Before the Holocaust: Concentration Camp Lichtenburg and the Evolution of the Nazi Camp System

Bringing to bear a variety of newly uncovered primary sources, this study demonstrates that the early concentration camp system derived as much from practice at the Lichtenburg camp in Prussia as from practice at the better-studied Dachau camp in Bavaria. The author addresses the movement of personnel to other camps, SS and camp relations with the city of Prettin, management of the women’s camp, and other subjects. The discussion illuminates the early evolution of the Nazi camp system.