It was established in the center of the town of Oranienburg on the main road to Berlin when the SA took over a disused brewery grounds. Passers-by were able to look inside the prison perimeter. Prisoners were marched through the town to perform forced labour on behalf of the local council.
Oranienburg Concentration Camp Memorial on the site of the camp, Berliner Straße, Oranienburg. The brick wall is all that remains of the brewery.
The prison was taken over by the SS on 4 July 1934, when the SA was suppressed by the regime. It was closed and subsequently replaced in the area by Sachsenhausen concentration camp in 1936. At closure, the prison had held over 3,000 inmates, of whom 16 had died.