Wooden case from Special Camp in Sachsenhausen 1948

Wooden case from Special Camp in Sachsenhausen 1948

A special suitcase, made from wood in the Soviet special camp in Sachsenhausen. Reinhard Wolff built it himself during his imprisonment there. 

Reinhard Wolff, born in 1929, was sent to the Soviet special camp in the fall of 1945 as a 16-year-old teenager. He grew up on a farm near Altlandsberg. Although he was drafted into the Wehrmacht, he did not join the military. In autumn 1945, a German auxiliary policeman took him for interrogation by the Soviet occupying forces. He was accused by the secret service of possessing a pistol and belonging to the National Socialist underground organisation "Werwolf".Wolff categorically denied and was initially released. Shortly before Christmas, he was taken from his home again. He was told to take warm clothes and a rucksack with him. He was taken to the Soviet special camp in Sachenhausen, from which he was only released on August 18, 1948. 

In the Soviet special camp in Sachsenhausen, Reinhard Wolff was able to work in the wood workshop. The work not only gave him a little more freedom of movement in the camp and the chance to supplement his meagre diet, but was also a way to combat the monotony of the barracks. He learned how to work with wood in the wood workshop. Reinhard Wolff and two other young prisoners built the first such suitcases for Soviet soldiers in 1947 under the guidance of Karl Wamposchek. Sometimes they received tobacco or sugar in return. When the releases began in 1948, Wolff built himself a suitcase that he was allowed to take with him when he was released. The suitcase was especially cherished by his mother. She used it to store files and papers.

Reinhard Wolff later became a specialist teacher for automotive engineering at a vocational school. He has worked with the memorial as a contemporary witness for many years. 2014 to 2023 he has been a member of the advisory board of the Brandenburg Memorials Foundation.

At the end of 2021, Reinhard Wolff donated the suitcase to the collection of the Sachsenhausen Memorial and Museum.