[Corpses in the Crematorium Mortuary in the Newly Liberated Dachau Concentration Camp, Dachau, Germany]
After Hitler built the Dachau concentration camp in March 1933, it became the model for all such Nazi prison facilities. Jews, Romani, and other political enemies of the Third Reich were subjected to horrific conditions, forced labor, cruel medical experiments, and death at these camps. When Dachau was finally liberated by U.S. forces on April 29, 1945, 30,000 prisoners were found alive, but sick and starving; 32,000 had already died. Made by an unknown photographer and distributed widely by "jugo foto," a Yugoslavian picture agency, the photograph provides powerful documentation of the crimes of the Nazi era and the role of the camera in recording them.
Artwork Details
- Title: [Corpses in the Crematorium Mortuary in the Newly Liberated Dachau Concentration Camp, Dachau, Germany]
- Artist: Unknown
- Date: April 29–May 10, 1945
- Medium: Gelatin silver print
- Dimensions: 13.5 x 8.6 cm (5 5/16 x 3 3/8 in.)
- Classification: Photographs
- Credit Line: Funds from various donors, 2008
- Object Number: 2008.350
- Curatorial Department: Photographs
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