Dachau (Concentration Camp), Munich

Visit the Dachau concentration camp. It's a sobering, but very necissary trip and reminder of the past, so that we cannot repeat it.
It was a powerful dose of reality for those of us who only read about World War II in school textbooks and did not have to feel the effects of it. I did not live through fallout or have close family to really make it personal. It made the holocaust very real for me, and yes, it's not exactly the happiest place on earth, but I don't think our trip would have been complete without that stop.

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Another aspect of the sadder side of Munich's history is the Dachau Concentration Camp, the first of its kind in Germany and a template for the camps that sprouted up all over Nazi Europe during their reign. It wasn't a death camp, however, although thousands of people died there as a result of their internment. It also wasn't a camp designed specifically to hold Jewish prisoners, although plenty of Jewish people passed through its infamous gate, inscribed with the words that have passed down through history: "Arbeit Macht Frei" (Freedom through Labour).

The Dachau prison camp was home to an eclectic bunch of prisoners from all over Europe. There were, among others, Polish priests, Austrian politicians, German resistance fighters, Ukrainian writers and Greek communists. Many thousands did not survive the experience, and their bodies were disposed of in the notorious cremation ovens. The original crematorium proved inadequate for the job, and so a larger more productive version was built to burn the bodies like an assembly line.

A visit to Dachau isn't fun, and can be distressing at times, but is still very rewarding and informative. The excellent museum provides an encompassing view of life in the camp, through the stories of the victims, the kind of conditions they had to suffer, letters they wrote home, and many other gripping articles of the camp's history. Less than an hour wouldn't do the museum justice. It is a haunting experience, though, and my friend Luciano (of Jewish ancestry) couldn't bring himself to visit.

I visited Dachau only once. It was very moving. I only recently found out that my Uncle, Marion Hill was in the group of Soldiers who liberated Dachau. He was stationed there for several months or so afterwards, guarding the SS soldiers, then he went to OCS.

This is a reconstruction of how the prisoners how to sleep during their stay at the camp. Most of the time more than one person would share each of this little sections. Many of the prisoners had diseases so they could spread quickly with everyone sleeping so close together.

This is a reconstruction of how the prisoners how to sleep during their stay at the camp. Most of the time more than one person would share each of this little sections. Many of the prisoners had diseases so they could spread quickly with everyone sleeping so close together.

Dachau is Munich’s reminder of the atrocities of WWII. This concentration camp has been turned into a museum so we can all learn from our past. Most of the exhibits are in German, but it’s an important experience. The grounds have been manicured so it’s more antiseptic than some of the other camps open to the public today, but a visit here is no less sobering and influential. Dachau is located outside the Munich city limits but is easy to get to by train. I recommend taking at least an afternoon to come and pay your respects to those who experienced the horrors of ethnic cleansing and hopefully learn a little something so this never happens again. Without history we can never learn from our mistakes and make changes for our future.

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Dachau was a concentration camp of the Third Reich from 1933-1945. The camp office files showed a total of more than 206,000 prisoners registered in those years, though many prisoners were taken to Dachau without being registered. About 31,000 deaths of prisoners and 6,000 deaths of Russian soldiers were recorded but the number is believed to be much higher. It is difficult to explain the emotions that run through you as you are standing in the middle of the roll call yard.

The Wirtschaftsgebaude contained the kitchen, the laundry, storage rooms for prisoners' clothing and personal belongings, and the notorious shower baths where the SS would torture prisoners by flogging and hanging then at the stake. In front is a memorial sculpture depicting bodies in the shape of barbed wire. The Wirtschaftsgebaude is now a museum.

The Jourhaus was the only entrance to the camp. "Arbeit Macht Frei" ("Work Makes One Free") was the slogan the prisoners saw on the gates as they arrived. The building housed the SS guard rooms and the camp administration offices

One of the barracks was rebuilt according to original specifications. Originally, it was meant to house 208 prisoners but toward the end, about 1600 prisoners lived in one of the barracks.

The Krematorium was built in 1942. A gas chamber was also installed at Dachau but never used. The prisoners selected for gassing were transported to other concentration camps.

This statue stands outside of the Krematorium. It is a memorial to those who died at Dachau and also a warning to future generations. I find it ironic that we were visiting Dachau as the atrocities in Kosovo were being revealed. It seems that mankind sure hasn't learned much.

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This is something that absolutely cannot be missed. Every single person should visit one of the camps. Just the size alone stunned me, and Dachau was a smaller camp.

We all learn about the Holocaust, but there is no comparison between a classroom or textbook and the actual camp. To see a picture in a book of a slaughtered prisoner, and then to look up from that book to the actual spot where that photo was taken is chilling.

When I went, I didn't speak more than a sentence or two for hours on end, even after I left. This is a place that will change you forever. It stirs something inside you.

When walking into the camp, it's as if an enormous blanket of silence falls over the world. All you hear is a faint breeze, and your own feet crunching the rock under foot. The size, as I mentioned before, is incredible.

After walking around the courtyard and the barracks area, I was almost too exhausted to cross the small stream and head towards the crematorium and ash graves. When walking in, many people miss the old crematorium, but it's worth the stop. I stood there by myself for a few moments, then dropped to my knees in prayer. After, I went to Barrack X, the new crematorium. Then proceeded on to the graves. This area is impossible to describe.

Be sure to read everything you can see, as some atrocious act was likely committed right where you stand.

Everyone should visit a camp, Dachau, I'm told, is one of the most interesting as it is the first.

Don't ever forget