Dachau (Concentration camp)

The Dachau concentration camp was established in March 1933. It was the first regular concentration camp established by the National Socialist (Nazi) government. It was located on the grounds of an abandoned munitions factory near the northeastern part of the town of Dachau in southern Germany.

During the first year, the camp had a capacity of 5,000 prisoners. Initially the internees were primarily 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), gay men, as well as "asocials" and repeat criminal offenders. During the early years relatively few Jews were interned in Dachau and then usually because they belonged to one of the above groups or had completed prison sentences after being convicted for violating the Nuremberg Laws of 1935. The number of Jewish prisoners at Dachau rose with the increased persecution of Jews. On November 10–11, 1938, in the aftermath of Kristallnacht, almost 11,000 Jewish men were interned there. Most of the men in this group were released after incarceration of a few weeks to a few months, many after proving they had made arrangements to emigrate from Germany.

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