Dachau

Dachau is a town in Bavaria, Germany, located about 20 kilometers northwest of Munich. It is the administrative seat of the district of Dachau in Upper Bavaria and lies on the Amper river.

Near the town is the Dachau Concentration Camp, established in 1933 by the Nazi regime. It was the first regular concentration camp in Germany and served as a model for later camps. The camp detained political opponents, Jews, Roma, Jehovah's Witnesses, homosexuals, disabled people, and others; inmates endured forced labor, malnutrition, disease, and executions. The camp was liberated by American troops on April 29, 1945.

Today the site is the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site, operated by the Bavarian state authorities, established as a permanent memorial and museum to document Nazi persecution and the Holocaust. The memorial preserves several original camp structures, and its exhibitions, archives, and remembrance activities educate visitors and researchers.

Dachau today is a modern municipality with residential areas, local industry, and services, and it functions as part of the Munich metropolitan region.