The camp was composed of 8 barracks for the inmates and a huge building for the SS. It was called the "Old Camp". In 1942, the SS began construction of the "New Camp", 30 barracks were added. In 1943, the Nazi's added a crematory and a gas chamber. The gas chamber had a maximum capacity of 150 people at one time. When the SS had too many people to execute, they also used wagons as gas chambers. Between Sept. 2, 1939 and May 10, 1945, 127,000 prisoners were registered upon arrival in the camp. The lowest estimate of the victoms killed here is 85,000. The real number is certainly much higher, the inmates who were selected for immediate execution at their arrival were not registered.
The Commander of the camp was SS officer Max Pauli. After the war he was tried by the Allied Tribunal and sentenced to death. The security officer at the camp was SS Captain Werner Hoppe. Despite evidence of his participation in hundreds of murders, the court only sentenced him to 9 years in prison.
One of the worst crimes commited by the Nazi's was at Stuttof. Professor Rudolf Spanner, an SS officer and "scientist", was owner of a small soap factory located in Danzig. In 1940, he invented a process to produce soap from human fat. This "product" was called R.J.S. - "Rheins Judische Fett" - which means "Pure Jewish Fat". Hundreds of inmates were executed for the "production" of soap. Rudolf Spanner was very proud of his invention. Following testimonies of some survivors, he used to spend hours and hours just admiring his "invention." At the liberation, the Allies discovered chambers full of corpses used for the production of soap. After the war, Rudolf Spanner was not arrested and continued his "researches".
