Dachau Concentration Camp
I decided to keep using Munich as my base of operations in the area and took a quick train to Dachau in the morning. Dachau was the first of many concentration camps in Europe during the Nazi regime. While it is fortunate that not as many people died here as some of the death camps, it is still a horiffic place and will be a constant memorial for years to come.
It was a short walk from where the train dropped me off to where the concentration camp was. As you enter the site, the first thing you see is a sign (see picture below) with a quote:
"Dachau - the significance of this name will never be erased from German history. It stands for all concentration camps which the Nazis established in their territory" - Eugen Kogon
Near this sign you can see the remains the the railroad tracks that brought the people to the camp.
The camp today is very open; a majority of the buildings used for housing were destroyed. There were a few that remained though, so I got a first hand look at how these people had to life while they were imprisoned. The next place I was able to see were the prison blocks, where the "troublesome" prisoners were locked away for a time. These were simply very small rooms without a place to use the restroom.
All the way at the back of the camp was where the really bad stuff was. In the back was a gas chamber and the crematorium, which were left intact - the Nazis were unable to destroy them before the allies liberated the camp. This was not the case in many of the other camps. I obviously can't begin to share the emotion that you will experience at a place like this, and it is something all people should see, whether it is something close to your heart or not. The signs say "Never Forget", and we must never do so.
