Ebensee
Site · Austria
Original archive entry. The text, images and links below are kept as they were written.
Site of planned underground construction and launch direct from factory of V-2 and A9/A10 ballistic missiles. Tunnel excavation began in November 1943 but use for rocket production was dropped in July 1944. By the time the site was liberated on 5 May 1945 20,000 inmates had been worked and starved to death.
On 17 August 1943 Peenemuende was massively bombed. In the following weeks raids were also made (coincidentally) against all of the other planned production sites. The Germans erroneously concluded that their V-2 production infrastructure had been compromised. They decided to move final assembly of the V-2 to underground facilities at Nordhausen (Mittelwerk) and Ebensee (Projekt Zement). It was also planned to build and launch the A9/A10 intercontinental rocket from Ebensee.
The tunnels for Ebensee were excavated by prisoners from the Mauthausen concentration camp. Hitler ordered work to stop on the V-2 at Ebensee in July 1944. However excavation continued to support shelter of other war industries from Allied bombing.
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