Summary Prospectus | October 1, 2019

DWS Strategic High Yield Tax-Free Fund

Class/Ticker A NOTAX C NOTCX INST NOTIX S SHYTX

Before you invest, you may want to review the fund’s prospectus, which contains more information about the fund and its risks. You can find the fund’s prospectus, reports to shareholders, Statement of Additional Information (SAI) and other information about the fund online at dws.com/mutualpros. You can also get this information at no cost by e-mailing a request to service@dws.com, calling (800) 728-3337 or asking your financial representative. The prospectus and SAI, both dated October 1, 2019, as supplemented, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.

Beginning on January 1, 2021, as permitted by regulations adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, paper copies of the fund’s annual and semi-annual shareholder reports will no longer be sent by mail, unless you specifically request paper copies of the reports. Instead, the reports will be made available on the fund’s Web site (dws.com), and you will be notified by mail each time a report is posted and provided with a Web site link to access the report.

If you already elected to receive shareholder reports electronically, you will not be affected by this change and you need not take any action. You may elect to receive shareholder reports and other communications from the fund electronically anytime by contacting your financial intermediary (such as a broker-dealer or bank), or if you are a direct investor, by calling (800) 728-3337 or sending an email request to service@dws.com.

You may elect to receive all future reports in paper free of charge. If you invest through a financial intermediary, you can contact your financial intermediary to request that you continue to receive paper copies of your shareholder reports. If you invest directly with the fund, you can call (800) 728-3337 or send an email request to service@dws.com to continue receiving paper copies of your shareholder reports. Your election to receive reports in paper will apply to all funds held in your account if you invest through your financial intermediary or all funds held with DWS if you invest directly with the fund.

Investment Objective

The fund seeks to provide a high level of income exempt from regular federal income tax.

Fees and Expenses

These are the fees and expenses you may pay when you buy and hold shares. You may be required to pay commissions and/or other forms of compensation to a broker for transactions in Class S shares, which are not reflected in the tables or example below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your immediate family invest,

or agree to invest in the future, at least $100,000 in DWS funds. More information about these and other discounts and waivers is available from your financial representative and in Choosing a Share Class in the prospectus (p. 30), Sales Charge Waivers and Discounts Available Through Intermediaries in the prospectus (Appendix B, p. 66) and Purchase and Redemption of Shares in the fund’s SAI (p. II-14).

SHAREHOLDER FEES (paid directly from your investment)

	A	C	INST	S
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases, as % of offering price	2.75	None	None	None
Maximum deferred sales charge (load), as % of redemption proceeds1	None	1.00	None	None
Account Maintenance Fee (annually, for fund account balances below $10,000 and subject to certain exceptions)	$20	$20	None	$20

ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES
(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

	A	C	INST	S
Management fee2	0.40	0.40	0.40	0.40
Distribution/service (12b-1) fees	0.25	1.00	None	None
Interest expense	0.05	0.05	0.05	0.05
Other expenses	0.22	0.24	0.19	0.33
Total other expenses	0.27	0.29	0.24	0.38
Total annual fund operating expenses	0.92	1.69	0.64	0.78
Fee waiver/expense reimbursement	0.02	0.04	0.00	0.13
Total annual fund operating expenses after fee waiver/expense reimbursement	0.90	1.65	0.64	0.65

¹ Investments of $250,000 or more made on or after October 1, 2019 may be eligible to buy Class A shares without a sales charge (load), but may be subject to a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00% if redeemed within 12 months of the original purchase date.

² “Management fee” is restated to reflect the fund’s new management fee rate effective October 1, 2019.

The Advisor has contractually agreed through September 30, 2020 to waive its fees and/or reimburse fund expenses to the extent necessary to maintain the fund's total annual

 

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operating expenses (excluding certain expenses such as extraordinary expenses, taxes, brokerage, interest expense and acquired fund fees and expenses) at 0.85%, 1.60% and 0.60% for Class A, Class C and Class S, respectively. The agreement may only be terminated with the consent of the fund's Board.

