Dachau is a town in southern Germany, and the name of the concentration camp the Nazis built there. From 1933 they held political prisoners, Jews, and many other people. A great number were killed, or died from hunger, illness, and cruel treatment. It was the first Nazi concentration camp, and later camps were built on its model. English borrowed the name from German. When people say Dachau in history, they almost always mean the camp and what happened there, not a quiet town on the map. It is a heavy name; you will meet it in history class and at memorials.