Lagerhaus G / Warehouse G

Dessauer Ufer, within the Port of Hamburg, is the site of Warehouse G. Built in 1903 partially over the water, the building was initially used to store coffee and, later, tobacco. During World War II, it became a subcamp of the Neuengamme concentration camp. Thousands of forced labourers were housed here. Now part of Hamburg's urban planning, it is fraught with complicated ownership status and conflicts of interest. Director Markus Fiedler explores of the building's history, as well as its significance today. He meets with Edith Kraus and Livia Fränkel, who, as young Jewish prisoners at the Auschwitz concentration camp were classified “fit for work” and transferred to Dessauer Ufer. They look back at the invisible history of forced labour there. The film is a reflection on the social and urban significance of places of remembrance, with contributions from Detlef Garbe, the former director of the Neuengamme Concentration Camp Memorial, and Jan Philipp Reemtsma, whose family business used the warehouse for a long time.