Altenburg was a subcamp of Buchenwald used for forced labor. Beginning in the summer of 1944, labor camps were established next to each HASAG plant in Germany, all of which were satellite camps of Buchenwald.
HASAG was a privately owned company that was the third largest employer of slave labor in Germany. More women were employed than men since HASAG paid the SS less for women than men. Also, HASAG's experience was that women had a higher mortality rate than men.