By January 1946 , 18,000 members of the SS were being confined at the camp along with an additional 12,000 persons , including deserters from the Russian army . The occupants of one barracks rioted as 271 of the Russian deserters were to be loaded onto trains that would return them to Russian-controlled lands , as agreed at the Yalta Conference . Ten of the soldiers , who had been captured in German Army uniforms , committed suicide during the riot . Twenty-one others attempted suicide , apparently with razor blades . Many had " cracked heads " inflicted by 500 American and Polish guards , in the attempt to bring the situation under control . Inmates barricaded themselves inside and set fire to the building , tore off their clothing , and linked arms to resist being removed from the building . Some begged American soldiers to shoot them . Tear gas was used by the soldiers before rushing the building
Yalta Conference
Yalta Conference
Dachau concentration camp