The Stiftung Jugendgästehaus Dachau

The Stiftung Jugendgästehaus Dachau (the Dachau Youth Guesthouse Foundation) was founded in 1991 by the Free State of Bavaria, represented by the Bavarian Ministry for Education and Culture, the City of Dachau authority, and Dachau County. The goal of the Foundation was to erect a facility for young persons wishing to study and discuss the past and present of the historical site of the former concentration camp while staying in Dachau, providing for this purpose accommodation facilities and education programs. Along with representatives from the three supporting bodies, the Foundation board also includes a member of the Bavarian Ministry of Finance. Overall responsibility for the day-to-day running of the Foundation lies with the Bavarian Ministry for Education and Culture. Since its founding, the Foundation’s work has been accompanied by an advisory board, comprising a representative from the following bodies: Dachau City Council, Dachau County, the Comité International de Dachau, the State Association of the Jewish Community in Bavaria, the Protestant and Catholic Churches, the German Federation of Trade Unions, the Bavarian State Association of the German Youth Hostel Association, and the Bavarian Youth Council.

Opened in 1998 as the Jugendgästehaus Dachau (the Dachau Youth Guest House), the commercial section is meanwhile run by the Bavarian State Association of the German Youth Hostel Association, while the education section is the responsibility of the Foundation itself. In 2010 the education section was renamed the Max Mannheimer Study Center. In 2013 responsibility on the state government level was transferred to the Bavarian Ministry for Work and Social Affairs, Families and Integration. In 2014 the Bavarian Youth Council was entrusted with the task of running the Foundation. In 2016 the Foundation board decided to rename the whole institution into Max Mannheimer House. Study Center and International Youth Guest House; in 2017 the Foundation itself was renamed into the Max Mannheimer House Foundation (not yet legally effective).