Before the Holocaust: the early concentration camps in the Third Reich
Lead Research Organisation:
Birkbeck, University of London
Department Name: History Classics and Archaeology
Abstract
The concentration camps stood at the centre of Nazi terror. This research projects examines the establishment and development of this camp system in the years prior to the Second World War, which left a crucial legacy for the war years and the Holocaust. The research project explores the early camps from the perspective of the regime, the prisoners and the German population, in order to answer broader questions about the changing function of the early Nazi camps, the dynamic relationship between different prisoner groups inside, and popular perceptions of the camps in Nazi Germany.
Publications
Christopher Dillon
The Dachau Concentration Camp SS, 1933-1939.
Christopher Dillon (Author)
(2011)
Kontinuitäten und Brüche: Neue Studien zur Geschichte der nationalsozialistischen Konzentrationslager
Dillon
(2015)
Dachau and the SS: A Schooling in Violence
Dillon C
(2010)
'We'll Meet Again in Dachau': The Early Dachau SS and the Narrative of Civil War
in Journal of Contemporary History
Dillon C
(2013)
'Tolerance means weakness': the Dachau concentration camp S.S., militarism and masculinity Dachau concentration camp S.S., militarism and masculinity
in Historical Research
Dillon, C.
(2014)
Die Linke im Visier
Fackler G
(2010)
Cultural behaviour and the invention of traditions: music and musical practices in the early concentration camps, 1933-6/7.
in Journal of contemporary history
Goeschel C
(2010)
Suicide in Nazi concentration camps, 1933-9.
in Journal of contemporary history
Goeschel, C; Wachsmann, N.
(2013)
Lager vor Auschwitz (Metropol: Berlin, 2013)
Goeschel, Christian; Wachsmann, Nikolaus; Osers, Ewald
(2012)
The Nazi Concentration Camps, 1933-1939: A Documentary History
| Title | Before Auschwitz: Nazi Concentration Camps 1933-39 |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Description | British Academy Research Development Award |
| Amount | £64,200 (GBP) |
| Organisation | The British Academy |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | |
| Description | Leverhulme Research Fellowship |
| Amount | £45,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | The Leverhulme Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | |
| Description | Research Grant |
| Amount | $26,000 (USD) |
| Organisation | Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United States |
| Start | |
| Description | Research Grant |
| Amount | € 10,000 (EUR) |
| Organisation | Fritz Thyssen Foundation |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | Germany |
| Start | |
| Description | International conference on the history of the prewar Nazi camps |
| Organisation | Birkbeck, University of London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Our research team organised a two-day conference that featured contributions from some 20 academics from Britain, Germany, the US and Switzerland. |
| Collaborator Contribution | As the first-ever gathering of scholars in the field, the conference provided important new insights into all aspects of the research project and also provided useful new contacts (for example, several speakers contributed documents to the edition of primary sources). |
| Impact | Journal of Contemporary History Special Issue |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | Research project on the international history of the concentration camps |
| Organisation | Trinity College Dublin |
| Country | Ireland |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | In 2007, the PI was invited to join a major Dublin-based research project on the international history of the concentration camps, funded by the Irish Research Council for Humanities and Social Sciences. The PI joined as the expert on the history of the pre-war Nazi camps. A first workshop was held in 2008; a further workshop was held in Berlin in 2011; in return. The collaboration with the Dublin project has had a considerable impact on the AHRC project, helping to set the Nazi camps into the wider context. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Members of the Dublin-project attended the final Birkbeck project conference and made valuable contributions to our discussions. |
| Impact | N. Wachsmann, C. Goeschel, 'Before Auschwitz: The Formation of the Nazi Concentration Camps, 1933-9', in: C. Jahr, J. Thiel (eds), Lager vor Auschwitz (Metropol: Berlin, 2013), pp. 268-87 |
| Start Year | 2007 |
| Description | "Dachau and the SS: A Schooling in Violence" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Public lecture |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | Exhibition on the pre-war Nazi camps |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Our exhibition on the pre-war camps - professionally designed with six color panels featuring text and illustrations - opened at the Wiener Library in September 2009, and provided a brief introduction to the Nazi camp system. It sparked plenty of discussion on the opening night and subsequent weeks. I was contacted by numerous visitors after the exhibition opening, which also featured a public lecture by myself. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009 |
| Description | Public lecture |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | On 4 July 2008, Prof. Sir R. J. Evans gave a public lecture on 'The Concentration Camps in the Nazi System of Repression and Control, 1933-1939', at Birkbeck College, University of London. We were contacted by several audience members, some of whom shared documents. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2008 |
| Description | Public presentation of research findings |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | In April 2009, all six core members of the project gave papers at a public event specially organized at Topographie des Terrors, Berlin's most important public forum for disseminating research on Nazi Germany. We received important feedback and also some documents for our documentary reader, published in 2012. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009 |
| Description | Website on prewar Nazi camps |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The project website includes: • a detailed history of the pre-war SS camps • over 30 documents on the Nazi camps (in English translation) • facsimiles of original German documents • podcasts of two lectures (by the PI and Prof. Overy) delivered as part of the research project • photos from the SS camps • guides to further reading and online resources To reach history teachers in the UK, details of the project website have been posted on the popular site schoolhistory.co.uk, where history teachers exchange information about new teaching resources. By mid-December 2009, the announcement had been viewed by more than 180 users. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009 |
| URL | http://www.camps.bbk.ac.uk/ |