Camp Ashcan, WWII Allied prisoner-of-war camp in Luxembourg; overseen by American authorities for interrogation of Nazi suspects, some of whom were transferred to Nuremberg as defendants in the International Military Tribunal and subsequent Nuremberg Trials
Camp Ashcan was a military prisoner-of-war interrogation facility in Mondorf-les-Bains, established in an existing spa hotel during the final months of World War II. The compound was heavily guarded and comprised a hotel converted into a high-security prison with fences, watchtowers, and interrogation facilities.
The facility operated from May to August 1945 under Allied control, holding high-ranking Nazi leaders including Hermann Göring and Karl Dönitz before they were transferred to Nuremberg for trial. After the prisoners departed, the building was eventually demolished in 1988 to make way for a new spa facility.
The site was originally a luxury spa hotel before being converted into a prison complex. This transformation shows how the war reshaped the everyday use of a town's infrastructure, though no physical traces of this change remain visible today.
The site no longer exists as the building was demolished in 1988, but the historical location can be identified in Mondorf-les-Bains through local markers and information. Visitors interested in the history can still find information in town about the former location and the events that took place there.
The camp was so secretive and heavily guarded that soldiers jokingly said you needed a pass signed by "God" to cross the gates. Despite strict security, the prominent inmates managed to write complaint letters to Eisenhower, Churchill, and Truman.
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