Dachau concentration camp Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Chief Heinrich Himmler inspects the Dachau concentration camp (1936)]]The Dachau concentration camp was a Nazi German concentration camp near the city of Dachau, north of Munich, in southern Germany.
The camp was constructed in a disused gunpowder factory and was completed on March 21, 1933. Together with the Auschwitz extermination camp, Dachau has become "the" concentration camp for most non-experts.
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2 Liberation of the camp, 1945 3 The memorial site 4 Famous prisoners of Dachau 5 See also 6 External links |
1933-1945
Dachau was the first Nazi concentration camp and served as a prototype and model for the others that followed. The basic organization, camp layout as well as the plan for the buildings were developed by Kommandant Theodor Eicke and 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. Eicke himself became the chief inspector for all concentration camps, responsible for molding the others according to his model.
In total, over 200,000 prisoners from more than 30 countries were housed in Dachau. Beginning in 1941, Dachau was also used for extermination purposes. Camp records list 30,000 persons killed in the camp, with thousands more who died due to the conditions in the camp. In early 1945, there was a typhus epidemic in the camp followed by an evacuation, in which large numbers of the weaker prisoners died.
Due to the number of deaths and killings, the cremation facility had to be expanded, as the existing one was unable to keep up with the number of bodies to be disposed of. At the same time, a gas chamber was added to the camp. This, however, was never put into use, as the prisoners destined for death were transferred to other camps.
Dachau also served as the central camp for Christian religious prisoners. According to records of the Roman Catholic Church, at least 3000 religious, deacons, priests, and bishops were imprisoned there. Particularly notable among the Christian residents are Karl Leisner (Catholic priest ordained while in the camp, beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1996) and Martin Niemöller (Protestant theologian and Nazi resistance leader).
The last head of the camp was Oskar Müller, who later became minister of labor for Hessia. According to the report of Father Johannes Maria Lenz, Müller sent two prisoners to bring the U.S army to free the camp, because orders had come in to kill all the prisoners.
Liberation of the camp, 1945
The camp was freed by the U.S. army on April 29, 1945. It was used for many years thereafter as a residence for refugees.
It holds a significant place in public memory because it was the first camp to be liberated by British or American forces, and therefore it was the first place in which the West was exposed to the reality of Nazi brutality through first-hand journalist accounts and through newsreels. After the camp was surrendered to Allied forces, the troops were so horrified by conditions at the camp that they summarily shot all of the camp guards.
Years later, former prisoners banded together to erect a memorial on the site of the camp, finding it unbelievable that there were still persons (refugees) living in the camp under those conditions.
The display, which was reworked in 2003, takes the visitor through the path of new arrivals to the camp. Special presentations of some of the notable prisoners are also provided. One of the barracks has been rebuilt to show a cross-section of the entire history of the camp, since the original barracks had to be torn down due to their poor condition when the memorial was built. The other 32 barracks are indicated by cement foundations.
The memorial includes four chapels for the various religions represented among the prisoners.
This is an Article on Dachau concentration camp. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Dachau concentration camp The memorial site
Famous prisoners of Dachau
Jews
Nazi resistance fighters
Regime critics
Protestant ministers
Catholic ministers
Dachau had a special "priest block". Of the approximately 1000 priests held in Dachau, about half survived. Politicians
Communists
Austrofascists
Writers
See also
External links