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So the Nazi newspaper "Völkischer Beobachter" proclaimed on March 21st, 1933. During the next 12 years, until liberation on April 29th, 1945, more than 200,000 people passed through an iron gate marked "Arbeit Macht Frei". Of these, 32,000 individuals are recorded as having died here as a result of torture, malnourishment, overwork, medical experimentation and murder. Many thousands more died in the horrific conditions, whose names - or rather numbers - where never recorded. The full tally of the Konzentration Lager (KZ) Dachau will never be known.

The Dachau Memorial Site is unique amongst former KZ sites in the number of original and authentic buildings that survive to this day.

As the first permanent concentration camp it became a "School of Terror" where members of Hitler's SS perfected their methods of physical and mental torture, skills they would implement in similar camps across Germany, and later Europe. The KZ was originally set up to hold, humiliate, "re-educate" (and sometimes execute) political opponents of the Nazi regime: Communists, Socialists and Democrats.  Later, political prisoners would be joined by other classes of prisoner: members of the clergy (particularly Catholic priests), Jews, Poles, so called "Anti-Socials", Jehovah's Witnesses, Homosexuals, Roma and Sinti, Soviet PoW's, allied agents, resistance fighters - such as Georg Elsner - to name just a few.

In it's 12 years existence as a KZ, Dachau went through a series of changes which reflected the fortunes of the Nazi regime. On this tour we examine how conditions for prisoners changed from 1933 to 1945 as well as how KZ Dachau compared to other camps within the KZ system.

During this 5 to 6 hour tour you will visit:

The Jourhaus -  The main gate of the camp, through which every prisoner passed. It was here that prisoners would read the mocking words "Arbeit Macht Frei" (Work will set you free)

The Shaubraum - The "Shunt room". Here prisoners were given a number to use in lieu of their name. To use their name after this point would invite brutal punishment from the SS. The arrival of prisoners in the camp is discussed in detail.

Wirtshaft Gebaüde - Administration Building. How were prisoners categorised? What did the different badges mean? What did prisoners wear? Punishment by the SS - and fellow prisoners. This building also houses a cinema and an English-language film on the history of the site runs regularly.

The Bunker - solitary confinement bunker for "special" prisoners. It also contained a separate prison for members of the SS and Police who had transgressed against Hitler's regime.

Reconstructed prisoners barracks - on the site of the original barracks we consider daily routine and survival strategies. We also consider the experiments of (SS) Dr Rascher on prisoners

"Barracke X" - The Gas Chamber and Crematoria. It is a misconception that only Extermination Camps like Auschwitz had gas chambers. The KZ at Dachau had a  "Gaskammer" and 2 crematoria. However, the extent to which the gas chamber was used remains a contentious issue. Find out why.

Religious memorials and sculpture.

In addition you will learn about:

KZ Dachau: a vital part to the Nazi war economy

Liberation in 1945

The "Dachau Trials"

Escape attempts

The importance of the Dachau Memorial Site for today.

Cost?

1 - 4 persons: €180. Groups of 5 or more - Price on application. Price includes transport to and from the site. Booking is required, ideally at least two weeks before your intended visit.
 
Notes:

Unlike some companies, Dark History only employ the best Dachau Memorial Site accredited guides. These guides have taken and passed a rigorous training course and passed an exam set by the Memorial.