Dulag 121 camp in Pruszków ( 121 Pruszków) was a Nazi transit camp where civilian population from Warsaw and surrounding areas, expelled from their homes during and after the Warsaw Uprising, was gathered.
The camp was established on 6 August 1944, on the premises of the former . It operated until mid-December 1944, and in a residual form, until 16 January 1945. During this period, between 390,000 and 410,000 people passed through Dulag 121, among whom tens of thousands were deported to forced labor in the depths of the Reich or sent to concentration camps after a short stay in the camp. Due to diseases, exhaustion, or at the hands of guards, hundreds to several thousand prisoners of Dulag 121 perished. However, over 30,000 people managed to leave the camp thanks to the assistance of the Polish personnel employed there.
Origins The transit camp in Pruszków was established on the sixth day of the Warsaw Uprising (6 August 1944). It was created based on the order of SS-Obergruppenführer Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski (the commander of German forces designated to suppress the uprising), which was agreed upon two days earlier with the administrative authorities of the General Government. The first transport of expelled Warsaw residents arrived at the camp on 7 August. It included about 5,000 survivors of the Wola massacre who were first gathered in the church of St. Adalbert and then driven on foot to Pruszków.
The establishment of the Pruszków camp was associated with a change in German plans regarding the fate of the inhabitants of the rebellious Warsaw. On the evening of 5 August 1944, Bach partially revoked Hitler's order from 1 August, which commanded the total extermination of the city's inhabitants regardless of age or sex. Bach prohibited his units from killing women and children but maintained the order to eliminate all Polish men, both captured insurgents and civilians. This decision was not so much motivated by humanitarian concerns as by pragmatic calculation. Bach quickly realized that mass murders only increased the Poles' will to resist, and German soldiers engaged in killings, rape, and looting were unable to conduct offensive actions against the insurgents. Moreover, from the very beginning, he intended to suppress the uprising through a combination of political and military factors, fearing that the use of purely coercive measures would prevent him from achieving the main goal – namely, the rapid elimination of the dangerous hotspot behind the Eastern Front, which Warsaw engulfed in rebellion. On 12 August Bach further softened Hitler's order by issuing a prohibition on the killing of Polish civilian men. In addition to the aforementioned reasons, the economic aspect was also taken into account at that time. At this stage of the war, the Third Reich could not afford to waste such a large reservoir of potential labor. Therefore, extermination was replaced by the complete displacement of Warsaw's population. Contrary to official assurances that the aim of the displacement action was solely to ensure the safety of civilians by removing them from the front zone, the Germans were only interested in exploiting refugees as slave labor and plundering and destroying the city itself. According to the new guidelines, Dulag 121 camp in Pruszków was to serve as a transit camp for the displaced population of Warsaw. After a short stay in the camp, people fit for work were to be sent to farms, industrial plants, and camps in the Reich.
Dulag 121 was organized on the premises of the Railway Rolling Stock Repair Works located in the district of Pruszków. Several factors spoke in favor of choosing this location. In autumn 1939 a transit camp for Polish prisoners of war was operational on the premises of the works, with a capacity of 2,000 people at that time. Later (from 20 January 1941), a labor camp for Jews was located there for a while. Thanks to this, in 1944, there were still elements of protective infrastructure (bunkers, guard towers) on the premises that could be adapted for the needs of the new camp. This place was also chosen due to its favorable location – a short distance from the capital and a convenient position on the railway line from Warsaw to Skierniewice, which allowed for efficient "unloading" of the camp. Dulag 121 was organized and supplied by the civilian administration of the General Government, but Bach exercised control over it.
Initially, Dulag 121 operated in conditions of complete improvisation and chaos. The leadership rested in the hands of SA Oberführer Stephan and SA Sturmbannführer August Polland, who proved to be completely incapable of managing the camp and receiving the incoming transports. According to the testimony of a worker from the , Władysław Mazurek, Stephan, unable to efficiently lead the camp, after 2 or 3 days got drunk, beat people, quarreled with Germans, left the camp, and never returned. He was then replaced by Polland, who being almost constantly drunk, walked around the camp with a revolver in his hand, shooting and beating at every opportunity. The situation normalized somewhat only around 10 August, with the arrival of a new crew consisting of Wehrmacht and SS soldiers.
