Camp memories are widely shaped by the recollections of so called “political prisoners”. Also racially persecuted people like Jews and – in much lesser extent – so called “Gypsies” bear testimony about their camp life. Former “asocial” inmates nearly never talked about their time in National Socialist concentration camps, as the stigmatisation and incarceration as “being asocial” was loaded with shame also in the post-war-period.

This paper presents newly explored autobiographical testimonies of former “asocial” Mauthausen inmates, who recall their experiences in the camp. Contrasting these recollections with reports from other Mauthausen inmates, the position of “asocial” prisoners in the hierarchical camp society will be discussed and its consequences on surviving conditions in the camp as well as on the living conditions after liberation.

Program
Organisation: International Institute of Social History (IISH)

LBIDH Project: „Criminal“ und „asocial“ Prisoners in the Camp Society of the Mauthausen Concentration Camp
LBIDH Team: Alexander Prenninger