Dachau

We spent the day going on a tour of Dachau Concentration Camp, which was both fascinating and ghoulish.  We picked up the tour in Munich and caught a train out to the city of Dachau and then caught a bus that followed the exact same path the prisoners walked in the early days to Dachau camp.  It opened in 1933  and operated for 12 years.  Hitler initially sent anyone who did not agree with his policies there, or even people who had voted against him.  Then, in a stroke of appalling brilliance, he took the disillusioned 23% of the population that were unemployed at the time and told them they were better than all these other immigrants and Jews, trained them up and turned them into soldiers!  Bingo!  Instant following.  Instant SS.

The camp has an eerie feeling about it and most of the time it is silent as you walk around.  The prison block is especially yuck, as the people were tortured, beaten and abused more than those in the general camp because the Nazi’s actually wanted something from them.  Usually information or just to prove they can dominate groups by treating one person badly and sending out the question of who might be next?

The huts were designed for 150 men and at one stage toward the end of the war they actually housed 2000+ in the same space!  Not much larger than a standard NZ classroom L

When prisoners arrived they were herded through a gate and into an antechamber where they had to relinquish all their belongings.  Prior to the war they got to keep stuff, but once the war had started, not so.  They had to hand over everything they owned, papers, jewellery, photos, clothing and then were herded into showers.  (I would die of embarrassment at the clothing part!!!)  Ironically, there is a huge sign on the wall that translates to ‘No Smoking’ as some Einstein doctor there had actually worked out it might be bad for you!!!  The irony being, nothing else in the whole camp was going to be good for your health!!!

The German words on the Dachau prison gate translate to Hard Work Sets you Free…………???  The Nazi’s had a little dummy thing going where they set up all the best kitchen stuff and washing and clean barracks and when the Red Cross would come round (prior to the war) they would stroll out all the healthier looking prisoners and feed them up and cry hearty.  (bastards!)  Everyone else got worked into the ground and feed very little, to nothing.  They even had to work when there was nothing to do.  They even had to do parade every morning until everyone was found, so if you were fortunate enough to die in the night, everyone else had to stand in whatever the weather and wait until everyone was located.  It gets down below zero here and they had to stand, and stand, and stand…..

The whole place is a memorial now and is very well done.  The guide told us that it is in the German School Curriculum and all children must study this, in the hope that it can never happen again, which you have to admire.  Europe is such a multicultural place and it must have been for many thousands of years, that it is hard to even find what you would consider to be a German looking person.  I can only imagine how easy it would have been for a purest regime to look around and go, you’re out, you’re out, you’re……. out!

One of the most sad parts of the whole tour was a memorial stature called something like 1950s Statue.  It is a little old, bald man in an over sized coat and it represents all the prisoners who were set free, only to find there was nothing to go home to, or no people or property left, so they wandered aimless.  That is something you don’t really think about because they were freed from these horrible places, so it must be better.

Very, very sad.