Archive

With the founding of the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site in 1965, an archive and a library were also opened. The majority of the written documents are copies, while most of the photos are reproductions. All documents are preserved under optimal climatic conditions. The archive is located in the administrative section of the Memorial Site.

Holdings

The archive collects material related to the Dachau concentration camp and its subcamps. It also includes the antecedent and, above all, the post history of the concentration camp as well as the history of the Memorial Site. The archive also provides information on persons who were imprisoned in the Dachau concentration camp or served in the SS area; information relevant to objects and thematic issues is also provided. The search request forms are to be found under “Person and Thematic Search”.

A large part of the written material and the photo holdings have been digitalized. The documents may be researched on an archive databank in the reading room. An overview of how the holdings are arranged and managed is given in the inventory.

The archive is comprised of the following sections:

• Written documents (estates, memoirs, reports, biographies, trial documents)
• Photos
• Maps and plans
• Newspaper clippings

Guidelines and information on the restricted use of the archive and library of the memorial site

The archival and library resources of the memorial site are currently only available for the purposes of university or school theses, for academic research projects, or for indispensable legal purposes that make a visit to us in person absolutely necessary.

Our staff will be happy to process and respond to all other enquiries in the form of a written request.

Unfortunately, access to our database for research purposes is only possible in very rare circumstances. Such requests must be discussed with the archival staff at least one week in advance of a scheduled visit.

As part of your visit, we would kindly ask you to observe the following guidelines, which serve to protect both you and our staff:

• Please be sure to bring your own personal protective equipment in the form of FFP2 mask.
• In addition, you will be required to present a negative test certificate. This will need to have been carried out a maximum of 48 hours (for antigen tests) or 72 hours (PCR) prior to your visit.
• Please also bring your own pencils and other writing utensils; the reading room supervisor will not issue them.

Registration for the use of the archive

Use of the archive is only possible after a written and telephone request is confirmed by us. To make an appointment, please use the following contact details.

Registration must be made at least 7 working days prior to a planned visit. Please only come if you have an appointment confirmation.

In addition, we would ask that you assist our staff by indicating the planned duration of your visit.

Rules in the archive

For its part, the Dachau Memorial will ensure that the relevant protective measures are in place. These include:

• the restriction of access by third parties to the reading rooms
• the provision of hand disinfectant
• adequate ventilation of the reading rooms
• maintaining a minimum distance of 1.5 metres during your visit.

We would kindly ask you to support us by ensuring that you maintain minimum distances in meeting areas such as corridors as well as when entering and leaving buildings and rooms. Please also follow the instructions of our staff on site.

We are currently unable to assist you on the day of your visit by providing advice and guidance regarding our collections. Consequently, we advise a telephone consultation with our archivists prior to the visit. The library holdings of the concentration camp memorial can be searched in the online union catalogue AGGB.

Ordered archival materials and library titles will be placed on your desk in the reading room prior to your arrival. Please leave them there upon conclusion of your visit. A supplementary note from you advising whether further use is planned would be of assistance to us.

Requests for the reproduction of documents cannot be accepted in the reading room. Please use the written procedure for orders. Alternatively, it is possible to make self-recordings for exclusive working use.

Person and Thematic Search

The names and imprisonment details of prisoners in the Dachau concentration camp were registered in various documents and have in part survived. A digital prisoner register contains the imprisonment details of over 90 percent of the more than 200,000 prisoners. However, the SS destroyed the prisoner files kept in the protective custody camp shortly before liberation. The photos of the police records department have also not survived. We also offer search inquiries for the Soviet prisoners of war murdered at the Hebertshausen shooting range.

The archive’s staff will answer your inquiries concerning all the thematic areas related to the Dachau concentration camp and Memorial Site. Inquiries with respect to other themes may also be submitted, for example the camp SS, the Dachau internment camp (1945-1948), and the Dachau East refugee camp (1948-1965).

Please send your inquiries to the archive directly:

Search options

The following request form may be used by both relatives and researchers to help identify suitable search options:

Please note that due to the high number of enquiries we receive, it could take several weeks until our team can respond to your request.