Esterwegen

Esterwegen is a municipality in the Emsland district, in Lower Saxony, Germany.

Esterwegen
Coat of arms
Location of Esterwegen within Emsland district
Esterwegen Esterwegen
Coordinates: 52°59′31″N 7°38′1″E
Country	Germany
State	Lower Saxony
District	Emsland
Municipal assoc.	Nordhümmling
Government
• Mayor	Hermann Willenborg
Area
• Total	49.53 km^2 (19.12 sq mi)
Elevation	13 m (43 ft)
Population  (2019-12-31)[1]
• Total	5,429
• Density	110/km^2 (280/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	26897
Dialling codes	0 59 55
Vehicle registration	EL
Website	www.esterwegen.de

Geography

Esterwegen lies in northwest Germany, less than 30 kilometres (19 mi) from the Dutch border and about 40 kilometres (25 mi) from the sea.

Demographics

In 2015 the population was 5,280.

Government

The mayor is Hermann Willenborg.

Concentration camp

In 1933 a concentration camp was established in Esterwegen.[2] In 1936 the camp was dissolved and used till 1945 as a prisoner camp, for political prisoners and later for prisoners of the decree Nacht und Nebel.

Inmates at Esterwegen.

Notable inmates

• Julius Leber, politician
• Carl von Ossietzky, journalist and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
• Georg Diederichs, later Minister-President of Lower Saxony
• Karl Germer, Outer Head of the Order (OHO) of Ordo Templi Orientis

Notes

1. Landesamt für Statistik Niedersachsen, LSN-Online Regionaldatenbank, Tabelle 12411: Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes, Stand 31. Dezember 2019.
2. Official german list Archived April 23, 2009, at the Wayback Machine

External links

• memorial of Camp Esterwegen and the other 14 Emsland camps (in German, English, Dutch, French)
• de:KZ Esterwegen
• homepage of the memorial (in German)
• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum - Concentration Camps, 1933-1939