Note: this information is abridged from a talk that was given on a regular basis by Alan Wissenberg, manager of the EurAide office in Munich.

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It is very difficult to convey all the emotions that the word Dachau brings to mind in the visitor. The city of Dachau has existed as a settlement for over 1200 years, yet most of us associate the word Dachau exclusively with the concentration camp that existed on the perimeter of the city for 12 years (from 1933 to 1945). The former Lord Mayor of Dachau has chosen words that convey this situation well:

"Throughout the world, the name Dachau is equated with the deepest horror of an inhumane government in Germany. Dachau has become the emblem and symbol of a murdering terror and of a loss of freedom." (translated excerpt from "Dachauer-Stadtführer" by G. Ricardi)

Any discussion today must deal with this fact, understood so well by the people who live in the city itself. Twelve years of history have blocked out the remaining 1200 years from our minds and hearts. No one leaves the grounds of this former camp with a good feeling, and this is a normal reaction that we certainly do not try to dispel. Yet, if we learn from the tragedies that took place here, then its continued existence as a memorial serves a vital purpose. An informed visit serves the cause of human rights and deterrence in the future.

The concentration camp was first opened in March 1933, less than two months after the Nazi Party under Hitler took over the German government. The site was a former munitions plant that had been closed at the end of World War I. Even though the original purpose of the camp was more limited in scope (i.e., the detention of Germans who opposed the new government), the 19 or 20 small buildings on the grounds were demolished in 1937 so that an expanded camp with far greater holding capacity could be built. Although the new camp was set up to hold 5,000 people, it never had less than 12,000 after 1943. On the day of liberation in April, 1945, the camp had over 30,400 prisoners (plus an additional 37,000 in satellite camps spread out over southern Bavaria).

It is important here to distinguish between Dachau and other camp names that are well known to the general public: Auschwitz-Birkenau, Treblinka, Flossenbürg, Bergen-Belsen, and others. Even though the Dachau facility was considered a "small" camp in southern Germany and not designed for the mass extermination of people, more than 31,000 deaths were recorded; at Auschwitz alone, between 30 and 60 times this number perished in slave-labor factories, in gas chambers, and before firing squads.

Many of the deaths at Dachau can be attributed to the harsh regimen and crowded conditions of the camp. Although punishment was severe for even the smallest infraction of the rules, some people were subjected to so-called "testing", a gruesome form of human experimentation. Many Russian prisoners were never registered as arrivals because standing orders allowed them to be used for target practice on a nearby firing range. The number of deaths in this category remains unknown, but is speculated to total about 7,000. Of the recorded deaths, over 3,100 inmates perished after the U.S. Army liberated the camp because their physical deterioration was beyond medical help.

The Memorial presents a short film with commentary in English at 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. (with another viewing at 2 p.m. during the summer). There is no admission fee to visit the Memorial. On many days, it is possible to join a group that leaves from the Munich Train Station for an English-language tour of the site. Stop by the EurAide office in Munich's train station (Hauptbahnhof) for more information.

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