Women's Penal Company Bor/Budy
Frauen Strafkompanie
The establishment of the subcamps in Budy and Bor, as in many other cases, was preceded by the expulsion of the local population. This operation took place in March 1941. The residents, who were not allowed to take any belongings with them, were mostly relocated to the General Government area. Only miners and railway workers settled in nearby villages.
Most of the existing buildings were dismantled. The materials obtained were used to construct chicken coops in Harmęże, guard towers, and stables. The rubble was utilized for the foundations of new barracks and for reinforcing roads. These tasks were carried out by prisoners who were brought in daily from the main camp of KL Auschwitz.
The first permanent prisoners arrived in April 1942. That same year, they were replaced by civilian workers from Yugoslavia. However, these workers were not as efficient as the prisoners, and as a result, the prisoners returned to the camp in the spring of 1943.
The prisoners were involved in tasks related to crop cultivation and the raising of cattle and swine. The expanding agricultural area and the growing number of livestock necessitated the expansion of farm buildings and an increase in the number of working prisoners. New barracks were built for a forge, a carpentry shop, a tool room, three barns, a fertilizer warehouse, garages for agricultural machinery, and barracks designated for horses, cattle, and sheep.
The SS residential buildings, a granary, 20 barracks for pigs, rabbit sheds, and a dispensary for prisoners from Budy, Rajsko, Harmęże, and Pławy were located outside the camp’s fence.
Initially, the camp housed only Polish prisoners. Later on, French, Belgian, Czech, Russian, Polish, and Greek Jewish prisoners joined them. Some prisoners were also employed in the construction of chicken coops in Harmęże, fish farming in Pławy, and forestry work in Nazieleńce.
The living conditions in the barracks and the diet were similar to those in Auschwitz. Prisoners worked from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Most were dressed in striped uniforms, although civilian clothes were also used. The latter had squares cut out on the back, with patches of striped fabric or material painted in colorful stripes sewn in.
The number of prisoners fluctuated over time; in the spring of 1944, there were about 400 prisoners. At the time of the evacuation, 313 prisoners answered the roll call.
The establishment of the Women’s Penal Company was directly linked to the escape of a female prisoner, Janina Nowak, from a women’s labor commando in June 1942. To tighten discipline, the Germans applied collective punishment. All 400 women had their heads shaved, and the commando was transformed into a penal company. The prisoners were accommodated in a school building in Budy and a nearby barrack. The company consisted of Polish women, who were the majority, along with Jewish women from France and Slovakia, Russians, Ukrainians, Yugoslavians, Czechs, and Germans. A dining hall was set up in a fire station near the school. The area was enclosed with non-electrified wire and four watchtowers. The women were forced to work deepening and cleaning fish ponds and building a railway and protective embankment along the Vistula River.
The harsh working conditions and cruel treatment by privileged prisoner functionaries often resulted in death for many of the women. In the second half of August 1942, 137 Polish female prisoners were transferred to the women’s camp in Birkenau; these were the survivors out of the 200 women sent to the penal company in June. In October 1942, the prisoner functionaries, together with SS men, committed a crime against the French Jewish women. A fight broke out, escalating into a massacre. Around 90 prisoners were killed by the functionaries and SS men, using clubs, axes, and similar tools.
The women’s penal commando was transferred to the women’s camp in Birkenau in March 1943. In April 1943, 200 Polish female prisoners were sent to the school in Budy. Several commandos were established and assigned to work in agriculture, forestry, tree nurseries, fruit cultivation, and the construction of an embankment along the Vistula River. By March 1944, the number of female prisoners had increased to 455. During periods of intense seasonal work, additional external commandos were brought into the sub-camp.
The nature of the work performed and the accompanying conditions were dictated by the seasons. In winter or during heavy autumn rains, the work was carried out outdoors from morning until evening without any relief. One of the most gruesome tasks involved composting with human ashes, where prisoners would layer the ashes between layers of compost.
Living conditions were similar to those in other sub-camps of KL Auschwitz. The basic meal consisted of soup made from nettles, rye, and rutabaga, along with bread. The female prisoners wore striped uniforms, white headscarves, and black aprons. For hygiene purposes, delousing was conducted at least once a month. During disinfection, regardless of the season, the women were forced to stand naked outdoors for several hours, and when their clothing was returned, it was still wet.
The camp was evacuated in the autumn of 1944, and the female prisoners were transported to munitions factories in Germany.
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Bibliography:
Auschwitz 1940–1945. Węzłowe zagadnienia z dziejów obozu, Volume 1: Założenie i organizacja obozu, edited by W. Długoborski and F. Piper, Oświęcim, 1995.
Cegłowska, T., Karne kompanie w KL Auschwitz, Zeszyty Oświęcimskie No. 17, Oświęcim, 1975.
Der Ort des Terrors. Geschichte der nationalsozialistischen Konzentrationslager, Volume 5, edited by W. Benz and B. Distel, München, 2007.
Zięba, A., Wirtschaftshof Budy, Zeszyty Oświęcimskie No. 10, Oświęcim, 1967.
