Memorial of the former concentration camp Ebensee

A place of remembrance for the victims of the Nazi project ‘Zement’ during the Second World War.

Ebensee Concentration Camp Memorial – From Oblivion to Remembrance

In the heart of Upper Austria's Salzkammergut region, the Nazi regime planned to build a huge underground armaments project, which involved relocating the Peenemünde rocket research centre from northern Germany to bomb-proof tunnels. Due to the acute labour shortage during the Second World War, these were to be built through the mass deployment of concentration camp prisoners. From 18 November 1943 to 6 May 1945, around 8,500 people lost their lives in the Ebensee satellite camp, which was operated under the code name ‘Zement’ (cement).

On 2 June 1946, the cemetery and a monumental memorial were inaugurated. Today, only a few traces remain of the history of the Ebensee camp: the stone archway of the former entrance to the camp, the ‘Löwengang’ (a barbed wire corridor between the camp and the quarry), the ‘KZ-Friedhof’ memorial and the entrance to one of the former tunnels – the ‘Gedenkstollen’ with its exhibition. The memorial is organised and maintained by the Ebensee Museum of Contemporary History. Groups and schools can arrange a guided tour of the memorial, including the memorial tunnel and the Museum of Contemporary History, with the museum management.