Part II: Dachau Concentration Camp

On Saturday morning, Kaitlyn, Daniela, and I traveled thirty minutes outside downtown München to the Dachau Concentration Camp. We all knew that it was going to be an emotional morning, but I was completely at a loss for how to prepare myself. Dachau Concentration Camp was the first Nazi concentration camp opened in Germany. It would later serve as a model for many of the other Nazi camps.

To get into the camp, you have to pass through these large, metal, rod iron gates with the words "ARBEIT MACHT FREI" (Translation: "Work will make you free" or "Work Liberates") inscribed on them. This phrase was used by the Nazi's as propaganda - they wanted outsiders to believe that the camp was a "labor and re-education camp." Immediately upon passing through the gates, you find yourself in a large open area known as Roll-Call Square. Every morning and every evening, the prisoners would line up and be counted. Even the dead prisoners were brought out for roll call. If someone misbehaved or stepped out of line, they were brutally beaten. At times, the roll-call would go on for so long that the weakest prisoners dropped dead.

Entrance into Dachau Concentration Camp.

Arbeit Mach Frei : "Work will make you free" 

Roll-Call Square with two barracks in the background.

Just south of Roll-Call Square is the Maintenance Building. This building was constructed by the prisoners from 1937-1938. Today, the building houses an exhibition and museum dedicated to Germany and Dachau during WWII. "There is a path to freedom. Its milestones are: Obedience, Honesty, Cleanliness, Sobriety, Hard Work, Discipline, Sacrifice, Truthfulness, Love of ty Fatherland" was once written in big letters across the top of this building. The west wing of this building was known as the Shunt Room. Here, new prisoners were stripped of their personal belongings and physical identity. Each prisoner was forced to strip naked and hand over everything that belonged to them. They were then given a number. From that day forward, they would be known by their number. Their old name and their old identity no longer mattered.

The Maintenance Building

A large monument was later constructed in front of the
Maintenance Building.

Just north of Roll-Call Square are the barracks. The barracks are positioned on two sides of a long, narrow road. Each barrack housed a certain type of prisoner, with the "higher ranked" prisoners (non-Jews) placed closer to Roll-Call Square. The barracks were destroyed after WWII, but two were reconstructed for viewing purposes. Cobblestone plots mark the location of all 34 barracks. Inside the barracks, living quarters for the years 1933, 1937, and 1944 were reconstructed. The camp was originally designed for 6,000 people, but by the end of the 1944 it housed over 30,000 prisoners. I can not possibly fathom what it must have been like to be in Dachau at the end of 1944. The entire time I walked through the camp, my stomach was in knots and I felt like at any moment my eyes were going to well up with tears. 

Camp Road with the reconstructed barracks flanking both sides. 

Bathroom facilities located inside the barracks 

Living Quarters : 1944-1945 

Living Quarters : 1937-1938

Living Quarters : 1933-1934

Cobblestone plots mark where each of the 32 barracks once
stood. 17 barracks are located on each side of Camp Road.

After viewing the barracks, I walked the length of Camp Road, taking in my surroundings. The sky was blue and the grass was green, yet the entire place was depressing and lifeless. At the end of Camp Row sits a series of Religious Memorials. Each monument represents the hardship and sacrifice that the prisoners went through.

The Mortal Agony of Christ Chapel

Jewish Memorial

Carmelite Convent

Protestant Church of Reconciliation

Russian-Orthodox Chapel

The last section of the camp was by far the hardest to swallow. After crossing over a small stream, I found myself standing on the grounds of the Crematorium. The Crematorium was separate from the main camp - only workers were allowed to cross over into the area. One of the first rooms I walked through was the Incinerator room, which still contained the four cremation furnaces. Execution by hanging was also carried out in front of the furnaces. You could still see the original beams and contraptions used to tie up the rope. The most emotional room in the Crematorium was the gas chamber. The original faucets were still attached to the wall, and you could see where the gas would come out.

Crematorium - Barrack X. Some claim that this building was
never put into operation.

The four cremation furnaces in Barrack X

Gas Chamber 

After viewing the crematorium, I walked along a path leading through the nearby woods. It was here that I literally found myself at a loss for thought or motion. About 1/4 mile down the path, I happened upon an engraved stone placed in front of a garden. The engraving on the stone read: "Execution Range with Blood Ditch." I slowly turned my gaze upward and noticed for the first time the long ditch running parallel to the barbed wire fence. I'm pretty sure my jaw dropped and tears welled up in my eyes. As I stood there alone in the woods, I started imagining frightened prisoners lining up one by one, knowing full well that their time was up. In that split second, everything I had seen flashed before my eyes. It all came to life, and it was immensely sobering.

Execution Range - the blood trench is partially hidden
behind the rose bushes. 

The saddest part about visiting Dachau was realizing just how close the camp was to the town of Dachau and the city of München. Were people really that naive? Did they really not know what was happening inside the walls of the camp? Or did they just choose to ignore it?