The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933-1945

At the beginning of 1943, an Armed Forces remand prison was established in Munich (map 4d). It was located at Leonrod Street 51-53 and was part of a large building complex in which several military offices were located, including the headquarters of the Military Commander of Munich (Wehrkreis) VII and two military courts. The location was significant: the central railway station was nearby and enabled a smooth relocation of prisoners.

The rations were very poor. The prisoners were constantly suffering from starvation. In general, convicts were transferred to other detention centers. However, those sentenced to death remained initially in the remand prison. Moreover, condemned soldiers who had been sentenced by other courts to death by the guillotine and were to be executed in Munich were also kept in the remand prison. Death row inmates remained handcuffed day and night. In their cells, there were no cots to sleep on; they had to lie on the bare floor. Those who were sentenced to death by beheading were transferred to the Munich-Stadelheim prison, where the verdict was executed with a guillotine. Furthermore, short imprisonments (six weeks to several months) were executed in the remand prison. [End Page 653]

In August 1944, the remand prison was destroyed by aircraft bombs. Therefore, the prisoners were relocated to the small town of Manching, located about 70 kilometers (44 miles) north of Munich. Manching had a fortress, which was part of the fortress of Ingolstadt dating back to the middle of the nineteenth century. The Munich remand prison was now situated in “Fort VIII” there. The prisoners were accommodated in casemates, serving as mass cells, since 20–30 prisoners were held in one cell. In addition, it was always damp and cold.

In “Fort VIII,” courts-martial also were held. The court of the 467th Division of the Replacement Army was permanently accommodated there. Between August 1944 and April 1945, more than 100 death verdicts were imposed in Manching. In general, the sentences were executed at a Wehrmacht artillery range in a gravel pit located in Ingolstadt’s Auwaldsee. The first execution took place there on August 24, 1944. The last two executions, involving two Wehrmacht soldiers, were conducted on April 21, 1945. Among these casualties, 75 German soldiers (mainly sentenced for desertion, subversion of the war effort, and cowardice), 9 Italians, 2 Russian officers, and 1 Polish forced laborer were counted.