Stairs of Death
A Soviet honor guard stands before the Todesstiege, “Stairs of Death.” MauthausenMauthausen: the main concentration camp for Austria located near an abandoned stone quarry.
It was created shortly after the Anschluss of Austria in March 1938 to handle criminal and “asocial elements.” It later became a penal camp and was known for its harsh treatment of prisoners. Inmates were forced as punishment to carry heavy stone blocks up 186 steps from the camp quarry. This stairway became known as the “Stairway of Death.” Mauthausen had over 60 sub-camps. Source: Encyclopedia of the Holocaust. was designated a category III or penal camp. Inmates in punishment details were forced to carry heavy stone blocks up the 186 steps leading from the camp quarry. Mauthausen was located 12.5 miles southeast of Linz near an abandoned stone quarry on the Danube River in Upper Austria.
Photo Credit: National Archives, courtesy USHMM
