Liberation of Dachau. American forces liberate Dachau, the first concentration camp established by the Nazis. Built in 1933, just five weeks after Hitler’s accession to the post of Chancellor, on the outskirts of the town of Dachau, 12 miles north of Munich, the camp served as a model for other Nazi concentration camps. Here, for the first time, prisoners were used as guinea pigs in medical experiments. The Nazis tested the effects of freezing and changes in atmospheric pressure on prisoners, infected them with malaria, subjected them to experimental drugs, forced them to drink only seawater, and subjected them to other horrific experiments. At least 32,000 deportees died in Dachau and its satellite camps, and countless others passed through on their way to other extermination camps. The American troops who liberated Dachau were so shocked by the conditions in the camp that they immediately executed 30 German SS guards. Unlike previous camps, Dachau was liberated by American soldiers, returning from a furious battle. No American soldier was tried for violating the Geneva Convention on April 29. The citizens of Dachau were forced to bury the 9,000 inmates found dead in the camp.
