Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1939-1942 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
1 file; 56 frames
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Dachau was a Nazi German concentration camp, and the first one opened in Germany, located on the grounds of an abandoned munitions factory near the medieval town of Dachau, about 16 km (10 miles) northwest of Munich in southern Germany.
Opened on 22 March 1933, the Dachau concentration camp was the first regular concentration camp established by the coalition government of National Socialist (Nazi) NSDAP party and the Catholic Zentrum party (dissolved at 6 July 1933). Heinrich Himmler, in his capacity as police president of Munich, officially described the camp as 'the first concentration camp for political prisoners.'
Dachau served as a prototype and model for the other Nazi concentration camps that followed. Its basic organisation, camp layout as well as the plan for the buildings were developed by Kommandant Theodor Eicke and were applied to all later camps. He had a separate secure camp near the command centre, which consisted of living quarters, administration, and army camps. Eicke himself became the chief inspector for all concentration camps, responsible for establishing the others according to his model.
In total, over 200,000 prisoners from more than 30 countries were housed in Dachau of which nearly one-third were Jews. 25,613 prisoners are believed to have died in the camp and almost another 10,000 in its subcamps, primarily from disease, malnutrition and suicide.
Eric Walters was an inmate of Dachau and Buchenwald until March 1939.
Repository
Archival history
Eric Walters wrote his report on Dachau Buchenwald concentration camp betwen March and October 1939.
GB 1556 WL 581 1939-1942 Collection level 1 file; 56 frames Walters , Eric , fl 1939
Dachau camp authorities
Dachau was a Nazi German concentration camp, and the first one opened in Germany, located on the grounds of an abandoned munitions factory near the medieval town of Dachau, about 16 km (10 miles) northwest of Munich in southern Germany.
Opened on 22 March 1933, the Dachau concentration camp was the first regular concentration camp established by the coalition government of National Socialist (Nazi) NSDAP party and the Catholic Zentrum party (dissolved at 6 July 1933). Heinrich Himmler, in his capacity as police president of Munich, officially described the camp as 'the first concentration camp for political prisoners.'
Dachau served as a prototype and model for the other Nazi concentration camps that followed. Its basic organisation, camp layout as well as the plan for the buildings were developed by Kommandant Theodor Eicke and were applied to all later camps. He had a separate secure camp near the command centre, which consisted of living quarters, administration, and army camps. Eicke himself became the chief inspector for all concentration camps, responsible for establishing the others according to his model.
In total, over 200,000 prisoners from more than 30 countries were housed in Dachau of which nearly one-third were Jews. 25,613 prisoners are believed to have died in the camp and almost another 10,000 in its subcamps, primarily from disease, malnutrition and suicide.
Eric Walters was an inmate of Dachau and Buchenwald until March 1939.
Eric Walters wrote his report on Dachau Buchenwald concentration camp betwen March and October 1939.
Eric Walters
Report entitled 'Tiere bewachen Menschen' ('Animals keep watch over humans'), by Eric Walters, 1939; Reminiscences of life in the army entitled 'CPL Sunshine and other stories', by Eric Walters; Lists of possessions of Dachau prisoners, 23 Feb 1940-17 Sep 1942 (microfilm).
The 75 Dachau prisoner lists are arranged alphabetically and contain the following details: name, prisoner number, date and place of birth, date of entry, prisoner type (ie SCH= Schutzhäftling- protective custody; AZR= Arbeitszwang Reich- forced labour by Reich order; PSV= Polizeiliche Sicherungsverwahrung - police security prisoner).
Open
Copies can be made for personal use. Permission must be sought for publication.
German
Microfilm
Description exists to this archive on the Wiener Library's online catalogue www.wienerlibrary.co.uk.
Wiener Collection, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
Entry compiled by Howard Falksohn.
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
November 2007 Buchenwald concentration camp Concentration camps Dachau concentration camp European history Genocide German history Holocaust Humanitarian law International conflicts National history Nazism Political doctrines Third reich Totalitarianism Walters , Eric , fl 1939 War crimes War prisoners War victims
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Eric Walters
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Report entitled 'Tiere bewachen Menschen' ('Animals keep watch over humans'), by Eric Walters, 1939; Reminiscences of life in the army entitled 'CPL Sunshine and other stories', by Eric Walters; Lists of possessions of Dachau prisoners, 23 Feb 1940-17 Sep 1942 (microfilm).
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
The 75 Dachau prisoner lists are arranged alphabetically and contain the following details: name, prisoner number, date and place of birth, date of entry, prisoner type (ie SCH= Schutzhäftling- protective custody; AZR= Arbeitszwang Reich- forced labour by Reich order; PSV= Polizeiliche Sicherungsverwahrung - police security prisoner).
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Open
Conditions governing reproduction
Copies can be made for personal use. Permission must be sought for publication.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
- Latin
Language and script notes
German
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Description exists to this archive on the Wiener Library's online catalogue www.wienerlibrary.co.uk.
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
- English