behind the entrance to the memorial site
You enter the memorial site from south-east and on your way to the former drill square pass the eastern wing of the former 'Wirtschaftsgebäude' (main building). It now houses the administration of the memorial site, the archive (more than 14500 documents, photos, and reports), and the library of the museum (more than 5000 volumes). Two times each day - in the morning and in the evening - the prisoners had to assemble on the drill square for a roll call to verify the actual number of prisoners. After the morning roll call supervised by the camp's commander on duty, part of the prisoners formed working details directed by a 'Capo' which left the camp for working in near-by workshops and factories of the SS, building sites, or the plantation.
Today at one side of the drill square you will find the international memorial, initiated on 8 September 1968 as a reminder of the suffering and dying of prisoners in Dachau. The memorial made by the Yougoslav sculptor Glid Nandor is 100 meters long and 48 meters wide. A zigzag path leading downwards between two concrete walls, the bronze relief of a chain (9.5 meters long and 1.5 meters high), and the bronze sculpture of intertwined skeletons (16 m long and 6.3 m high) symbolize the passion of prisoners until their death. At its western side the monument carries an inscription in French, English, German, and Russian: "May the example of those who were exterminated here between 1933-1945 because they resisted nazism help to unite the living for the defence of peace and freedom and in respect for their fellow men." In the same languages the words "never again" are written to the eastern side. In front of the monument an urn with the ashes of an unknown political prisoner is deposited in a block of granite. It was placed there on 7 May 1967.
Behind the international memorial extends the central part of the former main building, now accomodating the museum of the concentration camp memorial site. In the past its roof carried the inscription: "There is a way to freedom. Its milestones are: Obedience, diligence, honesty, order, cleanliness, soberness, truthfulness, spirit of sacrifice, and patriotism!" The museum was set up according to plans of the international Dachau committee. Along with the memorial site it was opened on 9 May 1965. Predominant exhibits are photos and documents with multilingual labels. They report of the beginnings of the camp, the different categories of prisoners (like political prisoners, Jehovah's witnesses, gays, emigrants, Jews, so-called antisocials, and criminals), of living conditions in the camp, of forced labour, food supply, special punishment, the infirmary and medical experiments, and of final liberation by American troops on 29 April 1945. Beyond that there is a section concerning the preliminaries of the Third Reich, and documents showing the development of the concentration camp system towards the extermination camps. There is a documentary film of 20 minutes duration. The German version is shown at 11:00 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 3:00 p.m., the English version at 11:30 a.m., 2:00 p.m., and 3:30 p.m..
After you have visited the museum you may turn to the so-called 'Jourhaus' at the western side of the drill square. It was effectively the office building, where different ranks of the camp administration had their rooms. Most of the time it was the only entrance to the camp. The iron paled gate, a reconstruction, carries the infamous inscription "Arbeit macht frei" (work will set you free). Franz Goldschmitt, one of the 2579 catholic priests arrested in the Dachau concentration camp, wrote in his book "Witnesses of the Occident" of the 'Jourhaus' having been the most dreadful building for the prisoners. They only dared "to pass its door with their heads uncovered".
Starting at the 'Jourhaus' and passing along the western wing of the main building you reach the so-called 'Bunker'. It was the prison within the camp with more than 150 cells. The area between main building and prison, the so-called detention yard as well as the shower bath within the main building were places used by the SS for special punishment like hanging to a stake or flogging with a bullwhip. The 'Bunker' also permanently housed prominent prisoners like Martin Niemöller and Johannes Neuhäusler. At its eastern side it extended into the so-called disciplinary camp for SS- and policemen. Walking back to the 'Jourhaus' and going straight ahead parallel to the Würm creek you finally reach the crematorium area. You enter it crossing first a fortified ditch and then the Würm. In a green area on the left there is an impressive monument "Unknown concentration camp prisoner" made by Fritz Koelle.
Prisoners who died in the concentration camp as well as victims of mass executions on the nearby SS shooting range in Hebertshausen were burnt in the two crematoria. The bigger one, called 'Baracke X', was at the same time an execution place for the Munich 'Gestapo' (state security service). This building had to be erected by the prisoners in 1942/43. At this time the older crematorium built in 1940 could no longer cope with the significantly increased death-rate in the camp. The new crematorium, obviously planned with regard to intended mass executions, got equipped with 4 ovens and a gas chamber camouflaged as a shower bath. For reasons not yet fully clarified the latter was never put into operation. (opposite to the bigger crematorium is the older, smaller one).
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