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Mauthausen operated as a concentration camp from August 1938 until its liberation in May 1945 by the United States Army.
Answer: True
Explanation: The Mauthausen main camp was operational from August 8, 1938, until its liberation by the United States Army between May 3 and May 6, 1945.
The Mauthausen main camp was initially built by prisoners transferred from the Dachau concentration camp.
Answer: True
Explanation: The construction of the Mauthausen main camp began in August 1938 with prisoners transferred from the Dachau concentration camp.
When did the Mauthausen main camp begin its operations?
Answer: August 8, 1938
Explanation: The Mauthausen main camp commenced operations on August 8, 1938.
Which army liberated the Mauthausen concentration camp?
Answer: The United States Army
Explanation: The United States Army liberated the Mauthausen concentration camp in May 1945.
What was the initial purpose of prisoners sent to build the Mauthausen camp?
Answer: To create slave labor facilities for quarrying and construction.
Explanation: Prisoners were initially sent to build the Mauthausen camp to establish slave labor facilities, primarily for quarrying and construction purposes.
The Mauthausen concentration camp was situated on a hill above the town of Mauthausen in Lower Austria.
Answer: True
Explanation: The Mauthausen concentration camp was indeed located on a hill overlooking the town of Mauthausen in Lower Austria.
The Mauthausen complex consisted of only the main camp and a few smaller subcamps.
Answer: False
Explanation: The Mauthausen complex was extensive, comprising the main camp and nearly 100 additional subcamps spread across Austria and southern Germany.
The Gusen concentration camps were entirely separate from the Mauthausen camp complex.
Answer: False
Explanation: The Gusen concentration camps (Gusen I, II, and III) were an integral part of the Mauthausen-Gusen camp complex, often housing a significant portion of the total inmate population.
Gusen I became operational in May 1940 and often housed more prisoners than the Mauthausen main camp.
Answer: True
Explanation: Gusen I became operational in May 1940, and at various times, its prisoner population exceeded that of the Mauthausen main camp.
Gusen II was established in the early 1930s, converting an existing industrial complex.
Answer: False
Explanation: Gusen II was established in March 1944, not the early 1930s, by converting a former SS depot.
By the end of the war, the Mauthausen subcamp system extended across most of modern Germany.
Answer: False
Explanation: The Mauthausen subcamp system extended across most of modern Austria, not Germany, with some camps reaching the borders of Yugoslavia and Germany.
Mauthausen's subcamps were categorized solely based on their function in quarrying stone.
Answer: False
Explanation: Subcamps were categorized by various functions, including factory work ('Produktionslager'), construction ('Baulager'), rubble clearing ('Aufräumlager'), and specific SS tasks ('Kleinlager'), not solely quarrying.
By the war's end, the Mauthausen subcamp system included 49 major subcamps and a total of 101 associated camps.
Answer: True
Explanation: By the conclusion of the war, the Mauthausen subcamp network had expanded to encompass 49 major subcamps and an additional 101 associated smaller camps.
How many subcamps were part of the Mauthausen complex by the end of the war?
Answer: Nearly 100
Explanation: By the end of World War II, the Mauthausen complex had grown to include nearly 100 subcamps.
Approximately 190,000 inmates passed through the Mauthausen camp complex during its operational period.
Answer: True
Explanation: Historical records indicate that approximately 190,000 individuals were held within the Mauthausen camp complex throughout its existence.
In its early years, Mauthausen primarily imprisoned political dissidents and Jehovah's Witnesses.
Answer: True
Explanation: Until early 1940, the primary inmate groups at Mauthausen included German, Austrian, and Czechoslovak socialists, communists, homosexuals, anarchists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and others persecuted for political or ideological reasons.
Large numbers of Spanish Republicans and Soviet POWs were transferred to Mauthausen starting in 1944.
Answer: False
Explanation: While Spanish Republicans and Soviet POWs were indeed transferred to Mauthausen, significant numbers arrived earlier than 1944. For instance, large groups of Spanish Republicans arrived in 1940.
Gusen II was known by the Germans as an 'Extermination camp for the Polish intelligentsia'.
Answer: True
Explanation: Gusen II was designated by the Germans as 'Vernichtungslager für die polnische Intelligenz,' translating to 'Extermination camp for the Polish intelligentsia,' reflecting its specific targeting of educated Poles.
What was the designation given by the Germans to Gusen II, reflecting its purpose?
