Concentration Camp in Dachau 
 Testimony of Dr. Ludwig Wechsler of Vienna, on his arrival in Dachau in 1938 
 Source: Yad Vashem Archive, 0.1/208 [Dr. Wechsler was arrested and brought to the prison in Vienna.] 
 [Several days later,] We were taken through the corridor by policemen and had to board the waiting police car. We could only follow where the car was going by looking through the ventilation openings. We had no idea of where we were being taken. We passed the court buildings, the inner city…and turned to the railway station of the west. Now we knew: concentration camp…. We were among the last to get out of the car. We heard those who were the first to jump out scream out in pain; we also heard the slap of beatings…. Between the police car and the awaiting train was a so-called "whipping ally" of SS men, who were hitting the running men with their rifles…. I managed to get to the train and jumped into a small compartment. My father had followed me and managed to pass without major injuries. There were another eleven men; we were a total of thirteen men in a compartment that could hold eight in normal times. Ten of the men squeezed into the two banks and the remaining three had to stand on their feet. Some of the men were bleeding profusely from the places where the rifles had hit them. We looked around us quickly. The compartment windows were closed and the curtains drawn, so that no one could look out…. The compartment door was closed and an SS man stood guard outside. Suddenly, we heard screaming that came closer and closer. The door of the compartment was torn open and thirty-three SS men stormed in. They threw themselves at us, yelling like animals. They hit us with their fists and kicked us with their boots with no regard to where their blows were going. They went on until they were breathless. I had never seen such rage… When those gentlemen were exhausted from the beating, one of them informed us that this was only the beginning…. He also told us we were to sit there motionless, put our hands on our knees, and look into the light without averting our eyes. If he caught one of us closing his eyes or looking anywhere else, that person would experience something he had never experienced before. Not a word was to be spoken. If someone attempted to open the window, he would be shot on the spot…. We were denied the use of the toilets for the entire 14-hour-long train ride. Requests to use these facilities were answered with punches, and the person asking was advised "to shit in his pants". Those whose eyes closed with exhaustion were taken out of the compartment to do "sports". They had to perform 100-200 knee bends or so, were kicked or punched with fists and could then return to the compartment. From time to time, the door was opened by an SS man who complained about how the Jews stank and had some fun with us.… We had to sing songs with words one can imagine if one had read the " Stuermer" . Then we had to put our hands on each other's shoulders and an SS man walked on our arms with his boots. They asked us about our professions and made scornful remarks about them. I hid the fact that I was a physician, because they had special contempt for university graduates.… As a result of the heat and our perspiration, we were all terribly thirsty. But of course there was no chance of drinking… There were three dead on our transport… 
 
 Arrival in Dachau 
 Towards morning, the maltreatment came to an end, and we seemed to be reaching our destination.… The train stopped, and the guards screamed: "get out, get out", and we were pushed to the exit. In the first moment we were blinded by the light, since we came out of darkness, but a few kicks brought us to our senses. The train had stopped in an open field. A row of SS men stood on both sides with their rifles ready to fire. We had to run along the train until we reached a train of cattle cars and get into it…. We were crowded into the train, a hundred people in each car. The doors were closed and the train moved…. After a ride of about half an hour that seemed like eternity to us, the train stopped and we had to get out. As we got off the train, we were counted by a high ranking SS officer. His dagger was drawn, and he stabbed anybody who did not get off fast enough. We had to get into lines and were marched to the camp between SS men with rifles drawn. In a large open space we were told to stand at attention in rows of ten. It was about 10 a.m. Some officers arrived and started to read names. Those whose names were called out were led in groups to dress. It was a hot, cloudless day, and those of us whose turn had not yet come had to stand at attention in the burning heat, without a drop of water, without any possibility of attending to nature's call. Not to mention food. I don't think any of us felt hungry.… As our transport included over 600 men, they could not keep up with the dressing. This resulted in a long pause. It lasted until 6 p.m.…. We were taken to another barrack outside the camp, where we had to undress completely and hand in our clothes. We were allowed to keep only a handkerchief and a wallet with a maximum of 15 Marks. Everything else was taken and written down on a list. We were given a shower in the next room and then our zebra uniform, composed of a jacket and pants made of blue striped material. Everyone was also given a shirt, a pair of woollen socks and shoes. We had to dress quickly, were shaved in an adjoining room, and then taken into a third room where we had once again to give our name, age, profession, etc. They asked us there also about previous charges and about our political activity. Then we were photographed and had to sign a declaration without being permitted to read its content. We were brought back to the camp in groups of 20 or 30. We received some soup and a piece of bread, our first meal in 24 hours. We had to stand at attention again and were finally taken into a barrack. There, like all inmates, our hair was cut. Then in groups of about 200 men we were…assigned barracks. Finally at 0:30 a.m. we were taken into our barrack and could rest for a few hours on sacks with straw. We had not closed our eyes for 40 hours. 
 
 The second day 
 The next day, at around 7 a.m., we were woken up and had to stand in roll call. The Blockaelteste (the inmate in charge of the block), a political prisoner who had been in the camp for almost five years, presented himself…and held a short speech. He stressed the importance of discipline and comradeship, and informed us of some of the camp's rules. We then marched to the roll call field, where we were counted. The camp commander himself gave us a speech. He declared that we were enemies of the state and would be treated as such. With regard to Aryan enemies of the state, the camp's purpose was to educate them and to turn them into valuable members of the German nation. But this was impossible with Jews. A Jew could never become a member of the German nation. We were interned as enemies of the state and would remain in protective custody until we emigrated. But we should have no illusions about getting out soon. It could take a year or two. In the meantime, we were to work well if we wanted to be fed…. If we did not follow the camp's rules, there were harsh punishments, such as being tied to a tree and flogged, etc. Any punishment in the camp would prolong the duration of our protective custody. He finally announced that any attempt to escape or any attack on an SS man would result in the use of guns; and the SS men, he mentioned, were expert shots….