Dachau

In chapter 3, Vladek tells Art about his transportation to Dachau from Auschwitz. Dachau, opened in March 1933, was the first Nazi concentration camp opened in Germany, and was located about 10 miles northwest of the city of Munich. Dachau was also the first camp to use SS as guards (as opposed to SA). Himler, the Chief of Police in Munich, described the camp as "the first concentration camp for political prisoners." Dachau primarily held Communists, Social Democrats, religious dissidents, and other enemies of the German state. Dachau was not used for the sole purpose of exterminating Jews, although there were Jewish prisoners held there. In the article I read, it said that the camp had 31, 951 registered deaths, and that "Many of the Dachau prisoners, including Jews, were released after serving an indeterminate sentence. The Jews were always kept isolated from the other prisoners and were treated far worse than the others." Although the Jews were still targeted and severely mistreated, it seems that Dachau was a safer place for Vladek and other Jews than Auschwitz.