Dachau Concentration Camp was the first Nazi concentration camp opened in Germany in 1933.
It served as the blueprint for other camps to follow.
The site is now a memorial, open to the public, free admission, about half an hour outside of Munich, by train and bus.
This was my first time visiting a concentration camp site and I spent about two hours walking the grounds. As anticipated, it was a powerful, gut-wrenching, chilling experience.
As tough a topic as it is, the memorial impressed me as respectful, somber and brutally honest. I’m glad I went.
Afterwards, you should give yourself some time to reflect and recover. Maybe get some ice cream.
I didn’t take many photos, but here are a couple, along with a few notes.
Jewish Memorial, built on the site after the fact, in 1967. The inscription over the entrance, in German and Hebrew, reads: Put them in fear, O Lord: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah. (Psalm 9:20)
“Shower”
Not pictured: Slogan on the gate at the prisoner’s entrance reads:
Work Sets You Free.