GB 1556 WL 581 - Dachau and Buchenwald: Report on conditions and prisoners' possessions list (partly microfilm)

Identity area

Reference code

GB 1556 WL 581

Title

Dachau and Buchenwald: Report on conditions and prisoners' possessions list (partly microfilm)

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

Related descriptions

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

Wiener Library

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

Script(s)

    Sources

    Accession area