Dachau, Germany - Day 3 of our August Trip

On Sunday, we returned to Göttingen via a stop through Dachau, Germany.  We contemplated not ending our weekend vacation at such a sobering place, but we also don't know if we will get the chance to be in this area of the country again this year.  I won't go into much detail here as you can google and research for yourself what the place entailed.  Just a couple of key points from our tour though....first, this was the concentration camp that was the model for all other camps built.  It started as a work camp for political prisoners near to Dachau before the war which is why the fence entrance says, "Arbeit Macht Frei" - work makes free.

Prisoners could lose their lives just by nearing the gate.

One of the main points that our guide continued to return to during the tour was that all of humanity is susceptible to repeating this - we must learn from it; hence, there is value in touring the facility.  It serves as such a humbling reminder that evil exists and that when evil comes together unhindered, this is what is possible.  Hitler was just one of many.  Heinrich Himmler was the one controlling the ins and outs of Dachau.

The yard where all the prisoners would present themselves
for roll call each day.

Foundations of the 32 barracks - two were
rebuilt to show just what they looked like but none of the
original barracks are still in existence.

Bunks in one of the rebuilt barracks.
Over 32,000 people were liberated in 1945 - in
a camp designed for 6,000.

One of the eight prison guard towers - the front
gate serving as the eighth

Den Toten zur ehr den Lebenden zur Mahnung.
The dead serve as a reminder for the living.
Over 40,000 people lost their lives at Dachau in its 12
years of existence.

Of all that we witnessed at Dachau, the crematorium was the most
sobering.  This is the building that came about because men sat
down together to engineer the most effective way to dispose of
humanity.  It was in here that prisoners were lured with the
temptation of a hot shower - manipulation to cause the
prisoners to not fear going into the building.

 

In this room the prisoners would be told to make sure to keep their shoes
with their clothes because they would need them after their shower to
keep from getting cold on their way back to the barracks. 

It is hard to imagine what really took place in this room.  The
incinerators would dump the ashes into a holding tank
located behind the building.

Dachau was a lot to take in - overwhelming at the very least.  It's easy to walk away from such a place with an attitude of disbelief.  I'm reminded of the quote by John Bradford, "There but for the grace of God go I."