EXAMPLE

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund's operating expenses (including one year of capped expenses for Class A, Class C and Class S) remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Years	A	C	INST	S
1	$364	$268	$65	$66
3	558	529	205	236
5	768	914	357	420
10	1,373	1,994	798	954

You would pay the following expenses if you did not redeem your shares:

Years	A	C	INST	S
1	$364	$168	$65	$66
3	558	529	205	236
5	768	914	357	420
10	1,373	1,994	798	954

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER  

The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may mean higher taxes if you are investing in a taxable account. These costs are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example, and can affect the fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 47% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Main investments. Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of net assets in securities issued by municipalities across the United States and in other securities whose income is free from regular federal income tax. The fund may invest up to 20% of net assets in securities whose income is subject to the federal alternative minimum tax (AMT).

The fund can buy many types of municipal securities of all maturities. These may include revenue bonds (which are backed by revenues from a particular source) and general obligation bonds (which are typically backed by the issuer's ability to levy taxes). They may also include municipal lease obligations and investments representing an interest therein.

The fund normally invests at least 50% of total assets in municipal securities rated in the four highest credit rating categories. The fund may invest up to 50% of total assets in high yield debt securities (commonly referred to as junk bonds), which are those below the fourth highest credit rating category (i.e., grade BB/Ba and below) and may include debt securities not currently paying interest and debt securities in default. Compared to investment-grade debt securities, junk bonds generally pay higher yields, have higher volatility and higher risk of default on payments of interest or principal.

The fund may also invest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The fund’s investments in ETFs will be limited to 5% of total assets in any one ETF and 10% of total assets in the aggregate in ETFs.

Management process. Portfolio management looks for securities that appear to offer the best opportunity to meet the fund's objective. In making its buy and sell decisions, portfolio management typically weighs a number of factors against each other, from economic outlooks and possible interest rate movements to characteristics of specific securities, such as coupon, maturity date and call date, and changes in supply and demand within the municipal bond market.

Although portfolio management may adjust the fund’s duration (a measure of sensitivity to interest rates) over a wider range, they generally intend to keep the fund’s duration similar to that of the Bloomberg Barclays Municipal Bond Index, which is generally between five and nine years.

Portfolio management may consider information about Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues in its fundamental research process.

Main Risks

There are several risk factors that could hurt the fund’s performance, cause you to lose money or cause the fund’s performance to trail that of other investments. The fund may not achieve its investment objective, and is not intended to be a complete investment program. An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency.

Interest rate risk. When interest rates rise, prices of debt securities generally decline. The longer the duration of the fund’s debt securities, the more sensitive the fund will be to interest rate changes. (As a general rule, a 1% rise in interest rates means a 1% fall in value for every year of

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Summary Prospectus    October 1, 2019

duration.) Recent and potential future changes in monetary policy made by central banks or governments are likely to affect the level of interest rates. Rising interest rates may prompt redemptions from the fund, which may force the fund to sell investments at a time when it is not advantageous to do so, which could result in losses. The fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates due to the current period of historically low rates.

Credit risk. The fund's performance could be hurt if an issuer of a debt security suffers an adverse change in financial condition that results in the issuer not making timely payments of interest or principal, a security downgrade or an inability to meet a financial obligation. Credit risk is greater for lower-rated securities.

Because the issuers of high yield debt securities, or junk bonds (debt securities rated below the fourth highest credit rating category), may be in uncertain financial health, the prices of their debt securities can be more vulnerable to bad economic news, or even the expectation of bad news, than investment-grade debt securities. Credit risk for high yield securities is greater than for higher-rated securities.

Because securities in default generally have missed one or more payments of interest and/or principal, an investment in such securities has an increased risk of loss. Issuers of securities in default have an increased likelihood of entering bankruptcy or beginning liquidation procedures which could impact the fund's ability to recoup its investment. Securities in default may be illiquid or trade in low volumes and thus may be difficult to value.

For securities that rely on third-party guarantors to support their credit quality, the same risks may apply if the financial condition of the guarantor deteriorates or the guarantor ceases to insure securities. Because guarantors may insure many types of securities, including subprime mortgage bonds and other high-risk bonds, their financial condition could deteriorate as a result of events that have little or no connection to securities owned by the fund.

