Dachau

Dachau was the first Nazi Concentration camp opened in 1933 for political prisoners in the town of Dachau, about 20 km north-west of Munich.

Dachau served as a prototype and model for the other concentration camps that followed. Its basic organization, camp layout as well as the plan for the buildings were applied to all later camps. He had a separate secure camp near the command center, which consisted of living quarters, administration, and army camps.

The hyper-inflation of the 1920's proved just one of many reasons the Nazi's came to power with Adolf Hitler being appointed Chancellor in 1933. The above inflation makes our current 4% look quite trivial! (imagine paying 150 billion dollars for a glass of beer)

Over 200 000 prisoners entered through these gates

In total, over 200,000 prisoners from more than 30 countries were housed in Dachau of whom two-thirds were political prisoners and nearly one-third were Jews. It is thought 40 000 died.

"Work sets you Free"

The Nazis stated that the camp was a work camp and that they were 're-educating' the prisoners. Hence the propaganda "work sets you free". Many of the political prisoners were there 'for their own protection'.

The Parade Ground

In Summer roll call was at 5 am and could last hours. All had to be accounted for and all remained standing until there were no anomalies.

The Prohibited Zone

The prohibited zone was a strip of grass that ran alongside the camp. Anyone entering in this region was liable to be shot. This was surrounded by a ditch, then razor wire, a razor wire fence and finally a concrete wall. Guard towers were placed periodically along the wall. I must admit, 70 years later, it was quite an eerie thing to walk on the grass.

The concrete footprint of the 34 barracks

34 barracks were constructed with 30 on them housing prisoners. Each barrack was built to hold 200 prisoners, with the entire camp designed for 6000 prisoners. In 1944 the camp held some 30 000 prisoners. The front two barracks have been re-constructed, with a concrete and gravel outline of the other 32 being visible. The photo below is an aerial shot showing how tight the barracks were placed together and can only give a faint idea how cramped the conditions would have been if you imagine 30 000 people in the area.

The barracks from the air

The Memorial installed in 1967

The crematorium

After the war, Dachau was used to house SS prisoners and then German refugees. It remained a camp for almost 20 years, given the post-war refugee situation in Germany. Survivors successfully pushed for it to become a memorial in 1965.