The Jourhaus is the gatehouse at the entrance to the prisoners' compound at Dachau concentration camp, and the iron gate spanning the entrance corridor — with its notorious "Arbeit macht frei" inscription — is one of the most charged objects in any memorial site in Germany.
The building served as the administrative gateway: prisoners entered and exited through here, roll calls were administered, and every prisoner movement was logged. Today it stands at the threshold between the outer memorial grounds and the preserved camp interior. Walking through the gate, even as a visitor with the freedom to walk back out, produces a very particular emotional response.