High yield debt securities risk. High yield debt securities, or junk bonds, are generally regarded as speculative with respect to the issuer’s continuing ability to meet principal and interest payments. High yield debt securities’ total return and yield may generally be expected to fluctuate more than the total return and yield of investment-grade debt securities. A real or perceived economic downturn or an increase in market interest rates could cause a decline in the value of high yield debt securities, result in increased redemptions and/or result in increased portfolio turnover, which could result in a decline in net asset value of the fund, reduce liquidity for certain investments and/or increase costs. High yield debt securities are often thinly traded and can be more difficult to sell and value accurately than investment-grade debt securities as there may be no established secondary market. Investments in high yield debt securities could increase liquidity risk for the

fund. In addition, the market for high yield debt securities can experience sudden and sharp volatility which is generally associated more with investments in stocks.

Focus risk. To the extent that the fund focuses on investments from a single state, region or sector of the municipal securities market, its performance can be more volatile than that of a fund that invests more broadly. As an example, factors affecting a state, region or sector such as severe fiscal difficulties, an economic downturn, court rulings, increased expenditures on domestic security or reduced monetary support from the federal government could over time impair a state, region or sector's ability to repay its obligations.

Municipal securities risk. The fund could be impacted by events in the municipal securities market, including the supply and demand for municipal securities. Negative events, such as severe fiscal difficulties, bankruptcy of one or more issuers, an economic downturn, unfavorable legislation, court rulings or political developments, or reduced monetary support from the federal government could hurt fund performance. The value of municipal securities is strongly influenced by the value of tax-exempt income to investors. Changes in tax and other laws, including changes to individual or corporate tax rates, could alter the attractiveness and overall demand for municipal securities.

Market risk. Deteriorating market conditions might cause a general weakness in the market that reduces the prices of securities in that market. Developments in a particular class of debt securities or the stock market could also adversely affect the fund by reducing the relative attractiveness of debt securities as an investment.

Security selection risk. The securities in the fund’s portfolio may decline in value. Portfolio management could be wrong in its analysis of municipalities, industries, companies, economic trends, the relative attractiveness of different securities or other matters.

Tax risk. Income from municipal securities held by the fund could be declared taxable because of unfavorable changes in tax laws, adverse interpretations by the Internal Revenue Service or state tax authorities, or noncompliant conduct of a securities issuer. In such event, the value of such securities would likely fall, hurting fund performance and shareholders may be required to pay additional taxes. In addition, a portion of the fund’s otherwise exempt-interest distributions may be taxable to those shareholders subject to the federal AMT.

Liquidity risk. In certain situations, it may be difficult or impossible to sell an investment and/or the fund may sell certain investments at a price or time that is not advantageous in order to meet redemption requests or other cash needs. Unusual market conditions, such as an unusually high volume of redemptions or other similar conditions could increase liquidity risk for the fund, and in extreme conditions, the fund could have difficulty meeting redemption requests.

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Summary Prospectus    October 1, 2019

Prepayment and extension risk. When interest rates fall, issuers of high interest debt obligations may pay off the debts earlier than expected (prepayment risk), and the fund may have to reinvest the proceeds at lower yields. When interest rates rise, issuers of lower interest debt obligations may pay off the debts later than expected (extension risk), thus keeping the fund’s assets tied up in lower interest debt obligations. Ultimately, any unexpected behavior in interest rates could increase the volatility of the fund’s share price and yield and could hurt fund performance. Prepayments could also create capital gains tax liability in some instances.

Pricing risk. If market conditions make it difficult to value some investments, the fund may value these investments using more subjective methods, such as fair value pricing. In such cases, the value determined for an investment could be different from the value realized upon such investment’s sale. As a result, you could pay more than the market value when buying fund shares or receive less than the market value when selling fund shares.

ETF risk. Because ETFs trade on a securities exchange, their shares may trade at a premium or discount to their net asset value. An ETF is subject to the risks of the assets in which it invests as well as those of the investment strategy it follows. The fund incurs brokerage costs when it buys and sells shares of an ETF and also bears its proportionate share of the ETF’s fees and expenses, which are passed through to ETF shareholders.

Fees and expenses incurred by an ETF may include trading costs, operating expenses, licensing fees, trustee fees and marketing expenses. With an index ETF, these costs may contribute to the ETF not fully matching the performance of the index it is designed to track.

Operational and technology risk. Cyber-attacks, disruptions, or failures that affect the fund’s service providers or counterparties, issuers of securities held by the fund, or other market participants may adversely affect the fund and its shareholders, including by causing losses for the fund or impairing fund operations.

