On 15 January, the Mittelbau concentration camp SS founded a new subcamp in Wickerode, a village in what is now Saxony-Anhalt. There they put 30 Italian prisoners of war to work laying a gas line. The inmates lived in makeshift accommodations, presumably in a restaurant.

One of the Italian POWs was Giovanni dal Grande. He had arrived in Dora back in September 1944 and initially been transferred to the Ellrich-Juliushütte subcamp. During his time there, he had worked for a local resident. In his post-war memoirs, he recalled that the woman’s friendly manner had given him hope, which in turn had saved his life. From Wickerode, dal Grande was transferred back to Dora and in April 1945 put on a clearance transport. He survived and returned to Italy after his liberation.

(Anett Dremel)