THIL (“ERZ”) [aka ARBEITSKOMMANDO LONGWY-DEUTSCHOTH, LONGWY-THIL, LONGWY-THIL-AUDUN-LE-TICHE]

The Thil subcamp of the Natzweiler concentration camp was located outside the small town of Thil in a narrow valley close to the Luxembourg border in the Département Meurtheet-Moselle in the northeastern part of France that Germany annexed in 1940 under the name of Lothringen. The camp was established on June 15, 1944, on the initiative of Volkswagen chief executive officer (CEO) Ferdinand Porsche after agreements with Heinrich Himmler and the Fighter Staff (Jägerstab). It was a subcamp of the Natzweiler main camp under the SS-Business Administration Main Office (WVHA). The Thil concentration camp is mentioned in contemporary sources under various names: Arbeitskommando Longwy-Deutschoth, Longwy-Thil, Longwy-Thil-Audun-le-Tiche, and Erz (after the project code name). The camp was evacuated in early September 1944, when Allied forces approached, and the prisoners were transported to other concentration camps. Thil was a slave labor camp with the main purpose of providing manpower for...