During the Second World War, tens of thousands of people from German-occupied countries were deployed in forced labor in Dortmund. The largest group were the “Eastern workers” from the Soviet Union, who were at the bottom of the racist hierarchy. Offenses committed by them were to be punished exclusively by the police. As a result, executions by the Gestapo were carried out very early on. Their number increased as the war progressed. As the destruction of German cities increased, the local Gestapo offices were instructed to decide on executions independently and to carry them out on the spot. In March 1945, for example, there were three mass shootings in the Bittermark with a total of 76 victims. When the Ruhr area was encircled by Allied troops, the Gestapo began to shoot all prisoners classified as dangerous. A total of at least 153 people were shot at six bomb sites in Rombergpark near the office and on a railroad site, including German leftists, Frenchmen accused of espionage and others.