Answer: Extermination camp for the Polish intelligentsia
Explanation: Gusen II was referred to by the Germans as 'Vernichtungslager für die polnische Intelligenz,' meaning 'Extermination camp for the Polish intelligentsia'.
Which of the following groups were among the primary inmates at Mauthausen in its early years (until early 1940)?
Answer: German, Austrian, and Czechoslovak socialists, communists, and homosexuals.
Explanation: In its initial phase, Mauthausen primarily imprisoned political opponents, including socialists and communists from Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia, along with homosexuals and other targeted groups.
Prisoners at Mauthausen were primarily engaged in agricultural work.
Answer: False
Explanation: Prisoners were predominantly forced into slave labor involving quarrying stone, manufacturing munitions, and other industrial activities, rather than agricultural work.
The granite from the Wiener-Graben quarry was selected for its poor quality, making it unsuitable for large construction projects.
Answer: False
Explanation: The granite from the Wiener-Graben quarry was valued for its quality and was intended for use in major Nazi architectural projects, such as rebuilding German towns.
The production output and profits from Mauthausen surpassed those of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Answer: True
Explanation: The Mauthausen complex generated production output and profits that exceeded those of other major slave labor centers, including Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Underground factories at Gusen were built to protect prisoners from Allied bombing.
Answer: True
Explanation: Underground factories, such as those for Messerschmitt aircraft assembly, were constructed in Gusen to shield production facilities from Allied aerial bombardment.
In 1944, Mauthausen and its subcamps generated profits equivalent to approximately 86.7 million Euros in 2021.
Answer: True
Explanation: In 1944 alone, the Mauthausen camp complex generated profits exceeding 11 million Reichsmarks, which is equivalent to approximately 86.7 million Euros in 2021.
Companies like Bayer and Messerschmitt utilized slave labor exclusively from the Mauthausen main camp.
Answer: False
Explanation: Companies such as Bayer and Messerschmitt utilized slave labor from various parts of the Mauthausen complex, including its numerous subcamps, not exclusively the main camp.
The Wiener Graben quarry's granite was intended for rebuilding German towns according to Nazi architectural plans.
Answer: True
Explanation: The granite extracted from the Wiener Graben quarry was designated for use in the construction and rebuilding of German towns as envisioned by Nazi architectural designs.
What was Mauthausen primarily known as within the Nazi concentration camp system?
Answer: A labor camp complex focused on quarrying and manufacturing.
Explanation: Mauthausen was primarily recognized as a labor camp complex, heavily involved in quarrying stone and manufacturing various goods for the Nazi war effort.
What was the significance of the Wiener-Graben quarry to the Mauthausen site selection?
Answer: Its granite was planned for use in rebuilding German towns.
Explanation: The Wiener-Graben quarry was significant because its granite was intended for use in large-scale Nazi architectural projects, including the rebuilding of German towns.
Which of the following was NOT a type of labor prisoners were forced to perform at Mauthausen?
Answer: Cultivating crops for food supply
Explanation: While prisoners engaged in quarrying, manufacturing, and assembling aircraft, large-scale agricultural work was not a primary forced labor activity at Mauthausen.
What was the purpose of the underground factories constructed at Gusen?
Answer: To protect production facilities from Allied bombing.
Explanation: The underground factories at Gusen were constructed to safeguard war production facilities, such as those for Messerschmitt aircraft, from Allied aerial attacks.
How did the Mauthausen camp complex compare economically to other Nazi slave labor centers?
Answer: Its production output and profits surpassed those of centers like Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Explanation: Economically, the Mauthausen camp complex was highly productive, with its output and profits exceeding those of many other major Nazi slave labor centers, including Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Which of the following companies utilized slave labor from Mauthausen and its subcamps for manufacturing?
Answer: Accumulatoren-Fabrik AFA, Bayer, and Eisenwerke Oberdonau
Explanation: Companies such as Accumulatoren-Fabrik AFA, Bayer, and Eisenwerke Oberdonau, among others, utilized slave labor from the Mauthausen complex for their manufacturing operations.
What was the approximate profit generated by Mauthausen and its subcamps in 1944?
Answer: Both 11 million Reichsmarks and approximately 86.7 million Euros
Explanation: In 1944, Mauthausen and its subcamps generated profits of over 11 million Reichsmarks, equivalent to approximately 86.7 million Euros in 2021.
Conditions at Mauthausen were generally considered less severe than those at most other Nazi concentration camps.
Answer: False
Explanation: Evidence suggests that conditions at Mauthausen were exceptionally brutal, often considered more severe than those in many other Nazi concentration camps, contributing to a high mortality rate.
