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"Late April 1945, a train with nearly 3,000 deportees from the Mühldorf complex, an annex camp of the Dachau concentration camp, stopped in the station of the small town of Poing, only about 20 km from here,
The evacuation of these camps had begun shortly before. As, from Poing on, the railway line was no longer usable, the train remained blocked in Poing station
At first the atmosphere - at least for the local population – was of a deceptive calm.
A passer-by later recalled: "It was a beautiful sunny day and the SS were sitting on the embankment watching the prisoners. At about the same time, here in Munich, began the crucial phase of the "Freiheitsaktion Bayern" ("Bavaria Liberty Action"). The exact link between the insurgency attempt and the events taking place in Poing, is difficult to reconstruct
Any way, in the afternoon of April 27 or 28, the rumor that the war was over, circulated among the SS troops who were watching the train. Because of that, many SS guards left their posts, the doors were opened and the surprised prisoners thought they were free
They began to look for food and for that they also went to the village. The inhabitants later remembered that the SS guards informed them about the presumed end of the war and the release of concentration camp prisoners.
But when after about an hour,in Poing, it was clear that the news of the end of the war were false, the situation degenerated: suddenly, prisoners were no longer considered as being released, but as fugitives."

The award ceremony will take place on Saturday, March 17, at 17:00 in the auditorium of the

National Socialist Documentation Center, Max-Mannheimer-Platz 1 in Munich.

Waldfriedhof 15/12/2017.

In memoriam Boris Priadchenko.

We have just learned about the death of Boris Priadchenko. He passed away on September 28, at the age of 92. Like his wife Valentina, health-wise weakened since 2015, we knew, for the last several months, that he was tired.

Study trip in The Netherlands of the Max Mannheimer Study Center

From the 29th of September to the 2nd of October, 2017 the staff of the Max Mannheimer Studienzentrum (MMSZ) came to the Netherlands to conduct research on the Dutch memory culture of the Second World War.

Speech by Jean-Michel Thomas

"The Nazi mentality and its crimes, which left such an indelible impression on the entire world, are thus still with us and, unfortunately, are being rekindled by current events."

Speech by the General Commissioner (2s), Jean-Michel Thomas

President of the International Dachau Committee 30 April 2017.

Oliver Lustig

 4. November 1926 - 19. April 2017

Stolen gate returns home

22 February: the gate that was stolen two years ago, has been returned to the memorial site in Dachau.

The gate, bearing the slogan "Arbeit macht frei," ( "Work sets you free,") was located in the Bergen area of Norway after authorities received an anonymous tip last year.

The gate will not be returned to its original position at the entrance, where a copy now stands, but will become part of the permanent exhibition and it will be kept inside a transparent cabinet equipped with an alarm system.

Tribute to Max Mannheimer

Speech of Barbara Distel at the Tribute to Max Mannheimer

 on October 23 in Munich.