Dachau Concentration Camp

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The Dachau concentration camp and Nazi power
Dachau is a name that will forever remain in the name of many Germans, Poles, Jews, and historians in general due to its association with Nazi atrocities. The Dachau concentration camp, previously, an ammunitions factory, was located in the Bavarian town of Dachau, about 15 km from Munich. The opening of the camp which was supposed to hold around 5,000 prisoners, was announced by the Munich chief of police, Heinrich Himmler as an alternative to prisons in March 1993 (Berben 20). It would help decongest the correctional facilities and get rid of criminals who would contaminate the society. However, the camp mainly housed political dissidents comprised of social democrats, trade unionists, communists, and deviant priests. It was later that the camp started holding ordinary criminals, Jews, Gypsies, prostitutes, and homosexuals. The camp to a large extent helped Hitler, and the Nazis maintain power as it was used to crush opposition, provided vessels to propel the Nazis’ interest, and was a training ground for ruthless SS personnel.
The Dachau concentration camp played a great role in crushing and eliminating dissenting voices and opposition which served to make Hitler the most powerful and undisputed German leader at the time. Unlike other later camps, this had been specifically meant for dissidents and therefore had the largest number of people who were deemed to oppose the Nazi rule.

Hitler had appointed Heinrich Himmler to oversee the camp system who appointed Theodor Eicke as camp commandant in June 1993 (Dillon 375). He set up some regulations that would govern the camp life. The notorious SS would be responsible for running the camp. He developed an institution that would spread fear among the Germans, effectively ensuring compliance and minimal opposition to the regime. The camp later started admitting common criminals who had served their prison sentences. Jehovah’s witness and clergymen who were accused of critical remarks against the regime as well as Jews, Gypsies, and homosexuals who were deemed as inferior and unwanted in the community were later brought in. Despite this, Dachau remained a political prison largely. A new camp was later built by the prisoners in 1937 by the prisoners next to the existent one. It consisted of thirty-two barracks, the SS administration offices, showers, workshop, and kitchen, and the main prison camp (Berben 94). The camp was surrounded by a water ditch, an electric fence and a wall with guard towers. Prison guards drawn from the SS members manned the prison and the watchtowers to ensure conformity with the camp rules. The camp later started taking in political prisoners from other countries that the Nazis had invaded and conquered. These included clergymen, Jews, and resistance fighters from more than thirty countries who refused to accept the Nazis’ authority.
It was not only through fear of incarceration that the Nazis stamped their authority, but many of the prisoners who found themselves here were also killed or died due to the inhumane conditions in the camp. There was a systematic killing of the sick and those who were not in a position to work. A camp physician would inspect and register all the invalid. These would then be taken to the Hartheim castle where they would be gassed (Dillon 380). The camp later served as an execution site, and there was no need to transport the sick elsewhere. A gas chamber was built in Dachau in the camp’s crematorium where execution could be carried out. There were also mass shootings where the sick and Soviet prisoners of war were shot outside the campgrounds. The numbers of these victims could not be determined as they were unrecorded. Individual executions continued until the liberation. The conditions in prison were also worsened at the later days of the camp’s existence. In the wake of the advancing lies, more and more prisoners were brought from other camps as Dachau was more strategic leading to an exponential increase in the prisoners’ numbers. Around 1600 prisoners were forced into the prison barracks that had a capacity of 200 (Berben 192). An epidemic broke out in many of the camps due to the poor conditions leading to the death of many prisoners. The last executions were carried out in April 1945 when over 7,000 of the 67,665 prisoners at the time, were made to march south (Dillon 378). Many died from cold, hunger and exhaustion and those who could not hold on were shot. There were thirty-one thousand registered deaths in Dachau, but the actual number may never be known.
The prisoners in the camp also played a large part in the success in battles through the work they were forced to do. Their cheap or unpaid labor was utilized in the armaments industry where they made various arms to be used in war. The camp was also crucial to private firms due to its large number of prisoners. The firms paid a small rate to the SS economic office, but no percentage was given to the prisoners. Those who became sick during work would be taken back to the camp where they would be killed. Healthier ones would then be sent to the firms until they also became unwanted due to reduced performance. More arms meant that the German army would go on strong in the battle for a long time which led to many invasions and conquests. The prisoners were also used to build roads, and in quarrying which ensured that the German roads were in good condition. Food rations, however, remained minimal despite the hard work.
Many experiments were also carried out on the prisoners in the camps whose results would be used to help the German army survive even in strenuous conditions. One such experiment was the hypothermia experiment which aimed at finding a way of saving air force soldiers who had fallen into the ocean. The prisoners used in the experiment were placed in freezing water till they became unconscious. Blood would then be tested with each drop-in temperature. Different prisoners lasted different times with some going for up to 36 hours. It was discovered that most prisoners died at 25 degrees although the lowest temperature recorded had been 19 degrees (Berger 1437). The doctor tried to revive the subjects through various methods such as animal warmth, electrotherapy, through warm water, and the sun’s warmth. Over three hundred people were used with over 90 dying in the experiment (Berger 1438). Most of the survivors are said to have become mentally ill. Though this experiment was believed to be crucial to the survival of German soldiers, many scientists have questioned its authenticity and value arguing that it has no medical value. Arnold Relman for example, the chief-editor of the Journal newspaper believed “that the experiment was such a gross violation of ethical and human standards that it did not deserve to be trusted and that he would not allow any reference to the experiment in the paper” (Moe 6). Experiments were also conducted to determine the effect of changes in air pressure. More than twenty people were put into a special van where pressure was decreased or increased, and effects noted. The experiments aimed at finding out the effects of soldiers’ rapid parachute descents. Over four hundred prisoners were used in the experiment with most dying from internal brain and lungs bleeding.
In conclusion, the Dachau camp helped Hitler and the Nazis, in general, maintain power in Germany through many ways. They were effective tools in crushing the opposition and dissenting voices which helped make the country easy to govern. Many regime critics were placed in the camps where they were subjected to inhumane conditions and died. The cheap labor from the prisoners also played a large part in the success in war as it enabled more ammunition to be produced. Lastly, experiments conducted on the prisoners had large implications in war, enabling more soldiers to survive in battle.
Works Cited
Berben, Paul. Dachau, 1933-45: The Official History. 1st ed., San Francisco, Norfolk Press, 1975,
Berger, Robert L. “Nazi Science — The Dachau Hypothermia Experiments.” New England Journal Of Medicine, vol 322, no. 20, 1990, pp. 1435-1440. New England Journal Of Medicine (NEJM/MMS), doi:10.1056/nejm199005173222006.
Dillon, Christopher. “‘Tolerance Means Weakness’: The Dachau Concentration Camp S.S., Militarism And Masculinity.” Historical Research, vol 86, no. 232, 2013, pp. 373-389. Wiley-Blackwell, doi:10.1111/1468-2281.12010.
Moe, Kristine. “Should The Nazi Research Data Be Cited?.” The Hastings Center Report, vol 14, no. 6, 1984, p. 5. JSTOR, doi:10.2307/3561733.