Dachau Memorial

.../> The first group of Dachau prisoners were taken into “protective custody” and were at first guarded by the Bavarian police (Bavaria being that part of Germany). The place used for holding them was an abandoned First World War munitions factory. Who would have guessed it would turn into such a place that the name would be feared by those living in Nazi Germany and that even today, just over 70 years later, the name could still evoke ...
...the guards.
“With Dachau as a model, Eicke developed an institution which was intended, by its very existence, to spread fear among the populace, an effective tool to silence every opponent of the regime. Dachau became, in effect, a training ground for the SS.”

The Prisoners
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At first, only known prisoners of the Nazi regime were held. Social Democrats, Communists and Monarchists ... more

Some Background
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After Hitler seized power on January 30th, 1933, he wasted no time in beginning a brutal persecution and elimination of any political opponents. Just eleven days after becoming Munich’s Chief of Police, on the 20th March Heinrich Himmler declared the establishment of a concentration camp- at Dachau. With a capacity originally of 5000, it was intended for all Communist party officials, those of the Reichsbanner (uniformed wing of the Social Democratic party for purposes of self-protection) and of the Social Democrats.
The first group of Dachau prisoners were taken into “protective custody” and were at first guarded by the Bavarian police (Bavaria being that part of Germany). The place used for holding them was an abandoned First World War munitions factory. Who would have guessed it would turn into such a place that the name would be feared by those living in Nazi Germany and that even today, just over 70 years later, the name could still evoke such horror. The first of the concentration camps, it remains unchanged as a symbol of inhumanity.

The SS (a group of soldiers fanatically loyal to Hitler) took control of the camp on April 11th, 1933 and the prisoners were left with nothing- their civil rights completely destroyed and they were helpless against the guards.
“With Dachau as a model, Eicke developed an institution which was intended, by its very existence, to spread fear among the populace, an effective tool to silence every opponent of the regime. Dachau became, in effect, a training ground for the SS.”

The Prisoners
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At first, only known prisoners of the Nazi regime were held. Social Democrats, Communists and Monarchists were forced to live together behind barbed wire whereas previously they had opposed each other. Later in 1933 the camp included Jehovah’s Witnesses- these were subjected to the roughest maltreatment in the camp.
From 1935 it was standard for anyone who had been condemned in a court of law (often they received an unfair trial if a trial at all) to be taken to a concentration camp after they had served their sentence. Ironically, this meant a longer sentence was to be saved- from imprisonment in a concentration camp, and often saved from death.
By the beginning of the war in 1939 the expanding network of concentration camps across Germany were being filled. Inmates included political opponents of all kinds. Jews and gypsies were classified as racially inferior. Other prisoners included clergymen who resisted the political coercion of the churches and those who had made critical remarks.

“The initial declarations claimed that the camp was being established for all “who endangered the security of the State”, but the story soon was given out that the camps would serve as re-education centres for criminals. Criminals, who subsequently acted as spies for the SS, were brought into the concentration camps to help create the public impression that their prisoners consisted of common criminals.”

Dachau’s first Jewish prisoners were in there because of their political opposition. It wasn’t until the persecution of the Jews increased that the Jewish prisoners increased. Over Kristallnacht (crystal night) of November 1938 over 10,000 Jews from all over Bavaria were taken to Dachau. Many were later released and told to leave Germany- but this proved a problem to many as the conditions were that in leaving Germany they were not allowed to take any money. Many did not have anywhere to go, so had to stay. Jewish prisoners received the worst treatment of all.
Prisoners came from all countries that were at war with Germany- resistance fighters, Jews, clergymen and patriots. When the camp was liberated, there were prisoners from over thirty countries.

Life in the Concentration Camp
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As I’m sure you can imagine, life was hell for prisoners at a concentration camp. When they first arrived, they passed through an iron gate on which it says ARBEIT MACHT FREI meaning basically “work will set you free.” Many of the prisoners therefore, believed that if they worked hard they would be set free. Newcomers had any remaining possessions confiscated, hair shaved off and put into striped clothes. They were allocated a number and a coloured triangle to indicate what type of prisoner they were. The daily routine consisted of work, hunger, exhaustion and fear of guards.

There were many things for which a prisoner could be punished and rules were strict. Bedding had to be perfect- even a stripe out of line could mean severe punishment. A button missing from a jacket, a spot on the barrack floor or the dishes after washing, an incorrect reply or a tiny break to catch a breather were just a few things that could be punished by:

 Flogging- the prisoner was strapped to a specially designed block and made to count aloud the lashes he received with a whip. If he lost consciousness, it was repeated.
 Tree or pole hanging- the prisoner had his hands tied behind his back and then was suspended from them. Note this is only possible when the shoulders are dislocated. He would be hung there in terrible pain for hours.
 The Standing Punishment- regardless of the weather, the prisoner had to stand unmoving for days in the roll-call square.
 Cutting off rations- either for individuals or groups.
 Detention- in the bunker- the camp prison. Prisoners were often held in chains and deprived of their rations.
 The Death Penalty- also specified in the Order of Discipline and Punishment.

Beyond official punishments, the SS enjoyed other opportunities to punish prisoners, driving them to despair, sickness and often death. These extra punishments included drills through snow and bog, work during free time and prolonged roll calls.
Only one prisoner ever escaped successfully, it was on January 23rd, 1938. He was due for punishment, and as was common was given a rope and left alone with the choice to commit suicide before they murdered him. He used this time to escape. The SS punished the remaining prisoners by making them stand in the roll-call square through the night. As it was cold and snowing, a great number of prisoners collapsed and died.
Prisoners were also subjected to medical experiments such as being injected with malaria. It is unknown how many prisoners died through the medical experiments.

