Dachau – American photograph of a prisoners wooden shoe

This photo was taken by an American soldier during the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp in April 1945.
The image shows a worn-out shoe lying on the stony ground of the camp.
The wooden sole is fitted with metal studs, typical of the work shoes worn by prisoners during forced labor.
Although the object may seem simple, this abandoned shoe symbolizes the human suffering that took place within the confines of Dachau.
For many, leaving behind their shoes marked the end of their suffering, sometimes through death, sometimes through liberation.

Concentration camp Dachau

Concentration Camp Dachau was inaugurated on March 22, 1933.
It developed as a prototype for new concentration camps and occupied several special positions.
For most of its existence, Dachau served as a concentration camp, but Dachau was evacuated shortly after the start of the Second World War.
All prisoners were transferred to Mauthausen, Buchenwald, and Flossenburg.
A Part of the SS-Totenkopf-Standarten was stationed there to prepare for military deployment.
Concentration camp Dachau was reopened in February 1940.
As in other concentration camps, medical experiments were also conducted in Dachau.
Heinrich Himmler established in 1942 that an unlimited number of prisoners was made available for the experiments.
Some 206,000 people were held captive during the war and 41,500 were killed.
Dachau Concentration Camp was liberated on April 29, 1945 by American troops.
In the days leading up to the liberation, transports of prisoners from other concentration camps arrived in Dachau. Most people were in a pitiful state of exhaustion and malnutrition.
On April 26, 1945, a notorious death march started from Dachau.
During the liberation of the camp some 32,000 prisoners were still present.