| Sereď | |
|---|---|
| Concentration camp | |
 Barracks at Sereď | |
  Location of Sereď within Slovakia | |
 Interactive map of Sereď | |
| Coordinates | 48°17′20″N17°43′29″E / 48.28889°N 17.72472°E /48.28889; 17.72472 |
| Location | Sereď,Slovakia |
| Operated by | Hlinka Guard,Slovak Republic,SS |
| Operational | September 1941–31 March 1945 |
| Inmates | Slovak Jews |
| Number of inmates | 4,463 deported |
| Liberated by | Red Army |
Sereď was a Concentration and transit camp built duringWorld War II in theSlovak Republic. It was founded as alabor camp for theJewish population in September 1941. In September 1944, it was taken over by units of theSS.
Government Decree no. 198/1941, dated 9 September 1941, concerned the legal status of Jews. Known also as "The Jewish Codex", the order stripped allhuman andcivil rights of theJewish population in the Slovak Republic. According to the decree, Jews aged 16-60 were obliged to do work as ordered by the Slovak Ministry of the Interior. Within a month of the decree's enactment, the Ministry founded aninternment camp and labor camp for the Jews inSereď.[1]
The camp consisted of several manufactories, which produced joinery products, toys, clothing, and other goods. It was guarded by theHlinka Guard, and from March 1944 by the Slovak gendarmerie.[2] During the first wave of deportations fromSlovakia, the camp served as a temporarydetention center fordeported citizens.
In total, 4,463[3] people were deported from Sereď to other Naziforced labour camps in occupiedPoland; most did not survive. The last two transport trains to leave Sereď during this time carried patients from the local Jewish hospital, as well as physically andmentally disabled people from various medical institutes. After this transport departed, conditions in the camp became better. In this later phase, Sereď was guarded by local police, who opened the gates and let the remaining Jews escape after the beginning of theSlovak National Uprising.[3] Many prisoners ended up participating in the revolt.
In September 1944, Sereď was transformed into a concentration camp with an SS guard under the command ofBratislavaGermanFranz Knollmayer. The new contingent of SS soldiers proceeded to commit majoratrocities against the prisoners, includingtorture,rape (though this was frowned on as a violation ofracial hygiene laws), andmurder.[4] By the end of September, Knollmayer had been replaced byAlois Brunner, who had a mandate to finally resolve the "Jewish question" in Slovakia.[3]
Sereď became the main concentration camp for a second wave of deportations. In separate parts of the camp were imprisoned soldiers of the Slovak insurrectionist army, partisans, and people accused of supporting the uprising. Brunner organized 11 train transports, which deported prisoners toAuschwitz,Sachsenhausen,Ravensbrück, andTheresienstadt.[4] The last transport left Sereď on 31 March 1945, shortly before its liberation by theRed Army.[5]
The labour and concentration camps in Sereď form a national cultural monument of the Slovak Republic. It is the only preserved camp complex of its kind in Slovakia (Nováky andVyhne were not preserved). The Sereď Holocaust Museum located in the camp contains exhibits related to Jewish culture, life in the camp, andthe Holocaust.[6][7]
