Willkommen zum Fotoversuch von Dachau, Deutschland

Als die Nazis die Kommunisten holten,
habe ich geschwiegen; ich war ja kein Kommunist.
Als sie die Sozialdemokraten einsperrten,
habe ich geschwiegen; ich war ja kein Sozialdemokrat.
Als sie die Gewerkschafter holten,
habe ich geschwiegen; ich war ja kein Gewerkschafter.
Als sie die Juden holten,
habe ich geschwiegen; ich war ja kein Jude.
Als sie mich holten, gab es keinen mehr,
der protestieren konnte.
 When the Nazis got the communists,
I had been silent; I was no communist.
When they locked up the Social Democrats,
I had been silent;
I was no Social Democrat.
When they got the trade unionists,
I had been silent; I was no trade unionist.
When they got the Jews, I had been silent; I was no Jew.
When they got me, there was none more,
which could protest.


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Brief background

The day that Heinrich Himmler announced that a concentration camp in Dachau, Germany was to open was on March 21, 1933. Theodor Eicke became commandant of the concentration camp in June of the year 1933 and created an administrative group with rules that would eventually be placed on all concentration camps. Around the camp, watch-towers with convenient "fire areas" on each side were placed around the camp so no prisoner could escape. Eicker did such as good job with the Dachau concentration camp, he was later appointed as inspector of all concentration camps with Dachau being the "model" camp. Mostly Austrian prisoners were brought to Dachau after the annexion of Austria in 1938. Then prisoners from other countries such as Poland, Belgium, Czech Republic and Norway were brought. The prisioners were to maintain the camp, and some worked in management areas. Altogether, there was about 30,000 registered deaths at the Dachau concentration, without a doubt more unregistered deaths as well.


A special thanks goes out to Philip Greenspun
for the use of these photos.