Past Performance

How a fund's returns vary from year to year can give an idea of its risk; so can comparing fund performance to overall market performance (as measured by an appropriate market index). Past performance may not indicate future results. All performance figures below assume that dividends and distributions were reinvested. For more recent performance figures, go to dws.com (the Web site does not form a part of this prospectus) or call the telephone number included in this prospectus.

CALENDAR YEAR TOTAL RETURNS (%) (Class A)

These year-by-year returns do not include sales charges, if any, and would be lower if they did. Returns for other classes were different and are not shown here.

	Returns	Period ending
Best Quarter	13.52%	September 30, 2009
Worst Quarter	-5.30%	December 31, 2010
Year-to-Date	5.65%	June 30, 2019

Average Annual Total Returns
(For periods ended 12/31/2018 expressed as a %)

After-tax returns (which are shown only for Class A and would be different for other classes) reflect the historical highest individual federal income tax rates, but do not reflect any state or local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns may be different. After-tax returns are not relevant to shares held in an IRA, 401(k) or other tax-advantaged investment plan.

	Class Inception	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Class A before tax	5/1/2000	-3.53	3.61	6.73
After tax on distributions		-3.64	3.57	6.71
After tax on distributions, with sale		-0.78	3.72	6.44
Class C before tax	5/1/2000	-1.54	3.43	6.23
INST Class before tax	8/19/2002	-0.54	4.45	7.31
Class S before tax	1/22/1987	-0.55	4.45	7.29
Bloomberg Barclays Municipal Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)		1.28	3.82	4.85

Management

Investment Advisor

DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc.

Portfolio Manager(s)

Ashton P. Goodfield, CFA, Managing Director. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2014.

Chad H. Farrington, CFA, Managing Director. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2018.

Michael J. Generazo, Director. Portfolio Manager of the fund. Began managing the fund in 2018.

4 DWS Strategic High Yield Tax-Free Fund

Summary Prospectus    October 1, 2019

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Minimum Initial Investment  ($)

	Non-IRA	IRAs	UGMAs/ UTMAs	Automatic Investment Plans
A C	1,000	500	1,000	500
INST	1,000,000	N/A	N/A	N/A
S	2,500	1,000	1,000	1,000

For participants in all group retirement plans, and in certain fee-based and wrap programs approved by the Advisor, there is no minimum initial investment and no minimum additional investment for Class A, C and S shares. For Section 529 college savings plans, there is no minimum initial investment and no minimum additional investment for Class S shares. Certain intermediaries that offer Class S shares in their brokerage platforms may be eligible for an investment minimum waiver. In certain instances, the minimum initial investment may be waived for Institutional Class shares. There is no minimum additional investment for Institutional Class shares. The minimum additional investment in all other instances is $50.

To Place Orders

Mail	New Accounts	DWS PO Box 219356 Kansas City, MO 64121-9356
	Additional Investments	DWS PO Box 219154 Kansas City, MO 64121-9154
	Exchanges and Redemptions	DWS PO Box 219557 Kansas City, MO 64121-9557
Expedited Mail		DWS 210 West 10th Street Kansas City, MO 64105-1614
Web Site		dws.com
Telephone		(800) 728-3337, M – F 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. ET
TDD Line		(800) 972-3006, M – F 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. ET

The fund is generally open on days when the New York Stock Exchange is open for regular trading. Initial investments must be sent by mail. You can make additional investments or sell shares of the fund on any business day by visiting our Web site, by mail, or by telephone; however you may have to elect certain privileges on your initial account application. If you are working with a financial representative, contact your financial representative for assistance with buying or selling fund shares. A financial representative separately may impose its own policies and procedures for buying and selling fund shares.

Institutional Class shares are generally available only to qualified institutions. Class S shares are only available to a limited group of investors as well as through firms that have an agreement with DWS Distributors, Inc. to offer the shares on an agency basis on brokerage platforms.

Tax Information

The fund's income dividends are generally exempt from regular federal income tax. A portion of the fund's dividends may be subject to federal income tax, including the federal alternative minimum tax.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and
Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the fund, the Advisor, and/or the Advisor’s affiliates may pay the intermediary for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s Web site for more information.

5 DWS Strategic High Yield Tax-Free Fund

Summary Prospectus    October 1, 2019    DSHYTFF-SUM