Muenchen-Allach_Dachau_sub-camp_1945-04-30_Nr_18145_ushmm

Map KZ-Aussenlager Muenchen-Allach - english

Munich-Allach concentration camp was a

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

camp established by the Nazi

Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (; ; SS; also stylised with SS runes as ''ᛋᛋ'') was a major paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II. It beg ...

(SS) in

Allach-Untermenzing Allach-Untermenzing (Central Bavarian: ''Allach-Untamenzing'') is the 23rd borough of Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Allach Situated in extreme northwest of the city, the borough consists of the municipalities of Allach and Untermenzing. Allach was ...

, a suburb of

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

in southern Germany, in 1943. It provided slave labour for nearby factories of

BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...

, ''Dyckerhoff'', ''Sager & Woerner'', ''Kirsch Sägemühle'', ''Pumpel Lochhausen'' and

Organisation Todt Organisation Todt (OT; ) was a Civil engineering, civil and military engineering organisation in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, named for its founder, Fritz Todt, an engineer and senior member of the Nazi Party. The organisation was responsible ...

with up to 17,000 prisoners in 1945. More than 1,800 of them came to death. It was the largest sub-camp of the

Dachau concentration camp Dachau (, ; , ; ) was one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany and the longest-running one, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents, which consisted of communists, s ...

system (see map on the right, red square). Another smaller subcamp

Allach porcelain Allach porcelain (pronounced 'alak') a.k.a. Porzellan Manufaktur Allach was produced in Germany between 1935 and 1945. After its first year of operation, the enterprise was run by the SS with forced labor provided by the Dachau concentration cam ...

a.k.a. ''Porzellan Manufaktur Allach'' with about 40 prisoners produced

porcelain Porcelain (), also called china, is a ceramic material made by heating Industrial mineral, raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to oth ...

artworks.

History

A labour camp was established on February 22, 1943, to address workforce shortages in the armament and building industry of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

Camp population

The camp divided Jews from non-Jews as well as men from women. The number of prisoners varied at different points in time. Approximately 3,000–4,000 men were in the camp, with many more as Allach became an end point for many

death march A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war, other captives, or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinct from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Convention requires tha ...

es and transports from other

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

s. The women's camp was much smaller at 200–300 persons. The prisoner population in the non-Jewish camp was mainly French, Russians, Poles, Spanish, Czechs and Dutch, as well as victims of

racial persecution Race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 16th century, when it was used to refer to groups of va ...

and German opponents of the regime. Deaths were normal, both from the cruelty of the SS and from

malnutrition Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients which adversely affects the body's tissues a ...

, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene. As a result,

dysentery Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

and

scabies Scabies (; also sometimes known as the seven-year itch) is a contagious human skin infestation by the tiny (0.2–0.45 mm) mite ''Sarcoptes scabiei'', variety ''hominis''. The word is from . The most common symptoms are severe itchiness a ...

broke out.

Slave labor

It was the first of seven sub-camps to supply the BMW armament factory with

slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

laborers, where

BMW 801 The BMW 801 was a powerful Nazi Germany, German Air-cooled engine, air-cooled 14-cylinder-radial engine, radial aircraft engine built by BMW and used in a number of German Luftwaffe aircraft of World War II. Production versions of the Radial e ...

airplane engines were produced and repaired. The entire subcamp, including 31 accommodation barracks, was surrounded by an electrically charged fence and guarded by watchtowers.

Liberation

US soldiers of the 42nd Rainbow Division entered the camp at around 9 am on April 30, 1945, one day after the main camp at Dachau was liberated and on the same day of

Hitler's suicide Adolf Hitler, chancellor and dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, committed suicide via a gunshot to the head on 30 April 1945 in the in Berlin after it became clear that Germany would lose the Battle of Berlin, which led to the e ...

. The 66th Field Hospital, attached to the 42nd Division of the US Seventh Army, was brought to Allach to take care of the sick prisoners. By May 10, they had moved on to help with the typhus epidemic in the main camp. The fall of the

Third Reich Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

brought an end to the Allach concern. The Allach factories were shut down in 1945 and never reopened. In the meantime, the names and origins of 1,800 dead are known; the actual number is significantly higher. The successor company

MTU Aero Engines MTU Aero Engines AG is a German aircraft engine manufacturer. MTU develops, manufactures and provides service support for military and civil aircraft engines. MTU Aero Engines was formerly known as MTU München. History While the Munich-based e ...

(Dachauer Straße 665) and

MAN Nutzfahrzeuge MAN Truck & Bus SE (formerly MAN Nutzfahrzeuge AG, ) is a German automotive manufacturer and the subsidiary of Traton, one of the leading international providers of commercial vehicles. Headquartered in Munich, Germany, MAN Truck & Bus produces v ...

(Dachauer Straße 667) are now producing on the premises of BMW Flugmotorenbau GmbH (see map, blue).

References

*''The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum ''

Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933–1945 ''Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933–1945'' is a seven-part encyclopedia series that explores the history of the concentration camps, ghettos, forced-labor camps, and other sites of detention, persecution, or state-sponsored murder ru ...

'' (Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)
March of Life

Bibliography

External links

''Das KZ Außenlager Dachau-Allach - Daten und Fakten'' aka ''The sub-camp Dachau-Allach - facts and figures''
online ''kz-dachau-allach.de'' (german, maps, pictures, use google translator, sub-camp Dachau-Allach ist the same as Munich-Allach). Accessed online on September 14, 2021 {{Authority control Subcamps of Dachau Munich in World War II