Berga, Thuringia

Berga/Elster is a former town in the district of Greiz, in Thuringia, Germany. On 1 January 2024 it became part of the town Berga-Wünschendorf. It is situated on the White Elster river, 14 km southeast of Gera.

History
Within the German Empire (1871–1918), Berga/Elster was part of the Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.

Berga concentration camp
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

 * Hans Bastian I. von Zehmen (1598–1638), Saxon colonel of the Leibregiment, commander of Magdeburg
 * Gerhard Schot (1866–1961), geographer and oceanographer, born in the district of Tschirma