Dachau Concentration Camp

Opened in 1933, Dachau was the first Nazi concentration camp, and together with Auschwitz, it is also one of the most infamous. Discover how to visit the thought-provoking memorial from Munich.

Located a short distance northeast of Munich, the Konzentrationslager Dachau was constructed in 1933, making it the first official Nazi concentration camp.

Originally intended to hold political prisoners, Dachau was soon expanded to imprison Jews, travellers, homosexual people, and Jehovah's Witnesses amongst other persecuted groups.

Between 1933 and 1945, around 200,000 people were estimated to be imprisoned here, of whom more than 40,000 died in the camp. During the twelve years in which Dachau Concentration Camp was in use by the Nazis, its prisoners were subjected to forced labor and torture, as well as horrific medical experiments.

Life in the camp

Over the course of 12 years, the camp's prisoners spent their day-to-day lives doing forced labor, whether on construction and craft projects, building roads, draining swamps or producing weaponry.

As in other concentration camps, numerous experiments were carried out in Dachau, in which prisoners were used to test new drugs and techniques that often killed or crippled them.

The beginning of the end

As the Allied forces advanced across Germany, prisoners from nearby concentration camps were still being transferred to Dachau, creating overcrowding and epidemics that resulted in the further worsening of camp conditions.

Just days before the arrival of US forces, the Nazis forced over 7000 inmates into a death march out of the camp to the south: those who couldn't keep up were shot, and many others died of starvation, disease, and harsh conditions.

On 29 April 1945, the Dachau Concentration Camp was liberated, and more than 30,000 prisoners were freed.

Visiting Dachau Memorial Site

If you'd like to know more about Dachau, the best way to visit is to book a tour with an expert English-speaking guide. Our Dachau Concentration Camp Day Trip includes transport from Munich making it a simple and informative way to discover the memorial site.

At the link below, the price is € 24 (US$ 26) per person: