Sydspissen detention camp (Norwegian: Sydspissen fangeleir, German: Polizeihäftlingslager Südspitze) was a Nazi concentration camp in Tromsø, Norway, which operated briefly during World War II. Serving as the primary prison camp in northern Norway, it quickly became overcrowded and is now considered to have had some of the worst conditions of any camp under the German occupation. The prisoners were eventually relocated a short distance away to Tromsdalen detention camp. The camp was used to hold Nazi collaborators after the war, some of whom were badly mistreated. There are no known photographs of the concentration camp; however, a painting in Tromsø Forsvarsmuseeum (Tromsø Defence Museum) details the camp during the summer of 1941, prior to the construction of an additional barracks for prisoners and a residence for the camp commander.
Background
Following their invasion of Norway, the Nazi regime and collaborationist Quisling government would establish over 600 concentration camps throughout the country. A handful were designated as Polizeihäftlingslagers (police detainee camps) and run by the Sicherheitspolizei, specifically the camps at Grini, Falstad, Ulven (later replaced by Espeland), and Sydspissen (later replaced by Tromsdalen). Despite being built with the intention of holding political prisoners, these camps would also hold POWs, Jews, family members of the Norwegian resistance, and criminals with short sentences.
Post-war
On 8 May 1945, the surrender of Nazi Germany led to the liberation of Norway. After this, as with many other former Nazi camps, Sydspissen was used to house Norwegians facing trial for charges of treason. As most of the police force in Tromsø had been suspended for collaborating with the Nazis, the camp was mainly staffed by military police trained in Sweden.