european chronicles- munich 2.0

I didn’t want to include this side trip with the prior Munich post because I think it deserves to stand on its own. While we were in Munich, we took the train out to visit Dachau, the memorial site at the first concentration camp built in 1933. We weren’t sure if we were going to go at all. I knew it was important to include educational outings, even if they were difficult or somber. But I have to confess that I didn’t want to spend time at the site and then just head back to town to drink, shop, dance, etc... I knew it would require time to settle.  So we debated whether we would have time, and ultimately decided to make the trip out the last day.

Oz, the tour guide from our first day in Munich, had shared with us a little bit of Munich’s perspective on World War 2. I am a big nerd and love history, so it was really interesting to hear the “other side of the story” if you will. I thought it was really interesting that he didn’t avoid the topic or make any excuses for what happened in Munich’s history.  It was really helpful to have this new perspective before heading out to the memorial.

The memorial site is actually on the grounds of the former concentration camp, so when you enter the memorial, you walk along the path and through the gate where the “prisoners” entered, and directly into the roll call area. It was incredibly eerie. And it was such a beautiful day, so the dichotomy between the beautiful, sunny sky and somber environment was incredibly poignant and haunting.  

{gate at the entrance: "work sets you free"}

There is a museum that clearly laid out the history of the Nazi party, World War 2, and Dachau itself.  It had articles, artifacts, pictures, and testimonies from prisoners, and a short documentary about the concentration camp with some of the most graphic footage I’ve seen… definitely not what we saw in our suburban high school history classes. Outside of the museum, there were restored barracks to show the living conditions, part of the original fencing, and a chilling memorial statue. You could even walk through the crematorium, which had been turned into a gas chamber. The chambers at Dachau were fortunately never put into operation, but they are still standing. It was so haunting, and the sense of atrocity still lingers.

{chilling memorial built in 1968}

{"may the example of those who were exterminated here between 1933-1945 because they resisted nazism help to unite the living for the defence of peace and freedom and in respect for their fellow men"}

{the camp fencing with an SS watch tower}

I think it is really incredible that they restored the actual site into a memorial. The site was funded by the government, but planned by a committee of surviving prisoners. I really appreciate how open and honest the memorial, and even our tour guide, was about what happened in Munich leading up to and during the war. It seemed like the people really embraced their history in order to move forward and not suffer the same fate again. And even though it was incredibly somber, it was a truly beautiful tribute.  

We left Munich very quietly and pensively, but I’m so glad we went. I’m so grateful that I got to experience so much of the fun Bavarian culture, but also got the chance to educate myself on a very real (and still pretty recent) part of history.