The first prisoners
On August 18th 1941 the first 195 prisoners arrived at Kamp Amersfoort. These were communists from Kamp Schoorl that were kept under remand. They were used as examples for the schooling of the camp – SS men. They were also used to fill in so called prominent (outstanding) positions. The arrival of the first prisoners led to the beginning of the first period of the PDA that lasted until the temporary closure on March 8th 1943. According to the German administration 8522 prisoners were kept in the PDA during the first period.