| View of the entrance to Dachau Konzentrationslager (“Concentration Camp”) with the Prussian eagle perched on top. Soldiers of the United States Army 42nd Infantry Division guard this gate in April or May 1945. Originally a “Moll-System” concrete bunker for 2 guards, manufactured by the Leonhard Moll concrete company of Munich, was to the left side of the gate. This was removed by the time later later photos were taken. The main entrance to the Schutzstaffel (SS) training area, as distinct from the SS camp administration area, was on the other side of the compound, near today’s John F. Kennedy Platz. Adjacent to this gate building was the entrance actually used by concentration camp prisoners. The main rail line into the former munitions factory ran through here, and this is where prisoners got off the rail cars and were then marched through the SS compound to enter the prisoner compound through the Jourhaus Gate. The “death train” from Buchenwald was discovered here. The stone arch gateway with large eagle no longer exists. This building is now the main entrance to the Bavarian Police compound, and is not open to the public. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0595.jpg |
| Image Size | 689.80 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 3000 x 2192 |
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| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | March 5, 1945 |
| Location | Konzentrationslager Dachau |
| City | Dachau |
| State or Province | Bavaria |
| Country | Germany |
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| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |

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