A survivor Jew of the Mauthausen camp, who almost starved to death, receiving food from an Austrian nurse. October 1945

A survivor Jew of the Mauthausen camp, who almost starved to death, receiving food from an Austrian nurse. October 1945

A photograph of a French Jewish boy who survived the death camp of Mauthausen, who almost starved to death, receiving food from an Austrian nurse at the temporary American hospital in Wels, Upper Austria (not far from the camp itself). The survivor is part of a group of French Jewish prisoners who were transferred back to France on an Allied-led train. 10/7/1945.

Mauthausen-Gusen was one of the most cruel and harsh camps. The conditions in the camp were considered particularly difficult, even compared to the usual standards of concentration camps. The prisoners suffered not only from malnutrition, overcrowding in the huts, constant abuse and harassment by the guards and the kapos, but also from exceptionally hard work. Food rations were limited, and in the period 1940-1942 the average prisoner weighed 40 kg. It is estimated that the average energy content of food rations decreased from about 1,750 calories per day during the period 1940-1942 to a range of between 1,150 and 1,460 calories in the subsequent period. In 1945 the energy content was even lower and did not exceed 600 to 1,000 calories per day, which is less than a third of what is required by the average heavy industry worker. The result was the starvation of thousands of prisoners. Hans Marshalk estimated the average life expectancy of new prisoners coming to Gozen. 6 months from 1940 to 1942, and less than three months in early 1945.

Survivors of the camp who were found there after his release by the U.S. military were extremely body-shattering and horrific, so much so that it was reported about the post-trauma experienced by the U.S. soldiers themselves who were exposed to the harsh sights.

Size: 24x19 cm. Slight crack in the top left corner. Good condition.