Dachau Concentration Camp

Heinrich Himmler ordered that a concentration camp be erected on the site of an old abandoned munitions factory near the medieval town of Dachau, in southern Germany. The Dachau concentration camp was opened on the 22nd March 1933 and was to be the prototype for all future camps to be built. The commandant was Theodor Eicke, who developed a well organised set of rules and regulations that later became the standard operating procedure for all camps. Eicke was later appointed as inspector for all the Concentration camps and used Dachau as the example camp and the "Murder School" for training the Waffen SS.

Aerial View of the camp in 1945

The Main Camp Gate in 1945 The Jourhaus (Guard building) entrance to the prison camp

Note the River Wurm dividing the SS camp from the Prison camp.

Arrival to the Camp

Prisoners were marched from the railway station down the dividing road trough the SS camp to the prison.

Many SS men would jeer and throw urine filled jugs at the prisoners as they were force marched into the camp.

During the war years a light rail system was built to transport prisoners and incoming/out going goods to the main line station.

The prison road and Commandants Headquarters then & now

The prison road during the 1930's and in 1945 after liberation

The the prison road leading to the Jourhaus (Guard building) and infamous prison gates

The camp was divided into two sections: the camp area and the crematorium. The camp area consisted of 32 barracks, including one for clergy imprisoned for opposing the Nazi regime and one reserved for medical experiments. The courtyard between the prison and the central kitchen was used for the summary execution of prisoners. An electrified barbed-wire gate, a ditch, and a wall with seven guard towers surrounded the camp.

The Camp