living quarters for prisoners. The three terms are used synonymously. Block is the term used in the administrative jargon of the camps. The Block is divided into two barrack rooms (Stube).

• Daily routine and organisation in the camp : Blockältester

  German term meaning “Block Elder” – A prisoner in charge of the Block to which they are assigned. They report directly to the Lagerältester.

• Nazi society confronting Nazism : Book burnings

  Book burnings The act of burning books containing ideology that does not align with that of the regime. The Nazis carried out book burnings, mainly targeting books written by Jews, communists and pacifists.

• Nazi society confronting Nazism : Bund Deutscher Mädel

  German term meaning “League of German Girls or Band of German Maidens” – A Nazi youth movement that was active in Germany from 1930 to 1945, with the aim of indoctrinating girls aged 10 to 18 to prepare them for life as women in Nazi society.