UNVEILING OF THE RESTORED GATE OF THE FORMER EBENSEE CONCENTRATION CAMP
Ebensee Memorial
During the ceremony, several speakers emphasised the importance of preserving cultural heritage, which includes the remnants of the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp system. Deputy Mayor Hermann Neuböck, representing the municipality of Ebensee; Stephan Matyus (the Mauthausen Memorial); Provincial Councillor Christian Dörfel, PhD (Province of Upper Austria); Christoph Bazil, PhD (President of the Federal Monuments Protection Office); and Hannah Lessing (National Fund of the Republic of Austria) all highlighted the significance of maintaining these relics as material evidence of a tragic era in history.
Pupils from the HAK in Bad Ischl read excerpts from the accounts of survivors of the Ebensee concentration camp. The musical accompaniment for the event was provided by instrumentalists from the State Music School in Ebensee, who played throughout the ceremony, culminating in the laying of white roses next to the camp gate.
The gate had been exposed to the elements for nearly 20 years, as it was displayed under a roof at the entrance to the memorial tunnel in Ebensee, leading to considerable damage. In 2023, the gate was dismantled and urgently restored by Christine Rotter.
Since November 2025, the newly restored gate has been displayed in
a transparent protective structure designed by architect Bernhard Denninger, which is located in the entrance area of the victims' cemetery. This structure, along with the KL Memorial's visitor centre, will create an educational link for visitors. The structure not only protects against weather conditions but also limits excessive temperature fluctuations, ensuring the long-term preservation of the historic wooden gate.
The Ebensee concentration camp operated from November 1943 until its liberation on 6 May 1945, as a subcamp of the Mauthausen-Gusen camp system. The first prisoners arrived in late January 1944 to construct
a barracks camp in a wooded area near the village. Inmates were forced to perform hard labour under challenging conditions, including digging tunnels. In the summer of 1944, following the high mortality rate among the prisoners, a crematorium was built within the camp.
In total, just over 27,000 people were imprisoned in Ebensee, and more than 8,000 lost their lives there. The camp held prisoners from over 20 different nationalities, with the largest groups being Poles, Russians, Hungarians, French, Germans, Italians, Yugoslavs, Greeks, and Czechs. Additionally, Jews deported from various countries made up approximately 30% of the prisoners. Today, only remnants of the former concentration camp remain, scattered in several locations.
On 25 November, the newly restored camp gate was unveiled for the first time within a special protective structure in front of the cemetery for victims of the German concentration camp in Ebensee.
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