The camp memorial's estimated figure of , women who were in the camp during the war includes about 48, from Poland , 28, from the Soviet Union , almost 24, from Germany and Austria , nearly 8, from France , almost 2, from Belgium , and thousands from other countries including a few from the United Kingdom and the United States.
More than 20, 15 percent of the total were Jewish [ 4 ] More than 80 percent were political prisoners. In the spring of , the SS established a small adjacent camp for male inmates, who built and managed the camp's gas chambers in January Construction of the camp began in November by the order of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler and was unusual in that it was intended exclusively to hold female inmates.
Eight months after the start of World War II the camp's maximum capacity was already exceeded. It underwent major expansion following the invasion of Poland. By the summer of with the launch of Operation Barbarossa , an estimated total of 5, women were imprisoned, who were fed gradually decreasing hunger rations.
Although the inmates came from every country in German-occupied Europe, the largest single national group in the camp were Polish. In the spring of , the SS authorities established a small men's camp adjacent to the main camp. The male inmates built and managed the gas chambers for the camp in There were children in the camp as well. At first, they arrived with mothers who were Romani or Jews incarcerated in the camp or were born to imprisoned women.
Later the children in the camp represented almost all nations of Europe occupied by Germany. Between April and October , their number increased considerably, consisting of two groups.
