i'm afraid this isn't going to be an uplifting post but it will prove to be very educational, i hope. let me say that this was a very hard site to visit. i wanted to go and learn more about this time in history but i didn't want the girls to learn too much, they are just too young at this point. so we skipped the movies and showed ourselves around explaining bits here and there to the girls...as i cried...the...entire...time we were there.
this was the front gate. dachau was the first concentration camp...formed only 51 days after hitler took power.
the entry gate...translated it means "work makes (one) free".
the courtyard area...looking toward the main gate.
looking at the prisoners barracks...
this is what it looked like then....
the camp consisted of 69 barracks. that included one for clergy that opposed the regime and one barrack that was used for medical experiments. dachau was the longest running concentration camp in the third reich. (1933-1945) the average number of prisoners at the camp during the war was 3000 and 2000 died during the evacuation process. it is said that there were around 200 sub-camps around as satellites of the dachau concentration camp.
these are the beds for the prisoners. it's a tremendously small space and they are stacked 3 high. the building had very little, if any insulation. i can imagine it was very cold there during the winter...
the bunks and general living space...
the view out the back window of the barrack. each line out the window represents another barrack for prisoners. they were all torn down except for the first two.
lockers for the prisoners. i looked at these up close and saw the scratches and wear marks and it just made me so sad. the small fingers that closed each of those doors suffered so much pain.
after liberation, the bavarian government created housing for refugees at the dachau site.
this is the mortal agony of christ chapel. it was the first religious monument to be erected. behind the chapel is a convent
the jewish memorial...
international memorial...
i am very glad we stopped and visited. i think this is a dark time in our worlds history but also an important one. i couldn't get over the thoughts of the people walking through the courtyard suffering. the air here just felt heavy to me...full of unnecessary pain and suffering. hopefully the lives lost have found peace...
i'll leave you with our last photo in germany...i know we will be visiting again.
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