Berga, Thuringia

Berga/Elster is a town in the district of Greiz, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the White Elster river, 14 km southeast of Gera.

Berga
Coat of arms
Location of Berga within Greiz district
Berga
Berga
Coordinates: 50°45′N 12°10′E
CountryGermany
StateThuringia
DistrictGreiz
Subdivisions14
Government
 • MayorSteffen Ramsauer
Area
 • Total43.49 km2 (16.79 sq mi)
Elevation
229 m (751 ft)
Population
 (2019-12-31)[1]
 • Total3,258
 • Density75/km2 (190/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
07980
Dialling codes036623
Vehicle registrationGRZ
WebsiteStadt-Berga.de

History

Within the German Empire (1871–1918), Berga/Elster was part of the Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.

Berga concentration camp
Main article: Berga concentration camp

During World War II, a slave labor camp called "Berga an der Elster"[2] was operated here to dig 17 tunnels for an underground ammunition factory. Workers were supplied by Buchenwald concentration camp and from a POW camp, Stalag IX-B; the latter contravened the provisions of the Third Geneva Convention and the Hague Treaties. Many prisoners died as a result of malnutrition, sickness (including pulmonary disease due to dust inhalation from tunnelling with explosives), and beatings,[3] including 73 American POWs.[4][5]

Personalities
  • Hans Bastian I. von Zehmen (1598–1638), Saxon colonel of the Leibregiment, commander of Magdeburg
  • Gerhard Schot (1866–1961), geographer and oceanographer, born in the district of Tschirma

See also

References
  1. "Bevölkerung der Gemeinden, erfüllenden Gemeinden und Verwaltungsgemeinschaften in Thüringen Gebietsstand: 31.12.2019". Thüringer Landesamt für Statistik (in German). August 2020.
  2. "After 63 years, vet learns of brother's death in Nazi slave camp". CNN. 2008-11-20. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
  3. "New photo: Nazis dig up mass grave of U.S. soldiers". CNN. 2009-04-24. Retrieved 2009-04-24. Berga an der Elster was a slave labor camp where 350 U.S. soldiers were beaten, starved, and forced to work in tunnels for the German government. The soldiers were singled out for "looking like Jews", for "sounding like Jews", for having names that "sounded Jewish", or they were dubbed undesirables, according to survivors. More than 100 soldiers perished at the camp or on a forced death march.
  4. Reich, Walter (2005-05-01). "Yanks in the Holocaust". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
  5. Hitler's G.I. Death Camp (television documentary). National Geographic. 2012.

Further reading
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