Resistance - Death - Survival. The Archaeological Excavations of the Gusen Concentration Camp

The finds from the area of the Gusen concentration camp, in particular the objects from the Late Bronze Age cemetery at Gusen, constitute a collection that in many respects is significant for the Prehistoric Department of the Natural History Museum Vienna. The collection of finds is undoubtedly a culturally and historically valuable asset that illustrates the importance of the region, especially in the late Bronze Age. However, the finds are also inextricably linked to the history of their discovery, which is briefly outlined here. These objects were part of a museum that was set up in the Gusen concentration camp. A group of approximately 10 to 12 detainees, who were part of two special forced labour commandos, had excavated, cleaned, partially restored and then stored the finds in the museum under the direction of Herta Orel (later Hertha Ladenbauer-Orel) and Josef Vockenhuber in accordance with the archaeological standards of the time. Gusen shows that the detainees were constantly exposed to the arbitrariness of the camp administration, whether they had to perform forced labour on the excavations, in the quarries or in the armaments industry.