Dachau Concentration Camp - Arbeit Macht Frei - Work Brings Freedom - Nazi Germany

Dachau was the first and longest-running Nazi concentration camp, set up in a former munitions plant outside of Munich, Germany.  Dachau was home to more than 200,000 prisoners from more than 30 countries, two thirds of whom were political prisoners and one third were Jews. Dachau also held at least 3,000 Christian religious prisoners, most of whom were priests, bishops, deacons and preachers. It is believed that 25,613 prisoners died in the camps and around 10,000 in its satellite camps. Most of those who died in Dachau died from disease, malnutrition and suicide.

Dachau was divided into sections, a camp which held prisoners, an area for medical experiments and another area housed the crematorium where prisoners' bodies were burned. The perimeter of the camp was spotted with seven guard towers and electric barbed-wire fencing running throughout. Because Dachau was the second concentration camp to be liberated by American and British forces it was one of the first camps to be documented by journalists and photographers, exposing its horrific conditions and the extent of the Nazi brutality.

I recently had a chance to visit Dachau and spent a couple of hours taking photographs. The images I took there remind me of a photo series I shot years ago at Cambodia's S-21 (Toul Sleng) prison, which I will post on this blog in the coming weeks. Both are a stark reminder of what human beings are capable of and I hope that these images are able to capture the eerie, almost haunting feeling that is inescapable when visiting such places.

A memorial sculpture of twisted limbs and bodies in the courtyard of Dachau Concentration Camp.

A sign on the entry gates to Dachau Concentration Camp reads "Arbeit Macht Frei," which translated means "work shall set you free/will free you" or "work makes one free." 

A poster in the Dachau museum.

A window in the prisoner's quarters.

Barbed wire and former electrical fencing around the perimeter of the camp.

A Nazi propaganda poster reading "Our last hope: Hitler."

Crematorium ovens used to burn the dead bodies of prisoners.

Art in Dachau's museum.

An election campaign poster reading "These are the enemies of democracy!  Away with it!  So vote for list 1, Social Democrats."

Prisoners' lockers.

A gas fumigation chamber near the crematorium.

Nazi propaganda poster. (If you have the translation, please post in the comments section.)

Prisoner sleeping quarters.

Prisoner latrines.

A torture table and whipping crop in the former processing center in which prisoners were showered.

Barbed wire and former electric fence along the perimeter of Dachau.

The Dachau Gas Chamber where prisoners were executed.

Concrete fence poles along the Dachau railroad tracks where prisoners were brought into the camp.

Comments

[soer]

picture no.9 is not a nazi propaganda poster.
it was an election campaign in 1930 from the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) to warn about the nazis and the communists. it says:
these are the enemies of democracy!
away with it!
so vote for list 1
social democrats

[Zoriah]

Thanks for the correction, I have made the changes to the post.

[monike]

for me (as a german)it was the other way around. S21 reminded me of Dachau and Auschwitz and taught me more about german history than those.
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/monike_pop/3290891082/)

[m785]

Picture 12 is difficult for me to translate, hope it's correct English:

Wake up and vote for the racial block!

And on the paper sheets:
republic protective law
state of emergency
paper money economy
Weimar constitution
referendum

[Helen Bascom]

Powerful photographs.

[Lisa]

Nazi brutality is almost impossible to comprehend for any person of any sensitivity. The endurance of virulent anti-Semitism is also impossible to understand.

Beyond that particular unspeakable atrocity, one still wonders at the myriad ways humans have devised to brutalize their fellows, to this day.

Your camera stands an able witness to what remains.

[Marcus]

I like the last photo, its the same view the prisoners would have seen and yet it contrasts so much with the other photos.

[air jordans]

I was thinking about writing a post on this exact subject. Thank you.

[Tiffany ネックレス]

tiffany & coスウォッチ グループ ジャパンはこのほど、東京?銀座のニコラス?G?ハイエック センター内に「ティファニー ウォッチ ショールーム」をオープンした。男性向けの「アトラス ジェント スクエア クロノグラフ」、女性向けの「ティファニー ジェメア」をはじめ、希少性の高いアイテムも展示、販売される。Tiffany Rings

[Tiffany ネックレス]

tiffany & coスウォッチ グループ ジャパンはこのほど、東京?銀座のニコラス?G?ハイエック センター内に「ティファニー ウォッチ ショールーム」をオープンした。男性向けの「アトラス ジェント スクエア クロノグラフ」、女性向けの「ティファニー ジェメア」をはじめ、希少性の高いアイテムも展示、販売される。Tiffany Rings

[Pam at Minnesota health care programs]

As always, you've got amazing photojournalist pictures. I find most of them moving.

[air max shoes]

Links of London says lovers of the Emerald Isle can even take things one step further by choosing a green, orange and white thread to create a friendship bracelet in homage to the Irish flag.

[sumomax]

SUMOMAX, approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, is produced in hygienic conditions without human touch, you can find the professional help to nutritional supplements to gain weight. Sumomax take it you expect the product to help lose weight, gain weight, depending on the constitution and use help. This great product, a great way from the first day you start to use you to feel hunger and eating 2-3 times the normal range will help.

[Children-umbrella]

That would be fine if that is what happened. But, despite your obvious business expertise, there is a chance that all books will someday be sold online.

[Garden-umbrella]

Wonderful. The realm of social media and its effect on our lives deserves critiques such as yours.

[Printed-umbrella]

Buffy, thanks for those lovely words, a pleasure to have you here. I've only visited, but it's a place I love. I would like to live there if I could so I'm a bit envious.

[crystal-horses]

Thank you for this. Please don't worry about making people sad. Trying to get at the truth is the important thing.

[NFL store]

Recently, the Toronto Raptors hired Ed Stefanski as their Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations in a move to lend Bryan Colangelo another experienced mind to help him in the rebuild of the Toronto Raptors. Judging by past experiences, Colangelo could use the help.Since Chris Bosh left, and some could argue even when Bosh was here, the Raptors lacked an identity. With Bosh leading the squad, the Raptors managed only first-round playoff exits with Bosh.Possibly misguided, or blinded by Bosh's ego, Colangelo opted to build around Bosh, rather than find another star player to complement Bosh.

[xlpharmacy]

for some sector of the population this images mean terror, a real trauma, a nightmare that never end for people that can remember the horrors lived in the Nazi concentration camps, torute, death, misery, pain, those was the food of everyday for Jews.

[nike lunar glide 3]

Congratulations!I'm not sure where you're getting your information, but great topic. I needs to spend some time learning much more or understanding more.

[nike lunar eclipse]

I was looking at this site for the first time and I was very impressed. Very good job and posts here. The 1st part was really great and very occurate..

[nike free run]

Thanks for a great post and interesting comments. I found this post while surfing the web for thanks for sharing.

[cheap nike shox]

A good insight and ideas. I will use it on my blog. You've obviously spent a lot of time on this. Congratulations!Finally another update!

[discount nike air max]

Thanks for great information I was looking for this information for my mission.Thank you for having the courage for putting this story on the evening news.