Dachau Concentration Camp was established in March 1933, and was the first regular concentration camp established by the National Socialist (Nazi) government; this also made it the longest operating camp.  When it first opened, it was a concentration camp for political prisoners only-German Communists, Social Democrats, trade unionists, and other political opponents of the Nazi regime.  Within the next few years it also interned Jehovah’s Witnesses, Roma (Gypsies), homosexuals, and asocials.  It wasn’t until the Numerberg Laws were passed on Sept 15, 1935, that Jews were sent here…and only men.  During its 12 years of operation, no women or children were ever sent to Dachau.

In the aftermath of Kristallnacht (the Night of the Broken Glass), on Nov 10-11, 1938, the number of persecuted Jews rose exponentially, and with that the number of Jewish prisoners at Dachau. 

Dachau was built with the intention of being a labor camp, and it gained a notorious reputation as such.  The camp has the capacity to hold 5,000 prisoners

On April 26, 1945, as American forces approached, there were 67,665 registered prisoners in Dachau. Of these, 43,350 were categorized as political prisoners, 22,100 were Jews, and the remainder falling into the various other categories. As Allied units approached, at least 25,000 prisoners from the Dachau camp system were force marched south or transported away from the camps in freight trains. During these so-called death marches, the Germans shot anyone who could no longer continue; many also died of starvation, hypothermia, or exhaustion.

On April 29, 1945, American forces liberated Dachau. As they neared the camp, they found more than 30 railroad cars filled with bodies brought to Dachau, all in an advanced state of decomposition. In early May 1945, American forces liberated the prisoners who had been sent on the death march.

From 1933 to 1945, the number of prisoners incarcerated at Dachau exceeded 200,000.