Dachau Concentration Camp

What is the topic of my presentation? In this presentation, I will be discussing the experiences of Jewish individuals at Dachau concentration camp during World War II. I will share real people’s experiences, as well as talk about what daily life would be like inside the camp. I will also talk about where Dachau is located and when it opened, as well as how prisoners were treated and arrived and left the camp. My purpose is to tell you the experiences of Dachau, so you can learn how war effects everyone.

What is Dachau Concentration Camp? Dachau is a concentration camp that is located in the village of Dachau, Germany. Dachau is located 20 Kilometers north-west of Munich, Germany. Dachau concentration camp opened on March 22, 1933, just weeks after Adolf Hitler came to power. It was the first Nazi concentration camp that opened. When the camp first opened, it was used as a camp for political prisoners, but by the time World War II rolled around, it was turned into a Jewish Concentration camp.

How did Prisoners arrive? Prisoners arrived via trucks. After days of travel with little to no food or water, they would arrive weak and starved. Once they arrived, Nazi workers at the camp would take their belongings, such as their money, clothes, and any other items they may have brought. They were also separated by gender.

What was Daily life like inside Dachau? Prisoners spent most of their time lying around the camp. There was an option to do work around the camp, and those who did were rewarded extra food. Women and men were separated into different parts of the camp. Prisoners lived in fear of the Nazi guards, and the punishments that they gave. Some examples of these punishments is the tree or pole hanging, standing cells, or standing at attention for long periods of time.

How was Dachau Liberated? In the mid morning of April 29,1945 American soldiers liberated Dachau Concentration Camp. From the time Dachau opened it’s gates to the time it was liberated, it had imprisoned more than 200,000 individuals. Just prior to the liberation in early April 1945, approximately 7,000 prisoners were marched from Dachau, to Tegernsee. This was called the Tegernesee death march. These prisoners were freed by Allied forces on May 2.

What is one survivors Story? Max Mannheimer was a Jewish individual that was taken to Dachau at the age of 24 on August 6, 1944. He and his little brother Edgar had been separated from their entire family. Max and his little brother tried to maintain a low profile during their stay. At the time of Liberation, Max was weak and was infected with Typhus. He was just “skin and bones” and weighed only 47kg. When the Americans first came into the camp, he “cried both tears of joy and despair.”

What is another survivor’s story? The next survivor is Michael Dalder. He arrived on the morning of April 2, 1945. He was only 23. He said, “by this time the Nazi’s were in disarray. They were so worried about surviving, that they didn’t pay much attention to the prisoners.” Due to the lack of food, he was starved. However, later in April 1945, Michael and some other prisoners were herded onto cattle cars, and were taken away. When the train stopped in the forest for the night, the Germans were ambushed by the allies and the prisoners were set free.

Conclusion In conclusion, the experiences at Dachau were terrible, and were inhumane. War effects everyone, and religious persecution should not be accepted. I hope you enjoyed this presentation, and learned more about Dachau Concentration camp.

My Sources 1. www.theguardian.com March 24, 2013 Kate Conolly 2. www.newsweek.com January 27, 2015 Paul Schneiderman 3. www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org March 7, 2017 Dachau Concentration Camp: History and overview 4. www.history.com April 29, 2016 “This Day in History”