Mauthausen was one of the few Nazi camps in the West to regularly use a gas chamber, starting from 1940.
Answer: True
Explanation: Mauthausen was among the few Nazi concentration camps in Western Europe to employ a gas chamber for systematic extermination, with its use beginning around 1940.
Prisoner treatment at Mauthausen was uniform across all inmates, regardless of category or nationality.
Answer: False
Explanation: Prisoner treatment varied significantly based on their assigned category, nationality, and role within the camp hierarchy, with 'kapos' often receiving preferential treatment.
The 'Stairs of Death' involved prisoners carrying granite blocks up 186 steps.
Answer: True
Explanation: The 'Stairs of Death' refers to the arduous task where prisoners were forced to carry heavy granite blocks up a flight of 186 steps from the quarry.
Daily food rations provided sufficient calories for inmates to maintain good health.
Answer: False
Explanation: Daily food rations were severely limited, often falling to as low as 600-1,000 calories by 1945, which was insufficient for maintaining health and led to widespread starvation.
Extermination methods at Mauthausen included starvation, beatings, hangings, and drowning in water barrels.
Answer: True
Explanation: Beyond the gas chambers, prisoners were systematically killed through starvation, severe beatings, hangings, and drowning, particularly at Gusen II.
Pseudo-scientific experiments were conducted by doctors like 'Doctor Death' Aribert Heim at Mauthausen.
Answer: True
Explanation: Doctors such as Aribert Heim, known as 'Doctor Death,' conducted unethical and pseudo-scientific experiments on prisoners at Mauthausen and its subcamps.
The average life expectancy for new prisoners at Gusen was estimated to be over a year by early 1945.
Answer: False
Explanation: By early 1945, the average life expectancy for new prisoners at Gusen had drastically decreased, estimated to be less than three months due to worsening conditions.
The 'Mühlviertler Hasenjagd' involved SS guards hunting down escaped prisoners in February 1945.
Answer: True
Explanation: The 'Mühlviertler Hasenjagd' (Hare Hunt) was a brutal Nazi war crime in February 1945 where SS guards and others hunted and murdered approximately 500 escaped prisoners.
The 'Appellplatz' was the designated area for prisoners to receive their daily food rations.
Answer: False
Explanation: The 'Appellplatz' served as the roll call area for assemblies, inspections, and punishments, not for the distribution of daily food rations.
The 'Zeltlager' (tent camp) was designed to house approximately 800 prisoners but often held around 2,000.
Answer: True
Explanation: The 'Zeltlager' (tent camp) near Mauthausen was severely overcrowded, designed for about 800 prisoners but frequently housing around 2,000, leading to dire conditions.
What was the approximate number of fatalities within the Mauthausen camp complex?
Answer: Over 90,000
Explanation: Tragically, more than 90,000 of the approximately 190,000 inmates who passed through the Mauthausen camp complex died.
Which of the following was a method of extermination used at Mauthausen besides the gas chambers?
Answer: All of the above
Explanation: Mauthausen employed multiple methods of extermination, including forced starvation, lethal medical experiments, and drowning, in addition to the use of gas chambers.
What was the 'Stairs of Death' at Mauthausen?
Answer: 186 steps where prisoners carried heavy granite blocks.
Explanation: The 'Stairs of Death' were a set of 186 steps where prisoners were forced to carry heavy granite blocks, often leading to exhaustion and death.
How did the daily calorie intake for inmates change over time at Mauthausen?
Answer: It decreased from about 1,750 calories to as low as 600-1,000 calories by 1945.
Explanation: Daily calorie intake for inmates at Mauthausen decreased significantly over time, dropping from approximately 1,750 calories in the early years to as low as 600-1,000 calories by 1945.
What was the 'Mühlviertler Hasenjagd'?
Answer: A Nazi war crime where escaped prisoners were hunted and murdered.
Explanation: The 'Mühlviertler Hasenjagd' was a brutal event in February 1945 where SS guards and civilians hunted and killed approximately 500 escaped prisoners.
What was the 'Appellplatz' at Mauthausen used for?
Answer: Roll calls, inspections, and public punishments.
Explanation: The 'Appellplatz' served as the central area for roll calls, inspections, and the administration of public punishments for prisoners at Mauthausen.
The DEST company, led by SS official Oswald Pohl, was responsible for founding the Mauthausen camp.
Answer: True
Explanation: The DEST (Deutsche Erd- und Steinwerke GmbH) company, under the leadership of SS official Oswald Pohl, was indeed responsible for the establishment and operation of the Mauthausen camp.
