THE NEW KITCHEN BUILDING
HAS BEEN INCORPORATED
INTO THE STUTTHOF MEMORIAL
The history of the New Kitchen building begins with the German decision to transform the Stutthof camp into a concentration camp. Expansion plans envisaged the erection of a camp kitchen building that could cater for over 100,000 prisoners. Work began in mid-1943 and was concluded in 1944. A vast assembly area was to extend right in front of the New Kitchen building.
Despite the completion of the construction work, the New Kitchen never served its initially intended purpose. The building served as a storehouse, and from August 1944, it was also utilised as temporary accommodation for arriving Jewish transports, primarily women.
Following the end of the II World War and the creation of the Stutthof Museum in Stutthof, the facility was not incorporated into it, nor were the halls of the German Armaments Works (DAW), the kennel building and the commandant's villa, among others. It was used by the Municipality of Sztutowo. We have witnessed its degradation in recent years.
The museum faces the daunting task of incorporating such a significant building, often recalled by ex-prisoners of the Stutthof concentration camp, into the museum complex. The new Kitchen must be protected from further degradation, a measure to which the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage has pledged support.
The museum intends to use the building for educational, scientific and exhibition purposes in the future. We believe that in the future, we will also take possession of other buildings that were part of the German Nazi concentration camp Stutthof.
The Stutthof Museum has concluded the acquisition of the New Kitchen building in Stutthof. It is one of the infrastructure facilities of the German Nazi concentration camp Stutthof that remained outside the premises of the Museum after its establishment. A deed to this effect was signed on 20 March.
Stutthof Memorial