Dachau opens as a prison camp

In late March, 1933, Dachau – a former munitions factory – is repurposed as a prison camp. By April, rumors of executions emerge but investigations are suppressed by the SS. An estimated 41,500 people died or were executed at Dachau by its summer 1944 liberation.

U.S. soldiers guarding the main entrance to Dachau just after liberation, 1945
U.S. soldiers guarding the main entrance to Dachau just after liberation, 1945