Photographing Dachau, the model for all the Nazi concentration camps

Dachau was the model for all of the concentration camps used by Hitler’s Nazis to murder more than 6 million Jews and others from 1933 to 1945.

My uncle, Joe Guthmann, was a Nazi war crimes trial prosecutor in Nuremberg after World War II. The United States Army Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC) published a report on the atrocities found at the camp after it was liberated in April 1945. It was passed on to me. I have wanted — no, needed — to see Dachau for myself after reading it.

Visitors

I took a train from Prague, Czech Republic, to Munich, then boarded the S2 train to Dachau. The 726 bus took me to the memorial. The bus was full. People of all ages from all over the world came to see this horror.

German high school students must take a class on 20th Century German History. While visits to concentration camps are not required, many classes do tour a nearby camp.

Dachau Memorial

I planned to spend the first hours photographing Dachau and return the next morning to see it in an earlier light. Then, I would have time to tour the museum in the main building. I see the world through my camera, which I carry most places. When I got off the bus, I saw this slab announcing the stop as the Dachau Concentration Memorial Site. My photography of this place of horror began.

I walked past the welcome center on my left onto an unpaved gravel path that prisoners walked leading them into what was likely the place they would die.

I wondered what I would see and remember in photographs. Other than my uncle, I have no personal connection to the camp. Yet I have been compelled to visit and photograph it.

The path is lined with trees and green foliage. Through the weeds and trees, there was a fence, and behind it, the white buildings of the camp were barely visible.

“Work Makes You Free”

Prisoners were herded into Dachau through the Jourhaus.

Dachau was the model for all of the Nazi concentration camps. Every gate on every camp had the words “Arbeit Macht Frei” (Work Makes You Free).

Inside Dachau

Once I passed through the gate, I was on the parade grounds. Roll call of prisoners was taken many times every day. I was there in May. The weather was pleasant. I can only imagine the cold of winter there.

The parade grounds were bordered by green grass and trees. In front of the trees are the only barracks that have been left standing.

Guard towers

Concentration camp inmates were surrounded by fencing and guard towers. The towers are a stark reminder of the impossibility of escape.

The prison buildings

Originally, Dachau was built to hold political prisoners. During World War II important prisoners were kept separate from the camp’s population.

Only foundations remain

Today, Dachau only has two prisoner barracks remaining. They are open for visitors to walk through. The rest have been torn down. Their foundations stand as silent markers to the many who died during the camp’s existence from 1933 until it was liberated in 1945.

Photographer Lee Miller was with the 42nd and 45th U.S. Army Infantry when it liberated 32,000 prisoners still in the camp.

The experience of my visit is still profound. Although Dachau is (and was) surrounded by green trees and lawns, I feel that black and white best tells the story of the place.

Our verdict

• Posted on March 31, 2024

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