he first official concentration camp in Nazi Germany opened its gates to receive prisoners on 22 March 1933, fulfilling a promise made by the Nazis that “subversives” would be put into camps without trial, bypassing the formal machinery of the judicial and state prison system. The camp was located in a disused munitions factory in Dachau, just outside Munich. Conditions were poor, and the police, army and inmates worked hard to convert or construct the necessary buildings, erect the perimeter fence, and provide the basic facilities. Within a couple of weeks, however, the Bavarian police, whose recently appointed head, Heinrich Himmler, had ordered the establishment of the camp, handed it over to the SS, of which Himmler was also in charge.
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