Hitler's first major concentration camp was located in the village of Dachau not far from the city of Munich. Unlike other future camps, there was quite a variety of people incarcerated there: Communists, political enemies of the Nazis, violent criminals, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses and some Jews all were herded through the gates of this camp, past words that said "Arbeit Macht Frei" - Work Will Make you Free.
The SS tested different methods of confinement, worker motivation, ration distribution, etc. at Dachau so it would be perfected for future camps.
At first his camps were merely about consolidating his power. Before long, it became his instrument to annihilate the Jewish population, along with communists, Russian POWs and the Roma (Gypsies).
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