Albert Speer needed large quantities of natural stone for his building projects. In 1937, in order to reduce costs, Speer sought the cooperation of the SS which was responsible for the operation of the concentration camps. By setting up concentration camps close to quarries, granite was to be supplied for the buildings on the rally grounds and other projects.

The photo shows the quarry at Flossenbürg, 100 km from Nuremberg as the crow flies. Physical toil, a lack of safety measures, hunger, cold and the brutality of the SS caused the death of thousands of prisoners in Flossenbürg and in other concentration camp quarries.

Sergij Rybalka was one of the survivors. He was deported in 1942 from the Ukraine to Germany as a forced labourer. After a failed escape attempt, the Gestapo sent him to Flossenbürg concentration camp. Initially, he was set to work in the granite quarry. The prisoners knew that stone from Flossenbürg was also destined for Nuremberg. In an interview, Sergij Rybalka recalls: "No-one here was sorry for any of us prisoners. Many were killed or injured by falling stones."