Dulag 121 and its staff The area of the Pruszków camp was 48 hectares. Its infrastructure consisted of nine large production halls and several smaller buildings. The camp was surrounded by a concrete wall with four gates. The German staff were quartered in the "Palace" office building and the former railway school building. The production halls served the following functions:
Hall No. 5 (wagon repair shop) served as a transitional space for the initial selection of the displaced. Additionally, according to some accounts, men considered fit for work were also gathered there. Hall No. 1 (wagon repair shop) – this is where people deemed unfit for work, destined for dispatch to the General Government territories, were placed. Hall No. 2 (technical services unit) – it housed the camp infirmary, sick bay, and a small infectious diseases hospital. A German medical commission also conducted "selection" of the displaced there, assessing their ability to work. Hall No. 3 (blacksmith shop) – railway and tram workers with their families were accommodated there, and later on, men deemed fit for work. Hall No. 4 (machine tool repair shop) – women deemed fit for work were placed there. Hall No. 6 (locomotive shed) – men deemed fit for work were placed there, including individuals considered particularly dangerous by the Germans. Because of this, the hall was heavily guarded. Many people detained in Hall No. 6 were deported to concentration camps, including Mauthausen-Gusen. In September 1944, Hall No. 6 was dismantled, and fit-for-work individuals were subsequently directed to Halls No. 3 and 4. Hall No. 7 (carpentry shop) initially served as a transitional space, and after the capitulation of Mokotów and Żoliborz, captured soldiers of the Home Army were placed there. Hall No. 8 (ventilation unit) – from September 1944, it operated as a hospital where individuals suspected of infectious diseases were placed. Later, the hall served as accommodation for prisoners of war. Hall No. 9 (construction warehouse) – it housed kitchens and warehouses.
The camp commander in Pruszków was Colonel Kurt Sieber, who oversaw a staff of about 100 soldiers from the Wehrmacht. In addition to Germans, the staff also included several dozen Soviet prisoners of war, who were used for cleanup work. Sieber, an "old-fashioned" officer, was characterized by a humane attitude towards the interned Poles in Pruszków. One of his first orders was to prohibit shooting within the camp.
Sieber – formally the commander of Dulag 121 – was practically responsible only for maintaining order in the camp and logistical matters. The fate of the prisoners, however, was decided by his deputies from the SS, namely SS-Sturmbannführer Gustaw Diehl and SS-Untersturmführer Wetke. Both resided in the so-called "green wagon", near which stood two freight cars serving as the camp's prison. Diehl was responsible for the functioning of the camp's counterintelligence, as well as for the selection of newcomers and organizing deportations. It was probably he who decided on the size and destination of each outgoing transport from the camp. In organizing selections and deportations, Diehl was supported by several officials from the Pruszków Labor Office, led by the notorious SA Sturmbannführer August Polland, known for his brutality. Władysław Mazurek recalled that Polland:With special animal satisfaction, tore families apart, and woe to those who, wanting to stay together, betrayed themselves with some imprudent word or behavior in his presence – they had to be torn apart, even if both had the same qualifications, and thus, for example, were suitable for work in the Reich, they did not leave together. For the joy of this executioner was the sight of inflicted pain, harm, tears, and despair. If he couldn't do anything else to a solitary person, he took away their beloved dog, the only companion after the loss of loved ones, a canary, or meager belongings.The chief medical officer of the camp was Stabsarzt Adolf König (from 12 August 1944), while his deputies were Stabsarzt Peter Klenner and – for a short time – Unterarzt Tössman. In November 1944, König left Dulag 121, and he was replaced as chief medical officer by Dr. Herbert Weigel, who held this position until the end of the camp's existence. Transiently, during the period of the greatest influx of people, several German military doctors also worked in the camp. Soviet prisoner-of-war medical personnel cared for individuals diagnosed with tuberculosis or infectious diseases. A small infectious diseases hospital was organized in Hall No. 2, with Dr. Aleksander Anikiejev as its head physician. Additionally, female Polish translators were assigned to assist the German medical personnel. German doctors generally displayed a fairly friendly attitude towards Poles, manifested in "turning a blind eye" to attempts to protect the displaced from deportation to the Reich (under the pretext of illness or disability). However, while German doctors prepared lists of individuals deemed unfit for work, the final decisions regarding release from the camp were always made by SS men from the "green wagon".
Polish staff Dulag 121, unlike other German camps, allowed external Polish medical and kitchen staff to work, who also enjoyed relative freedom. Polish services, distinguished from the crowd by white aprons with red cross bands, operated in the camp and took care of the wounded and sick, who were placed in both local hospitals and private apartments. Many members of the Polish staff were directed to Pruszków by the Polish Underground State. Others were transported to the camp as prisoners but found work, such as Halina Chmielewska, who had been arrested for her role in the Warsaw Uprising but ended up running an outpatient clinic in camp block 1.
The camp kitchen typically employed between 200 and 400 people, with nearly 480 workers at its peak. The kitchen staff was led by Ewa Maria Bogucka. The camp kitchen operated almost continuously, preparing daily between 20,000 and 25,000, occasionally even up to 35,000, half-liter portions of soup. Additionally, in the morning and evening, the kitchen staff tried to distribute food rations to the refugees, consisting of half a liter of grain coffee and 200–250 grams of rye bread. Mobile canteens were also organized on the camp premises (led by engineer Stanisław Zabielski), which provided the refugees with cigarettes, essential items, and additional food rations for purchase. The usefulness of these canteens is evidenced by the fact that during the period from 25 September to 13 October 1944, the canteen turnovers amounted to nearly 500,000 młynarkis.