Luftwaffe guards at concentration camps

During World War II, the German Luftwaffe staffed dozens of concentration camps, and posted its soldiers as guards at many others.

About 1,300 prisoners at a time were forced to work salvaging parts from Luftwaffe and Allied aircraft that had been damaged beyond repair.

The prisoners were housed at Birkenau and forced to march to the Zerlegebetrieb each morning; they were exempt from work if the temperature dropped below −15 °C (5 °F).

Because of the valuable items that could be found while dismantling the aircraft, prisoners frequently tried to smuggle them back to Birkenau to trade for necessities.

[12] Luftwaffe guards had a reputation for being slightly less brutal than the SS, in several cases attempting to improve the conditions for prisoners.

New arrivals are counted at Melk; the vast majority of guards at this Mauthausen-Gusen subcamp were Luftwaffe soldiers.