Dachau

The name sends shivers down one's spine.  It represents the horrors of mankind.  It shows what one person or a small group of people can mesmerize the whole population or country and get them to go along with whatever they want to do.  Hitler was that one person.  There were many more after him, some are still around and many more to come.  Today you find them in Africa, Asia, South American and until recently, even Europe.  It's a reminder that those who are free can never let this happen again.

Dachau is only about 45 minutes away from Munich.  It was a public holiday (Reunification Day - between east and west Germany) on my last day in Munich.  When it stopped raining in the afternoon, Tobias suggested that we drive to Dachau.  It is much closer than I expected.  I expected to see something similar to Auschwitz, where I went last year.  But, most of the buildings and structures have been torn down.  They have been replaced by replicas or models of the old buildings.  It does not look as "horrific" as Auschwitz but the crimes committed here are just as horrible.  You can read more about my post on Auschwitz last year here.

The first thing you see as you enter the grounds of the Dachau Concentration Camp is the gate with the famous (or infamous) saying "ARBETT MACH FREI" or "WORK SETS YOU FREE".  The original gate was stolen a few years ago and later found in Bergen, Norway.  To many the saying represents the horror of concentration camp.  In the beginning in 1933, Dachau was mostly a camp for political prisoners.  To understand the rise of Hitler and the Nazis, one has to go back to the history of Germany, post-World War I, and understand the events leading to it.  When absolute power is concentrated in the hands of a few, abuse happens.  The Jews were not the only victims, although they were the majority.  There were the Romas and Gypsies, the homosexuals, and other minorities.

A replica of the main gate

Below are more pictures of the concentration camp.  I don't have a better description of the pictures because we went through the camp quite quickly.

Outside the Museum

The old barracks were torn down.  These are replicas.

Inside the museum

A statue commemorating the prisoners

Awards won by some of the ex-prisoners

What the bunk beds looked like

A poplar-lined walkway to a couple of buildings

A memorial to the Jews

A Guard Tower