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KL DACHAU

The two crematoria buildings at Dachau. The first is  the original crematorium a small wooden building containing a walled in and adapted double muffle Topf mobile oven. The second is the new crematorium building that includes four single muffle Kori permanent ovens.

Prior to the installation of the camps own crematorium, coffins with dead prisoners were transported to Munich for cremation in the municipla crematorium. Also until May 1941 the ditsrict registrar was used for recording deaths and civil requirements of notices arising from such deaths. By May 1941 the number of deaths was becoming too high and the affairs of the camp therfore too public so Dachau camp set up its own registrars office.

In 1937 Dachau concentration camp asked the firm W Muller of Allach an industrial furnace manufacturer to design a crematorium for the camp. The firm had previuosly delivered to the SS indutrial ovens for the SS porcelain factory in Allach. Given Muller originally proposed a gas supplied crematorium but subsequently discovered Dachau had no gas supply. They therefore proposed a coke fired oven in June 1937. It seems they did not win the contract as in November 1939 (summer of 1940 according to Benz and Distel) Topf installed in Dachau a double muffle cremation furnance costing DM 8,750. According to Pressac Page 95 this was of a design not found elsewhere.

In late 1944 and into 1945 the death rate in the camp increased dramatically and the crematorium was unable to cremate all of the bodies. The number of dead between December 1944 and liberation was 14,511. Resort was made to mass graves on the Leitenburg.

 

Sources:

Pressac, Jean-Claude: Auschwitz. Technique and Operation of the Gas Chambers. Beate Klarsfeld. 1989

Benz, Wolfgang and Distel, Barbara: Der Ort DesTerrors Band 2. C H Beck 2005

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