Location of new Crematorium at Dachau

"...I inspected the crematorium. It was located several hundred yards from the Enclosure Gate. It consisted of several large buildings, entirely hidden from outside view by a large well-trimmed hedge over twelve feet high. Passing through the arched gate, I was confronted by a formal garden; green grass neatly cut, beds of flowers along the cinder paths, a water fountain and several large birdhouses from which turtle doves came and went. " Lt. Col. Fellenz, 42nd Rainbow Division, from his Official Report to the Commanding General, 6 May 1945

The area where the new crematorium building, called Baracke X, is located is outside the prison compound on the west side of the camp at the north end. This area is isolated from the prisoners' barracks by the swift-flowing Würm river, which runs in a straight line through a concrete-lined canal along the border of the camp on the western side. The entrance to the crematoria area is through the gate shown in the photo below. In the foreground is a bridge over the Würm river canal. This bridge and the gate were built in 1965 when the Dachau camp was turned into a Memorial Site.

The photograph directly below shows the small bridge across the Würm river at the entrance to the crematoria area. Behind the bridge, you can see a wall which was built around the crematoria area after the camp was liberated. The path in front of the wall leads south toward the gatehouse, where there is a locked iron gate in another wall that has been built since the liberation to close off the crematoria area.

Just after you cross the bridge shown above and enter the crematoria area, you will see the memorial stone shown in the photograph below. This was the first memorial erected at Dachau. The English translation of the words on the stone is "Crematorium - Think about how we died here"

The photograph below, taken from behind the building, shows the north end of Baracke X. In the photograph, you can see branches of a beautiful chestnut tree, planted after the liberation. There is a bench under this tree where one can rest in the shade and contemplate the nearby grave where the ashes of thousands of unknown victims of the Dachau concentration camp were buried. The door on the left leads to a morgue room next to the oven room, which is shown in the old black and white photo below.

The photograph above was taken in April 1945 when the Dachau camp was liberated. It shows fully-clothed bodies of dead prisoners in the morgue room that is to the north of the crematory ovens.

The photo above shows bodies of dead prisoners in the morgue at Dachau. Note the blood running into the floor drain in the center of the photo.

More Photos of Baracke X

Cremation Ovens in Baracke X

Old Photos of cremation ovens

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This page was last updated on April 3, 2008