Dubnica nad Váhom [German: Dubnitz an der Waag] is a town in the district of Ilava in north-eastern Slovakia, around 140 kilometres from Bratislava. Under the Slovak State, from autumn 1942 onwards, there was a ‘labour unit’ there in which male Roma had to perform forced labour. In November 1944, this facility was converted into a detention camp, where only Roma—children, women and men—were held. On 23 February 1945, German soldiers murdered 26 of the camp inmates whom they identified as suffering from typhus.
‘Labour Unit’ Dubnica nad Váhom
In September 1942, in view of the prevailing labour shortage, Interior Minister Alexander Mach (1902–1980) issued a decree establishing a ‘labour unit’ to carry out construction works for a hydroelectric power plant near the Váh River. According to the decree, both Roma who were not in employment and others who were identified as ‘asocial’ were to be assigned to work that had been classified as important by the state.1Gardista [The Guard], 25 September 1942, IV. Year, No. 219, 3. The forced labour camp, officially known as the ‘Dubnica nad Váhom Labour Unit’, was established despite protests from the local arms factory (Škoda Werke) and the town, which feared sabotage, among other things.
The first forced labourers arrived at the camp outside the city between 7 and 12 September 1942. Those assigned to the unit were expected to perform the most arduous earthworks. The employer of the unit was Ing. Lozovský and Štefanec, a construction company whose workers were guarded by gendarmes.2Nečas, “Nucená táborová koncentrace Cikánů v Dubnici nad Váhom“, 72–75. Although the unit was set up for Roma and ‘asocials’, the Ministry of the Interior’s instruction was to select only healthy and able-bodied Roma between the ages of 18 and 40. Originally, the labour unit was supposed to consist of 300 people. However, this number was gradually increased, so that a total of up to 2,000 men passed through it.3Janas, Zabudnuté tábory, 60–61. The actual number of conscripts also depended on seasonal weather conditions.
The composition of the workforce at the Dubnica nad Váhom camp also fluctuated. At the beginning of 1943, the proportion of Roma was less than 50 per cent, but by the end of 1943 it had risen to over 50 per cent. In the course of 1944, the camp’s occupancy changed significantly, with the number of Roma now far exceeding the number of other persons assigned to forced labour. There were complaints about poor food, inadequate sanitary facilities and accommodation, and insufficient clothing and footwear. The labour unit in Dubnica nad Váhom existed until about two months after the outbreak of the Slovak National Uprising.
Detention Camp for Children, Women and Men
In November 1944, responsibility for police matters was transferred from the Ministry of the Interior to the Ministry of National Defence. On 2 November 1944, the Ministry of National Defence issued Special Decree No. 776.131 -4d- 1944, establishing a detention camp in Dubnica nad Váhom exclusively for Romani people, where they were housed together without regard to age or sex. On the same day, the existing labour unit was dissolved by decree (No. 776.111 -4d- 1944) with effect from 15 November 1944. According to the decree, prisoners of the ‘white race’ were to be released; all Roma, on the other hand, became inmates of the new detention camp.
A file was created for each person. The files were then divided into two groups (men and women) and these in turn were divided into two further groups (children under 14 years of age, persons over 14 years of age). In this context, the acting Minister of Defence, Štefan Haššík (1898–1985), emphasised that the newly created detention camp was not a continuation of the labour unit, but a separate and independent camp. The number of guards, all Slovak soldiers, was set at 60.4Military History Archive, Ministry of National Defence fonds, confidential files, box no. 499, no. 92 3/4.
Not only were Roma from the labour unit transferred to the detention camp, but entire families from the Trenčín district and other districts were also sent there. The original capacity was 315 people, but this quickly rose to 729 prisoners.5Nečas, “Nucená táborová koncentrace Cikánů v Dubnici nad Váhom“, 77. The overcrowding of the camp led to poor health and catastrophic sanitary conditions, resulting in the spread of scabies and lice within a few weeks. The critical shortage of medical care led to the deaths of many children and elderly people. Nine deaths are documented; the youngest victim was Helena Demeter (born 1944), who was only three months old, and the oldest was Maria Hoferovic (1863–1944), who died at the age of 81.6Janas, Zabudnuté tábory, 96–97.
The Murders of 23 February 1945
In December 1944, a typhus epidemic broke out, leading to the quarantine and complete isolation of the detention camp. The Slovak soldiers were unable to control the epidemic and prevent the spread of the disease. Numerous people had died by mid-February 1945, and German units took the initiative in the camp and decided to liquidate all the sick and those they considered to be sick.7Rajcan, “Dubnica nad Váhom“, 859.
On 23 February 1945, the director of the Sonnewend factory in Dubnica agreed to dig a mass grave in the section of the factory known as the ‘Valley’. On the same day, the Germans brought 26 Roma there in trucks. The victims were deceived about the purpose of the transport: they were told they were being taken to the hospital in Trenčín. In fact, however, the trucks drove directly to the factory grounds, where all 26 people were shot and buried in a mass grave. The day after the massacre, the quarantine of the camp was lifted.
The mass grave was opened on 5 May 1945 and an exhumation was carried out. In the exhumation report, the bodies were numbered from 1 to 26. Among the dead were 20 men and six women, one of whom was seven months pregnant. Eighteen people had been fatally shot; six had suffocated alive under the clay that had been used to cover the grave.8Janas, Zabudnuté tábory, 101–102, 108–112.
The Camp until the End of the War
The camp remained under the control of the Slovak army. The soldiers stayed there until early April 1945, after which a gendarmerie unit from Trenčín took over. The gendarmes left the camp on 8 April 1945; together with them, the Roma who had survived were also forced to leave the site. Finally, almost the entire camp was set on fire and destroyed. All that remained were the barracks for the guards, the washhouse and the workshop, which were later dismantled.
Remembrance
After the war, a commission was set up to investigate the crimes in Dubnica nad Váhom. This commission began its investigations in July 1945 and continued them until 1946. Some witness statements were collected, but the commission was unable to clarify the exact timing and circumstances of the executions and thus to assign responsibility.9Ibid., 112–115.
In the Federal Republic of Germany, preliminary proceedings were initiated in 1973 against Einsatzkommando 13 of Einsatzgruppe H for crimes committed against Romani people in Dubnica nad Váhom, but these were subsequently dropped.10State Archives Freiburg, F 178/2, Investigations by the Constance Public Prosecutor’s Office, 20 Js 50/73.
In 2007, on the initiative of the organisation In Minorita, a memorial was erected on the former camp site, which is still used by an arms production company, ZVS Holding s.r.o. The memorial commemorates the 26 murdered Roma. Eighteen names are recorded in the exhumation report: Július Bartoš, Jozef Biháry, Ondrej Čajka, Ján Gorol, Alžbeta Grundzová, Gustáv Herák, Pavlína Hrešková, Ondrej Kakara, Jozef Koto-Dudy, Ernest Lacko, Sebastian Malík, Štefan Malík, Jozef Oláh, Albín Pihík, Rudofl Pihík, Rudolf Rác, Margita Rácová, Ján Surmay.
