August 12th
Dachau
When we were trawling through the tourist guides and tours of Munich, what to see and what not to bother seeing, one thing stood out, head and shoulders above the rest. This was a guided tour of Dachau Concentration Camp, pretty much the only concentration camp in Germany to have been left, as far as possible, as it was when it was in use. This was the concentration camp by which all other concentration camps were measured. It was the very first, and the only to have been in use throughout the time Hitler was in power. It was the first place they dumped conscientious objectors when they assumed power and it was only freed two days before Hitler committed suicide. As our guide, Marcin said, it wasn't going to be the nicest tour, but I am so, so glad we went.
So you walk up to the gate and see the words "Arbeit Macht Frei", or, "Your work will set you free" in English so it's a pretty nasty start considering the vast majority of people going in will not come out. I don't need to go on about the gruesomeness of the camp's past and I'm sure most of you won't want to read about it - and to be honest I was the same. But actually visiting this place changed the way my brain processed the information. Walking round the camp and seeing the quarters where prisoners were kept, beaten, tortured and murdered allowed me to take onboard what happened in a much more real sense. About the gate, the original was destroyed by the Americans getting in so a new replica was made for the memorial. It is not used as the gate now however, there is a second gate in front of this one so that this one need never be closed again. Also the cell doors in the inner part of Dachau, called the "bunker" have been bolted open so they can never be closed.
There was also an extremely scary efficiency to much that I saw. The camp changed a lot during the war to enable new techniques of torture, control, prisoner storage and disposal to be tried and tested. Dachau was the place to try everything first.
For me, the thing that will stick in my mind most vividly is the gas chamber. I'm not quite sure what I expected before I went, I certainly can't remember now, but the the place was scary in a way nothing else quite is. It was built for purpose. Take the prisoners in one end, there's lockers for them to put their clothes, next door leads to the "shower room", next door is where you pile the bodies, next room you burn the bodies...
Dachau was also the place the SS used to train new recruits and de-humanise them. On the site there are barracks, classrooms and housing for SS recruits (usually about 16-19 years old) and the officers just outside the camp. It's also important to mention that all the key buildings in Germany associated with the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party are now occupied by Government organizations to stop Neo-Nazi's from using them as shrines. We found this out when our guide was pointing out some buildings on the way into the concentration camp which used to house new SS recruits but now housed trainee riot police. As our guide was explaining the historical use of the building, a squad of riot police - on cue and in full riot gear - marched in front of it. It was a strange feeling to say the least!
I'm not going to go on about the experience too much, needless to say that if you get the chance to go to Munich or nearby, go and see Dachau. It is absolutely worthwhile. Each year over one million visitors pass through the gates and around one fifth of these are German school children. The Germans are not hiding away their history but displaying it so that it's and our future generations can take the opportunity to learn from it. This is the best memorial that there can ever be to the millions of people murdered in camps like this all over Europe and western Russia. It was the prisoners themselves, just after being freed by the Americans, who insisted that the camp be left intact for that very purpose.
There is also a pretty incredible sculpture dedicated to the prisoners of Dachau, you can see that here.
Finally, our guide, Marcin (New Europe Tours), was incredibly knowledgeable about all aspects of Dachau and had regularly spoken with survivors of Dachau to ensure he was able to relay the information as authentically and accurately as possibly. He really made the whole tour very accessible and rewarding, so a big thanks to you.
Click here for our photostream (flickr)
Click here for our route (google maps)
Dachau
When we were trawling through the tourist guides and tours of Munich, what to see and what not to bother seeing, one thing stood out, head and shoulders above the rest. This was a guided tour of Dachau Concentration Camp, pretty much the only concentration camp in Germany to have been left, as far as possible, as it was when it was in use. This was the concentration camp by which all other concentration camps were measured. It was the very first, and the only to have been in use throughout the time Hitler was in power. It was the first place they dumped conscientious objectors when they assumed power and it was only freed two days before Hitler committed suicide. As our guide, Marcin said, it wasn't going to be the nicest tour, but I am so, so glad we went.
So you walk up to the gate and see the words "Arbeit Macht Frei", or, "Your work will set you free" in English so it's a pretty nasty start considering the vast majority of people going in will not come out. I don't need to go on about the gruesomeness of the camp's past and I'm sure most of you won't want to read about it - and to be honest I was the same. But actually visiting this place changed the way my brain processed the information. Walking round the camp and seeing the quarters where prisoners were kept, beaten, tortured and murdered allowed me to take onboard what happened in a much more real sense. About the gate, the original was destroyed by the Americans getting in so a new replica was made for the memorial. It is not used as the gate now however, there is a second gate in front of this one so that this one need never be closed again. Also the cell doors in the inner part of Dachau, called the "bunker" have been bolted open so they can never be closed.
There was also an extremely scary efficiency to much that I saw. The camp changed a lot during the war to enable new techniques of torture, control, prisoner storage and disposal to be tried and tested. Dachau was the place to try everything first.
For me, the thing that will stick in my mind most vividly is the gas chamber. I'm not quite sure what I expected before I went, I certainly can't remember now, but the the place was scary in a way nothing else quite is. It was built for purpose. Take the prisoners in one end, there's lockers for them to put their clothes, next door leads to the "shower room", next door is where you pile the bodies, next room you burn the bodies...
Dachau was also the place the SS used to train new recruits and de-humanise them. On the site there are barracks, classrooms and housing for SS recruits (usually about 16-19 years old) and the officers just outside the camp. It's also important to mention that all the key buildings in Germany associated with the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party are now occupied by Government organizations to stop Neo-Nazi's from using them as shrines. We found this out when our guide was pointing out some buildings on the way into the concentration camp which used to house new SS recruits but now housed trainee riot police. As our guide was explaining the historical use of the building, a squad of riot police - on cue and in full riot gear - marched in front of it. It was a strange feeling to say the least!
I'm not going to go on about the experience too much, needless to say that if you get the chance to go to Munich or nearby, go and see Dachau. It is absolutely worthwhile. Each year over one million visitors pass through the gates and around one fifth of these are German school children. The Germans are not hiding away their history but displaying it so that it's and our future generations can take the opportunity to learn from it. This is the best memorial that there can ever be to the millions of people murdered in camps like this all over Europe and western Russia. It was the prisoners themselves, just after being freed by the Americans, who insisted that the camp be left intact for that very purpose.
There is also a pretty incredible sculpture dedicated to the prisoners of Dachau, you can see that here.
Finally, our guide, Marcin (New Europe Tours), was incredibly knowledgeable about all aspects of Dachau and had regularly spoken with survivors of Dachau to ensure he was able to relay the information as authentically and accurately as possibly. He really made the whole tour very accessible and rewarding, so a big thanks to you.
Click here for our photostream (flickr)
Click here for our route (google maps)
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