DACHAU LIST

What is the Dachau list?

It is a list of possessions taken from more than 2,800 inmates of Dachau Concentration Camp upon their entry to the camp. The possessions of each inmate were placed in envelopes and marked with their names, nationality (or in some cases the reason for imprisonment at the camp, such as political prisoner), date of birth and their Nazi assigned number.

How this list came to me

Gregg Rickman, when Legislative Director for Senator Alfonse D'Amato of New York, found the Dachau List in the National Archives in Washington, D.C. after it was declassified in April 1996. He gave a copy of this list to Arlene Rich who was then the president of the Jewish Genealogy Society of Cleveland, for the purpose of disseminating the information contained within for genealogical purposes. A native Clevelander, Dr. Rickman is a long-standing member of the JGS of Cleveland. The list was then passed on to me for entry into computer readable form and eventually to find a home on the internet.

What it contains

This list contains the names (Surname and Given), nationality, assigned number, birth date, envelope number and contents of the envelopes for 2,863+ inmates of Dachau Concentration Camp. There is no indication as to the period of time covered by the list.

The envelopes were contained in Shipment #52E and by September 1946 were housed in the Foreign Exchange Depository where an inventory list was made. This list was completed by July 21, 1947 and it was determined that with the shipment valued at approximately $8,000 "... it would not appear advisable to attempt a general restitution to the individuals named on the envelopes or their heirs." The envelopes that comprised Shipment #52E.... "appear to have been dumped into the containers in random order and it would be impractical to attempt to find the property of a particular individual ...."

Thanks to Gregg Rickman, we have this Dachau Concentration Camp List of names that was declassified in April, 1996 available to us for genealogical research.

Shown below are the letter dated 10 Sept 1946 that was attached to the list and a list of abbreviations used in the list.

To view the list, now available in one complete document, A - Z by last name, in Adobe Reader (.pdf) format, click here. (202 Kb)

David Cooper

Note: David Cooper also submitted this information to JewishGen which has merged it into their Holocaust database. Click here.
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Main gate at dachau
The main gate at Dachau, the first Nazi concentration camp. (Courtesy of Wikipedia.)
In an attempt to mislead visitors, it proclaims "Work shall set you free."

The Attached Letter

The text of the letter which was attached to the Dachau Concentration Camp list.

Records and Funds of Dachau Concentration Camp 10 Sep 1946
1 F.E.D. Chief, 10 Sep 1946
OMGUS Rear APO 757
Property Control Branch OMGUS APO 742

In reply to your inquiry of 24 Aug 1946 copy attached, you are informed that shipment No. 52 E is said to consist of effects which were removed from prisoners held in Dachau Concentration Camp. Upon Opening two of the seven containers comprising this shipment they were found to contain thousands of separate, sealed envelopes, each identified by name, nationality and number of prisoner, and bearing indications as to contents.

The task of inventorying all the material held in the Foreign Exchange Depository is now under way, but many months may elapse before its completion. The envelopes mentioned above appear to have been dumped into the containers in random order and it would be impracticable to attempt to find the property of a particular individual at this time.

WGB/Cl-R William G. BREY,
Tel: Frankf BA583 Colonel, GSC
Chief, Foreign Exchange Depository.

Abbreviations used in the Dachau List

AE Prisoners kept in camp for the purpose "orientation to work" (Reeducation of inefficient workers).
AH Political Prisoner suspect of having given false identification.
Ech Rsp Communist Spanish War Volunteer
I Priority Prisoner (on order from Berlin).
Kgf Prisoner of War (Russians)
NA - NTR Prisoners to be kept in main camp.
Nal To be kept in camp pending completion of investigation Sonderdienst (SD).
NAL- kgf. Prisoners of War to be kept in main camp under special guard
NTR Prisoners kept in Main Camp for further disposition by Gestapo.
NN "Nacht und Nebel" (which means night and fog - these words are used for secret military missions); Political Prisoners considered as hostages and marked for executions as reprisal for underground activities in Western European Countries.
PF Parson, clergyman
PH Political Prisoners arrested before 1939.
PVH Communist from the Spanish Civil war, kept in protective custody
(Special category ?).
RSP Communist Spanish War Volunteer
SAW Former members of German Army sent to camp by order of Army HQ.
Sch Political Prisoner
Sch-J Political Prisoner Jew
VH Priority Prisoner (for good conduct).
ZA Civilian Workers
ZIG Gypsy

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