Visiting the Dachau Concentration Camp

Over the holiday break, my mom and sister were here visiting, and we decided to go visit the Dachau Concentration Camp.  I had been wanting to visit since we moved here, and was so grateful that I was able to share the experience with them.  My husband had visited many years ago during a business trips, so he volunteered to stay home with the kids.

Main gate to the camp.

Dachau is located about 10 miles northwest of Munich, and a little over an hour from where we live. It was the first concentration camp opened (1933) and used as a model for other camps.
For complete information:  (Wikipedia) Dachau Concentration Camp

The main gate held a door that said "ARBEIT MACHT FREI" meaning 'work will set you free'. The gate was despicably stolen in November 2014, and has not yet been found.  The forced labor was used to torture and punish the prisoners, even to death.   

Above is the yard where prisoners lined up everyday for counting, and were also forced to stand for extremely long durations as punishment. 

The barracks at the memorial were recreated to show how prisoners were housed.  There were originally 32 barracks, which were ultimately leveled and are now indicated by their concrete foundations and concrete numbered stones.

Bunk beds stacked three high.

Locker room with tables and stacked stools.

Washing area for prisoners.

Toilet facility.

Central walkway through the camp that originally was
lined by the 32 baracks.

Former barrack #3

That camp was used for 12 years by the Nazi Regime.  During that time, there were over 206,000 prisoners recorded, and approximately 32,000 recorded deaths.  This number is known to be grossly inaccurate due to the effort to conceal deaths and the chaos of prison transports and death marches at the end of the war.
 

The prisoners came from 30 different countries, with two-thirds being political prisoners (Communists, scientists, Gypsies, writers, military personnel, politicians, resistance fighters), and one-third Jews.  There were also more than 2,700 priests (mostly Catholic) imprisoned at Dachau.

Pistol range used for executions.

Gas chamber disguised as a shower.

Inside the crematorium

Many prisoners were executed by firing squad, and some by gas chamber, but most of the prisoners died from starvation and disease.  There were also upwards of 400 'experiments' performed on prisoners, such as induced high-altitude and hypothermia.  During those experiments 80-90 people died.

Site where the ashes were discarded from the crematorium.

"Grave of Many Thousands Unknown"

The museum at Dachau provides a great deal of information.  Entrance to the facility is free, and there was a small fee for tours or use of an audio-guide.  We chose to use the self-guided audio tour, which lasted about 2-1/2 hours.  

  

Museum

Visiting the concentration camp was a gut wrenching experience.  The day we were there was very cold, and it was snowing in the way where it seems like the snowflakes are dancing upwards, which gave it a very eerie feeling.

Even now in Europe and across the world, people have so much fear and hatred for cultures other than their own.    With recent events in Paris, the Middle East, and many protests against foreigners in European cities, it is easy to see that the fear that led to these horrific crimes during World War II are still always sitting just beneath the surface.