 During that interval, the camp was officially owned and administered by the SS, but run on a day-to-day basis by a Wehrmacht engineering unit, Heereskraftfahrpark (HKP) 562 (Army Motor Vehicle Repair Park 562), stationed in Vilnius.HKP 562's commanding officer, Major Karl Plagge, was sympathetic to the plight of his Jewish workers.Plagge and some of his men made efforts to protect the Jews of the camp from the murderous intent of the SS.