2 . Remains of the formation square and former command center of Gusen , known as “ Jourhaus ,” 1955 | Photo : Mauthausen Memorial , Simone Bonnet Collection former camp and its facilities had been destroyed through looting or the sale of barracks and construction materials . In the autumn of 1947 , the Soviets attempted to disable the “ Bergkristall ” tunnel system through explosions .
After the withdrawal of the Soviets from Austrian territory in 1955 , most of the former camp became property of the Republic of Austria . Some lots were returned to their former owners , but most of the properties of the former Gusen I and II camps were parcelled out and sold as building land . Residential developments were literally built over the foundations of the former camps and still exist today .
Some original buildings from the camps have been preserved to this day . These include the main entrance building and the commandant ’ s office , known as “ Jourhaus ”; the prisoners ’ brothel building ; two two-story brick buildings for prisoners ; two barracks used by the SS for administrative purposes and the stone crusher , which was one of the largest in Europe at the time and was built with slave labour from Spanish prisoners , among others . After 1955 , all these buildings became privately owned and were used as private residences or for commercial and industrial purposes .
The quarries of the Gusen concentration camp continued to be used for industrial purposes in the decades following 1955 . Meanwhile , the victims ’ cemetery established immediately after liberation by the Americans was abandoned by the late 1950s , and the remains of the deceased were exhumed .
The only tangible and recognisable remnant of the concentration camp was the old crematorium oven amidst the new residential area . For local and national authorities , it represented a nuisance . The transfer of the oven from its original location could only be prevented thanks to the intervention of international survivor organisations . In the 1960s , they purchased the land on which the remnants of the oven were located and
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Observing Memories Issue 8