From June 1944 until April 1945, in the area of the Bavarian city of Landsberg am Lech, there operated 11 sub-camps of the Dachau concentration camp, all of which shared the same name, i.e. Kaufering. As inmates of these camps, the prisoners had to build underground bunkers that were to be used as plants aimed at the production of Messerschmitt Me 262 war aeroplanes.
This was the largest complex of Dachau sub-camps, and they imprisoned 30,000 Jews mainly from countries occupied by Germany, above all from Poland. Most prisoners did not survive - they died as a result of inhumane working conditions, hunger, cold and disease. Until late November 1944, prisoners who were considered unsuitable for work were sent away to the gas chambers in the Auschwitz concentration camp. As of November 1944, more than 6,400 prisoners died in the Kaufering camps, and they were buried in 12 local cemeteries (in mass graves).
Nowadays, however, it is not possible to precisely establish the place where each victim was buried.
What is known, though, is the fact that the prisoners from Kaufering III and IV camps were buried in the cemeteries of the Kaufering Süd, Kaufering Nord and Kaufering Hurlach concentration camps.
The camp cemetery near Hurlach is the final resting place for at least 360 victims of the IV Hurlach camp. The camp imprisoned women as of 1 August and it imprisoned men as of 25 August 1944. Until 25 April 1945, it also served as accommodation for those engaged in the construction of underground factories and the Lechfeld airport, as well as a camp for the sick. The cemetery is surrounded by a massive low wall, and the metal gate bears two Stars of David. Opposite the entrance sits a memorial granite stone with the Star of David inscribed upon it. On this and on two side stones one can read this inscription: ‘Erected to commemorate 360 victims of the concentration camp. You went through the sea of suffering and now rest with God, for eternity.’