Dachau was the first concentration camp established by Nazi Germany in 1933. It was a labor camp designed to punish political prisoners and enemies of Adolf Hitler. Dachau was a model for how other concentration camps should operate under Nazi Germany. Through intense labor and strict regulations, prisoners were taught to obey authority. Dachau was created to enforce compliance with the Nazi regime. Unlike the death camps that focused on extermination, Dachau was a labor camp where the main goal was to punish political prisoners. Heinrich Himmler was an officer in the Nazi organization of the Schutzstaffel, commonly known as the SS. He announced the opening of Dachau on March 20, 1933, at a press conference. Dachau was located ten
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One of these projects included constructing more barracks and other buildings to the camp. Prisoners built roads, drained marshes, and worked in gravel pits. They also contributed to the German armaments production. These tiring jobs overworked the starving people and led to many deaths. The SS troops were relentless and forced prisoners to work no matter their physical condition. This exemplifies how cruelly the inmates of Dachau were treated. In 1944, Dachau expanded by creating 30 satellite camps under the same administration. These camps were in use between the years 1938 to 1945. These were built near armaments factories throughout southern Germany. In these sub-camps, 30,000 prisoners manufactured weapons to help the German army. The working conditions combined with lack of nourishment led to the death of many workers in the Dachau …show more content…
Over the 12 years that Dachau operated, it was a place of suffering and loss. At least 160,000 prisoners passed through the gate inscribed “Arbeit Macht Frei” and another 90,000 people passed through the sub-camps of Dachau. While designed as a labor camp, approximately 32,000 people died at Dachau and its sub-camps due to the extreme conditions, forced labor, and dangerous medical experiments. The goal to punish political prisoners was achieved through the harsh treatment of prisoners and strict regulations enforced by the SS guards. The Nazi officers destroyed the humanity of thousands of people in the camp. The amount of torture and misery underwent by the inmates is astounding. Those who survived were never to be the same
One of these projects included constructing more barracks and other buildings to the camp. Prisoners built roads, drained marshes, and worked in gravel pits. They also contributed to the German armaments production. These tiring jobs overworked the starving people and led to many deaths. The SS troops were relentless and forced prisoners to work no matter their physical condition. This exemplifies how cruelly the inmates of Dachau were treated. In 1944, Dachau expanded by creating 30 satellite camps under the same administration. These camps were in use between the years 1938 to 1945. These were built near armaments factories throughout southern Germany. In these sub-camps, 30,000 prisoners manufactured weapons to help the German army. The working conditions combined with lack of nourishment led to the death of many workers in the Dachau …show more content…
Over the 12 years that Dachau operated, it was a place of suffering and loss. At least 160,000 prisoners passed through the gate inscribed “Arbeit Macht Frei” and another 90,000 people passed through the sub-camps of Dachau. While designed as a labor camp, approximately 32,000 people died at Dachau and its sub-camps due to the extreme conditions, forced labor, and dangerous medical experiments. The goal to punish political prisoners was achieved through the harsh treatment of prisoners and strict regulations enforced by the SS guards. The Nazi officers destroyed the humanity of thousands of people in the camp. The amount of torture and misery underwent by the inmates is astounding. Those who survived were never to be the same