During
World War II, a slave
labor camp called "Berga an der Elster" was operated here to dig 17 tunnels for an underground ammunition factory. Workers were supplied by
Buchenwald concentration camp and from a
POW camp,
Stalag IX-B; the latter contravened the provisions of the
Third Geneva Convention and the
Hague Treaties. Many prisoners died as a result of
malnutrition, sickness (including pulmonary disease due to dust inhalation from tunnelling with explosives), and beatings, including 73 American POWs. == Personalities ==