View of barracks and the ammunition factory in one of the first
photos of Dachau concentration camp. Dachau, Germany, March or
April 1933. National Archives and Records Administration,
College Park, Md. Established in March 1933, the Dachau
concentration camp was the first regular concentration camp
established by the National Socialist (Nazi) government.
Heinrich Himmler, in his capacity as police president of Munich,
officially described the camp as "the first concentration camp
for political prisoners." It was located on the grounds of an
abandoned munitions factory near the northeastern part of the
town of Dachau, about 10 miles northwest of Munich in southern
Germany. During the first year, the camp held about 4,800
prisoners. Initially the internees consisted primarily of German
Communists, Social Democrats, trade unionists, and other
political opponents of the Nazi regime. Over time, other groups
were also interned at Dachau, such as Jehovah's Witnesses, Roma
(Gypsies), homosexuals, as well as "asocial