Hi Carl thankyou again for posting these interesting pictures and talking us through (so to speak).
I initially thought that going by the size it could be a reservoir for fires (like we saw at Auschwitz 1) but if it was in the SS garrison away from the main prison it would have nothing to do with fires.
Quite disturbing to think the SS personal were swimming about relaxing whilst the prisoners were next door!
The period aerial photograph on the camp memorial's website illustrates the pool's location:
https://www.kz-gedenkstaette-dachau.de/topografie.html
It is the triangular shape at the upper edge of the top photograph, bordering on the yellow line. The yellow line marks the boundaries of the Übungslager; the light blue line those of the concentration camp.
Wow, if that's the big green triangle thing they most certainly didn't do things by halve. :0
Looking at the pictures on the site HPL, the main prison has a electrified perimeter fence which as we know is still there to this day. So where the border of what they call 'the concentration camp' is, was there an additional perimeter fence there?
Am I right in thinking that in the 'concentration camp' area this is where the factory would have been that made the SS uniform (like collar tabs etc) and the forge which Paul muller used to make the SS swords?
The Dachau camp zone (or area of interest) was indeed a huge expansive site. Bakeries, workshops, factories etc were all located within this vast area. The aerial photograph from April 1945 that is shown in the link above from the Gedenkstätte-Dachau website, has coloured borders added so as to highlight the various zones of interest. However, the lines could well be amended as directly below the Häftlingslager (Prisoner's Camp), and continuing on to the left as we see the image, is another section that was also part of the SS-Zone. The aerial photograph also does not show the entire plantation area nor the SS shooting range, both of which were located north of the prisoner camp. Regarding the fencing, the prisoner camp was surrounded by a high stone wall with electrified wire, a canal and also the electrified fencing that many are familiar with at such sites.
Carl
Hi Carl, I know exactly where you mean. But There must have been an adjacent fence around the factories and buildings to stop the prisoners escaping whilst working at these buildings?
Hi Matt, yes, the areas within any prisoner zone were generally surrounded by some form of wire fencing or wall etc, including work places. The majority of concentration camp prisoner escape attempts also occurred during the work shift, as despite security measures being put in place by their overseers, the levels of security were generally not as strong as in the prison compound itself, thus, prisoners saw the only realistic chance of freedom presented during this time away from the Häftlingslager. For a pictoral study of the various forms of security measures used within the KZ system, see here: KZ Fencing
Carl
Cheers Carl.
We need a trip here so you can take us through it in detail.
Yes Matt, next year, the Dachau site (along with the Mauthausen-Gusen camp system) will likely be an option, although the spring tour (April 2016) will head further north and take in Sachsenhausen and Ravensbrück. Details of the spring tour will be posted in the near future, I already have a confirmed date.
Carl
Ok mate thankyou! I should be allowed to come to that but as a safety measure I will work on the mrs at once.....
Looking forward to next weeks trip to Germany, it will be very nice to meet up again.
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