"dachau germany" a Dachau Travel Page by doug48

dachau is a small town located about 12 miles northwest of munich. this village will always be remembered for the nearby dachau concentration camp. in 1933 dachau concentration camp was established in bavaria, oranienburg concentration camp near berlin, and buchenwald concentration camp near weimar. originally the purpose of these camps were to house political prisoners. the first inmates of dachau were german social democrats and communists. as time went on "asocials", homosexuals, criminals, jehovah witnesses, and gypsies were added to the inmate population. after 1938 about 60,000 jews were sent to dachau. after the out break of WWII poles and russians were also sent to dachau. a few of dachau's more famous inmates were, kurt von schuschnigg, the former chancellor of austria, leon blum the former jewish premier of france, and the reverend martin niemoller.

theodor eicke was the first kommadant of dachau and later became the chief inspector of all of the third reich's camps. originally dachau was a work camp and a educational facility for national socialist indoctrination of "enemies of the state". later dachau became a more sinister place. dachau was not considered a "death camp" but over 25,000 people died here of disease, malnutrition, and victims of medical experiments. after the out break of WWII the living conditions at dachau became deplorable. dachau held over 200,000 people from over 30 countries. just before the liberation of dachau in 1945 a typhus epidemic broke out killing thousands of inmates. martin weiss was the last komandant of dachau and was executed in 1946. dachau is a disturbing place to visit but historically signifcant. a very important site to see for students of 20th century history and the holocaust.