Standing cell

A standing cell is a special cell constructed so as to prevent the prisoner from doing anything but stand. The Stehbunker was used in Nazi concentration camps during the Third Reich, as a punishment. Standing cells (called kishkas) were also used during Joseph Stalin's purges in Soviet Union. Some standing cells were large enough for only one person, others held as many as four people. Punishment in standing cells was ordered for asking for two portions of soup, picking apples, or accidental breakages.

The Armenian hosiery-manufacturer and musician Samuel Hovannes Zorian was arrested in 1895 by Ottoman authorities for being a political activist. He was beaten and incarcerated in a so-called "police room", measuring barely two feet square in size and with no windows. On the second day, he was dragged out and beaten almost senseless with sticks. Zorian was then sent back to the "police room" where he was confined for a further week and was only sustained on a diet of bread and water, with no medical attention given to him during that period.

SA camp kommandant Werner Schäfer had two cells built in the basement of the Oranienburg concentration camp in 1933. The dimensions of the cell were such that a person could only stand. A prisoner surnamed Neumann was held there for 192 hours and was allegedly driven mad as a result of his confinement. At times, prisoners were held in small coffin-sized closets in which they could only stand.

The number of prisoners in Dachau concentration camp increased dramatically in the last years of the Second World War. The concentration camp was overcrowded. In late 1944, the camp command erected standing cells. The stone chambers were similar to chimneys and measured 75 x 80 cm (29.5 x 31.5 inches). There was a small hatch on top for air, and a narrow door with an iron bar bolted to the cell. The intensified punitive measure saved room and reinforced the punitive agony. There were also standing cells at the Allach subcamp, where the cells were smaller than at Dachau. Some at other camps were bigger, about 90 x 90 cm (35.5 x 35.5 inches).

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