The camp mostly held mostly female prisoners of various nationalities, including French, Dutch and Czech, most of whom worked as slave labour in the nearby MWH (Metal Werke Holleischen munitions factory complex). The prisoners who were held at Holleischen gave varying testimonies post war. Some, who like many thousands of other concentration camp prisoners had endured more than one camp during the Third Reich period, stated that the treatment at Holleischen was better than at any of the other camps during their incarceration, although it must be remembered that conditions were still deplorable. Prisoners accounts also vary regarding the staff at KZ Holleischen. Some reports stated that more than a hundred SS guards were captured when the camp was liberated, whilst others claim that most of the staff were Wehrmacht men and women. Estimates state approximately 5,000 prisoners were at the camp during the war. Dora Lange was the head female guard or, Aufseherin.

During February 1945, a transport of 500 women arrived at Holleischen from a camp near Nuremberg after it was destroyed by aliied bombers. Half of the prisoners were of Jewish origin, the remainder being political prisoners. They were divided into separate barracks, with Jews being kept in a different barrack to the rest. The women slept two to a bunk, without mattresses.

The camp was finally liberated on May 5th 1945 by US troops, who freed approximately 700 women. A few days earlier, partizans had overheard a transmitter message stating that drunken Wehrmacht officers in a Holyšov bar had been overheard telling the barman that the camp was to be burnt down the following day at 12.30pm. On hearing this information, the partizans rushed to the area, and surprised the guards who reportedly hid in their rooms. One officer was arrested whilst attempting to change into civilian clothes, whilst another was shot whilst trying to make his escape on a motorbike. Many cans of fuel were found outside and around the locked barracks in preparation for the mass slaughter that was averted by the partizans. The prisoners were invited to join the partizans if they so wished, and indeed many did, although several hours later, the Jewish women who had left returned. The partizans had informed them that no Jews were welcome amongst them.

The factory complex was large, and grand enough to even command the introduction of a camp monetary system for the prisoners. The scrip was not discovered until more than 20 years after the liberation of the camp, likely due to the state of the former buildings, which were mostly destroyed during late war air raids, and the misunderstanding of what the tokens actually were used for. The tokens, some of which are shown below, resemble theatre tickets rather than typical camp or ghetto banknotes. No explanation is known for why they were produced in such numerous denominations (seventeen variants from 1Rpf to 5RM). MWH logos adorn not only the paper tokens, but also the metal bottle tokens that enabled prisoners to acquire drinks.

Today, the site of the former camp is not accessible, due to it having recently been bought in a private sale and currently being renovated. Most of the original structures have gone, or are being altered to serve their new purpose. A small row of homes lies before the walls of the former barracks building, which is intact, save for a new roof. Some structures in the surrounding area however are still present, as shown in the images below. Down the road lies the former metalworks facility, which comprised many, many buildings and transportation systems for moving the metal products up from the factory to the other premises located in the nearby woods. Traces of the transportation system used are still to be found in a field not far from the factory area.

Regards,