Dachau township is today almost part of Munich, sitting about 20km northwest of the city centre, and accessible on the S-bahn suburban rail system. The Memorial site is then either a short 10 minute bus-ride, or a 30 minute walk along the "Path of Remembrance" following the walk that the early prisoners had to take from the train station to the camp - I chose the latter option, partly to walk in the footsteps, and partly as I knew that there were 12 information plaques along the way telling the story: I'm glad that I did.
It meant a relatively early departure from the apartment (around 7:30am), but I timed it to be at the memorial site at the 9am opening time.
On March 22, 1933, a few weeks after Adolf Hitler had been appointed Reich Chancellor, a concentration camp for political prisoners was set up in Dachau. Located on the grounds of an abandoned munitions factory, the camp was opened by Heinrich Himmler; its purpose was soon extended to include forced labour, and eventually, the imprisonment of Jews, ordinary German and Austrian criminals, and eventually foreign nationals from countries which Germany occupied or invaded. This camp served as a model for all later concentration camps and as a "school of violence" for the SS men under whose command it stood. In the twelve years of its existence over 200,000 persons from all over Europe were imprisoned here and in the numerous subsidiary camps. There were 32,000 documented deaths at the camp, and thousands more undocumented. Dachau concentration camp was the only camp to be utilised for 12 full years - from 1933 until 1945. |
Dachau was the only concentration camp to be open for a full 12 years - from 1933 to 1945.
Prisoners lived in constant fear of brutal treatment and terror detention including standing cells (at approximately 70cm by 70cm with insufficient room to sit or lie down, accompanied by brutal treatment), floggings (during which the prisoner was required to count each lash - and when they made a mistake, which was common, the count started again at "1" - as many times as necessary), pole hanging (where they were hung above the floor, from their wrists, which were bound behind their backs causing extreme pain and serious damage), and standing at attention for extremely long periods.
On April 29 1945, American troops liberated the survivors.
The Memorial Site on the grounds of the former concentration camp was established in 1965 on the initiative of and in accordance with the plans of the surviving prisoners who had joined together to form the Comité International de Dachau. The Bavarian state government provided financial support. Between 1996 and 2003 a new exhibition on the history of the Dachau concentration camp was created, following the leitmotif of the "Path of the Prisoners".
On my arrival at the site at 9am I booked a place on the 11am English guided tour for the unbelievably low price of 3 euros, and then went to the site (entry is free) to spend some time before the crowds arrived - which, given the large number of both tour groups and school groups going through later in the morning and early afternoon, proved to be a very good decision. After a short look around to get a feel for the place, I went into the permanent exhibition, which has a lot of information, very well displayed, about the history of the camp, and its place in history.
At 10am, I went into the theatrette for the English version of a short (22 minute) documentary film that they show, outlining the camp and its history, with all original footage. With a short continuation of the exhibit (it is quite extensive, and I had to complete it later, after the tour), I made it comfortably back to the information point for the start of the tour.
There were only 10 of us on the tour, which meant good interaction with our guide, Gunell. Now, I expected a fairly short 30-45 minute overview tour - and was most surprised (pleasantly so), to discover that the tour lasts for around 2 1/2 hours.
I have to say, this is probably the best tour that I have done anywhere on this trip - Gunell was informative, open, honest (sometimes brutally so) about the inhumanities that were perpetrated here, but without being maudlin or soppy, answered every question that was asked, showed humanity, and suggested with subtlety where people may find it too distressing to enter certain buildings, without any judgement.
Absolutely the best value-for-money tour that I have been on.
This first one represents the prisoners, and in particular the badges that they were required to wear indicating such things as: the reason that they were incarcerated (political prisoner, which included priests, homosexual, Jewish, criminal, etc); reoffender; flight-risk; and of course, their prisoner number.
The next piece, which sits in front of the "Maintenance Building", which housed the reception/processing facility as well as forced labour factory areas and today has the permanent exhibition and theatrette, represents the prisoners' struggle for freedom, and the electrified barbed-wire enclosure that kept them incarcerated:
It is a poignant piece, and shows a man who, while still thin, has regained some of his former self - standing proud but relaxed, with his hands in his pockets, and able to look others in the eye: an individual human being.
The inscription translates as "To the memory of the dead; a reminder to the living."
I have mixed feelings about the local residents of the time - you can't help but
wonder that they had to know something was going on - many more people arriving at the camp than leaving! However, they were different times, with a much higher regard for authority, and less investigation; the NAZI authorities did everything that they could to control information; the SS training grounds formed part of the complex; the immediate area around the camp was a cleared "no man's land"; and the area at the time was largely farming land, so there were not many "neighbours"; however, the town is not that far away, and they were providing provisions to the camp, at least for a time.
However, there is still that niggling doubt.
To an extent I can also understand those that chose to look away, or turn away - you knew that if you said anything, you were likely to end up there yourself, and self- and family-preservation understandably sits high on most people's list of priorities - not everyone is prepared to be a martyr.
I guess we cannot judge others - who knows how each of us would react in similar circumstances?
And so, while I applaud the sentiment of this message from the site, I cannot help but think that it is a lofty ideal that will possibly never be fully achieved - we can but hope, and do our own personal best.
Perhaps a slightly depressing way to complete the Munich leg of the journey, but in a strange way I am glad that I went to Dachau, and believe that it is important to better understand the context of such places; as much as it is possible to say that the experience is enjoyable, I enjoyed my day.