Albert Sauer was the sole commandant of Mauthausen throughout its entire operational period.
Answer: False
Explanation: Albert Sauer served as commandant from August 1938 to February 1939. Franz Ziereis succeeded him and served as commandant from 1939 until the camp's liberation.
The SS Main Economic and Administrative Office (WVHA) played a role in funding the Mauthausen camp through commercial loans.
Answer: False
Explanation: While the WVHA was instrumental in the camp's operation, funding primarily came from commercial loans by banks and stolen inmate assets, not directly through WVHA commercial loans for the camp's funding.
Which company was founded by SS official Oswald Pohl and established the Mauthausen camp?
Answer: DEST (Deutsche Erd- und Steinwerke GmbH)
Explanation: The DEST (Deutsche Erd- und Steinwerke GmbH) company, led by SS official Oswald Pohl, was founded and responsible for establishing the Mauthausen camp.
Who was the camp commandant of Mauthausen from 1939 until its liberation?
Answer: Franz Ziereis
Explanation: Franz Ziereis served as the commandant of the Mauthausen concentration camp from 1939 until its liberation in 1945.
Which of the following was NOT a funding source mentioned for the Mauthausen camp?
Answer: Direct allocation from the Nazi Party treasury
Explanation: While commercial loans, stolen inmate assets, and the German Red Cross are mentioned as funding sources, direct allocation from the Nazi Party treasury is not specified in the provided information.
Nazi officials destroyed camp files and reassigned prisoner numbers to conceal the exact death toll.
Answer: True
Explanation: In an effort to conceal their crimes, Nazi officials systematically destroyed camp records and reassigned prisoner numbers, making precise death toll calculations difficult.
After liberation, the Mauthausen camp fell within the British sector of occupied Austria.
Answer: False
Explanation: Following liberation by the U.S. Army, Mauthausen fell within the Soviet sector of occupied Austria.
The Mauthausen Museum was officially opened in 1975, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the camp's liberation.
Answer: True
Explanation: The Mauthausen Museum was officially inaugurated on May 3, 1975, which marked the 30th anniversary of the camp's liberation.
The Mauthausen main camp site remained largely intact after the war, allowing it to become a memorial site.
Answer: True
Explanation: Unlike some subcamps that were built over, the main Mauthausen camp site remained largely intact, facilitating its preservation as a memorial and museum.
What happened to parts of the Mauthausen camp after its liberation by the US Army?
Answer: The Soviets used parts as barracks and dismantled factories.
Explanation: After liberation, the Mauthausen camp fell into the Soviet sector, where parts were used as barracks, and underground factories were dismantled for reparations.
How did the Nazi regime attempt to conceal evidence of their crimes at Mauthausen?
Answer: By destroying camp files and reassigning prisoner numbers.
Explanation: Nazi officials attempted to conceal evidence by destroying camp files and reassigning prisoner numbers to obscure the true scale of their atrocities.
The 'Mauthausen Trilogy' is a collection of poems written by survivor Iakovos Kambanellis.
Answer: False
Explanation: The 'Mauthausen Trilogy,' also known as 'The Ballad of Mauthausen,' is a cycle of arias composed by Mikis Theodorakis, set to poems by survivor Iakovos Kambanellis.
Spanish photographer Francisco Boix smuggled out negatives that were later used as evidence at the Nuremberg trials.
Answer: True
Explanation: Francisco Boix, a prisoner and photographer, successfully smuggled out approximately 3,000 negatives, which were later presented as evidence during the Nuremberg trials.
Executed agents from the 'Englandspiel' operation were buried at Mauthausen.
Answer: True
Explanation: Some executed agents involved in the 'Englandspiel' counter-intelligence operation were indeed buried at Mauthausen, with memorial plaques marking their resting place.
What is the 'Mauthausen Trilogy'?
Answer: A cycle of arias composed by Mikis Theodorakis based on survivor poems.
Explanation: The 'Mauthausen Trilogy,' also known as 'The Ballad of Mauthausen,' is a musical composition by Mikis Theodorakis, utilizing poems written by Mauthausen survivor Iakovos Kambanellis.
What role did Francisco Boix play in documenting Mauthausen's atrocities?
Answer: He was a prisoner photographer who smuggled out negatives used in trials.
Explanation: Francisco Boix, a prisoner photographer, documented atrocities by smuggling out negatives, which were later used as crucial evidence in post-war trials.