Dachau concentration camp United States Army", Vol. 3, page 382. Authorities worked night and day to alleviate conditions at the camp immediately following the liberation as an epidemic of black typhus swept through the prisoner population. Two thousand cases had already been reported by that 3 May. By October of the same year the camp was being used by the U.S. Army as a place of confinement for war criminals, the SS and important witnesses. It was also the site of the Dachau Trials for German war criminals, a site chosen for its symbolism. In 1948 the Bavarian government established housing for refugees
Kapo (concentration camp) killing fellow prisoners. One non-criminal functionary was , a notorious Austrian political prisoner. Feared and hated, he was known as a sadist and was responsible for several deaths. He was released from Dachau in 1942 and became a member of the Waffen SS. Some guards were personally involved in the mass murder of other prisoners. Beginning in October 1944, criminal functionaries from among the German "Reichsdeutsche" were sought out for transfer to the Dirlewanger Brigade. The important functionary positions inside the camp were "Lagerältester" (camp leader or camp senior), "Blockältester" (block or barracks leader or senior) and "Stubenältester" (room leader).