Key Points
Establishment
Dachau was opened on March 22, 1933. Its close proximity to Munich, where Hitler came to power and where the Nazi Party had its official headquarters, made Dachau a convenient location. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents, which consisted of political prisoners, communists, social democrats, and other dissidents. After its opening by Heinrich Himmler, its purpose was enlarged to include forced labor, and eventually, the imprisonment of Jews, Romani, Jehovah’s Witnesses, male homosexuals, German and Austrian criminals, and, finally, foreign nationals from countries that Germany occupied or invaded. The Dachau camp system grew to include nearly 100 sub-camps, which were mostly work camps and were located throughout southern Germany and Austria.
Inmate Population
Over its years of operation, an estimated 200,000 prisoners were held at Dachau. Many inmates were subjected to forced labor, and thousands died due to inhumane conditions, starvation, disease, and executions. From 1933 to 1938, the prisoners were mainly German nationals detained for political reasons. After the Kristallnacht, 30,000 male Jewish citizens were deported to concentration camps. More than 10,000 of them were interned in Dachau alone. As the German military occupied other European states, citizens from across Europe were sent to concentration camps. Subsequently, the camp was used for prisoners of all sorts, from every nation occupied by the forces of the Third Reich.
Conditions
The camp was characterized by overcrowding, brutal treatment by guards, and a lack of food and medical care. Inmates lived in barracks that were often filthy and inadequate for the harsh weather conditions. Typhus epidemics became a serious problem due to overcrowding, poor sanitary conditions, insufficient provisions, and the weakened state of the prisoners.
Forced Labor
Dachau prisoners were used as forced laborers. At first, they were employed in the operation of the camp, in various construction projects, and in small handicraft industries established in the camp. Prisoners built roads, worked in gravel pits, and drained marshes.
Medical Experiments
Dachau was the site of cruel medical experiments conducted on prisoners, including tests on vaccines and surgeries without anesthesia. These experiments were often deadly and carried out without consent. Beginning in 1942, German physicians performed medical experiments on prisoners in Dachau. Physicians and scientists from the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) and the German Experimental Institute for Aviation conducted high-altitude and hypothermia experiments, as well as experiments to test methods for making seawater potable. These efforts aimed to aid German pilots who conducted bombing raids or who were downed in icy waters. German scientists also carried out experiments to test the efficacy of pharmaceuticals against diseases like malaria and tuberculosis. Hundreds of prisoners died or were harmed because of these experiments.
Liberation
As Allied forces advanced toward Germany, German officials began to move prisoners from concentration camps near the front to prevent the capture of intact camps and their prisoners. Transports from the evacuated camps in the east arrived continuously at Dachau, resulting in a dramatic deterioration of conditions. After days of travel, with little or no food or water, the prisoners arrived weak and exhausted, often near death. Typhus epidemics became a serious problem due to overcrowding, poor sanitary conditions, insufficient provisions, and the weakened state of the prisoners. On April 29, 1945, American forces liberated Dachau. As they neared the camp, they found more than 30 railroad cars filled with bodies brought to Dachau, all in an advanced state of decomposition. Upon entering the camp, soldiers found thousands of emaciated prisoners, many of whom were near death due to the horrific conditions they had endured.
