Dachau concentration camp Dachau concentration camp Dachau concentration camp (; , ) was the first of the Nazi concentration camps opened in Germany, intended to hold political prisoners. It is located on the grounds of an abandoned munitions factory northeast of the medieval town of Dachau, about northwest of Munich in the state of Bavaria, in southern Germany. Opened in 1933 by Heinrich Himmler, its purpose was enlarged to include forced labor, and eventually, the imprisonment of Jews, German and Austrian criminals, and eventually foreign nationals from countries that Germany occupied or invaded. The Dachau camp system grew to include nearly 100 sub-camps,
Priest Barracks of Dachau Concentration Camp of Dachau and was erected by Polish priest survivors. Austrian survivors donated the memorial bell, inscribed: "In faithful memory of our dead comrades of all nations, dedicated by Dachau priests and laymen from Austria." A Carmelite Convent is situated by the North Guard Tower at Dachau, where nuns offer prayers for atonement. The convent houses the "Madonna of Dachau", a statue of Mary from the Priests' Barracks. Former prisoners are also buried at the convent. Among the priest-martyrs who died at Dachau were many of the 108 Polish Martyrs of World War II. The Blessed Gerhard Hirschfelder died of hunger