Erika concentration camp ( nl, Kamp Erika; german: Arbeitseinsatzlager Erika) was a

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

concentration camp during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The camp was situated at the Besthemerberg near Ommen. The camp was designated mostly for Dutchmen convicted of black market trade or resistance to the occupational authorities; only eight Jews were detained here. The camp was notorious for the brutal behaviour of its personnel, leading Dutch judges to refuse to send convicts there in 1943. The camp was turned into an ''Arbeitserziehungslager'' mostly for those refusing to do forced labour, but in the autumn of 1944 it once again became a penal camp. The camp was liberated on 11 April 1945. Herbertus Bikker also known as The Butcher of Ommen ( nl, De Beul van Ommen) was a member of the Waffen-SS. In this function he served as a guard at the prison and work camp Erika near Ommen. He received his nickname due to his brutal behaviour at the prison camp. From 1945 to 1946, the camp was instead used to detain Dutchmen who had

collaborated Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Most ...

with the German occupiers.Guusta Veldman ''Knackers achter prikkeldraad : kamp Erika bij Ommen, 1941-1945 '' (1993) (in Dutch)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erika Concentration Camp Nazi concentration camps in the Netherlands Kamp Erika Kamp Erika es:Ommen#Campo de concentración Kamp Erika