In the weeks before liberation the prisoners had to live in conditions even they thought were impossible. Those incapable of work were taken to invalid barracks and given half the allotted ration. At night up to 1600 were crammed into barracks originally intended for 200. Daily over 100 fell victim to a typhus epidemic. It raged out of control as sick prisoners were cramped up and medication was scarce. On Sunday April 29th, 1945, American soldiers finally liberated Dachau.
In the twelve years of its existence over 200,000 persons from all over Europe were imprisoned at Dachau and in the numerous subsidiary camps. More than 43,000 of them died.

"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."

My Visit to Dachau
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As soon as I entered the camp, I sensed the eerie atmosphere. It seemed so big, empty and unnatural. Surrounded by the high concrete walls and barbed wire I felt trapped and oppressed. The atmosphere also seemed to watch, as though a thousand eyes of the prisoners who had died and had no grave were surveying the scene.
The memorial site of Dachau is more than just a memorial, there is plenty to see and learn. The bookshop contains many books at very reasonable prices in several different languages. There are sample copies for you to flick through and then you can buy some if you want. I purchased a small book about the concentration camp, which has helped greatly in writing this review. My brother bought a larger book that contains many pictures of the camp, sources and extracts.

You can also visit a replica of a barrack. The originals were taken down, but you can go inside and see the cramped conditions of bunk beds three high and countless across like cages. It was in one of these barracks that we tagged onto a small group having a tour. It is possible to purchase an audio guide for a small amount, I think places around the camp have numbers, you put the number into the guide and it tells you about it, this way you can view it at your own speed. We chose the real guide though, which are done in English, German and Italian. Although German, her English was very good and she answered questions well. She talked in much detail about what went on in the camps and I found myself learning a lot that you can’t learn in a textbook.

We were shown the places of worship that had been built as memorials, as worshipping had been suppressed in its days as a concentration camp. There was, I think, a synagogue and a Catholic Church. There is still much of the original camp, including the first oven built for burning corpses. Later more ovens were built to cope with the increase in deaths. In the same building, a gas chamber, which was used for some medical experiments, but never for mass execution although they never knew why. All this can be walked around and viewed, and I must say it is quite disturbing to be standing in a gas chamber even if never used to murder prisoners.

The entrance gate under the main watch tower holding the words “Arbeit macht frei” is a reminder of the last thing the prisoners saw before they entered their new “life”. It was these watchtowers around the edge of the camp that had guards in with guns, ready to shoot anyone who put a toe into the forbidden area.

The prison was used to house many prisoners for punishment. Deprived of rations, they would hear other prisoners being taken outside and shot against a wall. This would drive them mad, wondering if they might be next…sometimes, for fun, the guards would tell a prisoner he was going to be executed, put a gun to his head and pull the trigger. But there would be nothing in the gun. The prison cells were extremely small, although sometimes it would be a relief for them to have their own space away from the other prisoners.

We also visited the archive where there is so much information about the war and the concentration camp that we didn’t read it all. At first there is a massive map showing Germany and surrounding countries, with every single concentration camp, extermination camp and similar marked on there. It is really mind boggling how many camps there were in total even if a lot of them were only sub camps. I never even knew there was a camp in the Hague (Holland).
Then the massive boards (handy for several people to read at once) take you through the story of how it all started. Having studied quite a bit of it for History, I found it fascinating to be reading and learning more. Photos and pictures accompany these accounts and extracts.
This library continues through several rooms, and in one it is quite strange to read an account from a prisoner describing what happened when he first arrived, describing the very same room you are stood in.
In another room, you can see the remains on a wall of where beams used to be for hanging people by their wrists.
There is also a cabinet with some actual uniforms of prisoners.

Before we went in the library we watched a film which is shown several times a day in different languages. It is about the liberation of the camp and was interesting although to be honest I do not remember a lot.

Outside, the camp feels bare even though it has been planted with many trees along the walkway between the foundations of the barracks. There is little shelter- if the weather looks bad, I recommend an umbrella. Equally, I can imagine it being unbearable if the weather is hot.
Each place around the camp has boards with information and photos on so you can read about it. This is very helpful if you are not interested in having a guided tour but still want to get the most out of your visit.

A grey memorial stands in the open and reads in many different languages, “Never Again.”

The camp certainly left an impression on me. An air of gloom that was nothing to do with the rain seemed to surround us as we left the site and we stayed silent for some time afterwards. I cannot really convey in a review the experience of visiting a concentration camp. I cannot fully describe the atmosphere or the way it made me feel.
I also cannot include any photographs in this review, as I did not take any. Other people were taking photographs- it is allowed- but somehow I would have felt disrespectful.

How to get to Dachau
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Dachau is located North of Munich. From any of the main train stations, you need to catch an S-Bahn. The number you need is S2 in the direction of (Petershausen). Note that travelling in the other direction the S2 goes to Holzkirchen. It is very easy to buy a train ticket, as there are maps on the platform so you can work out where you are and where you need to go. The ticket machines can be changed to English. As Dachau is in the “Außenraum” you need to make sure that the ticket you buy covers you for this. This is basically the outer ring so it will cost a little more. We found however that train tickets are very good value as you can buy one for up to 5 people, for a whole day, to anywhere within a certain ring. From Dachau station take the Bus 724 to the Memorial Site car park, or the Bus 726 to the main entrance of the Memorial Site.
Please note that on some days the S-Bahn does not travel all the way to Dachau. When we went, we unexpectedly had to get off a few stops early and catch a bus to Dachau. From there we followed a group of people to the camp.
It is probably fairly easy to reach Dachau only by bus too.
For those travelling by car one of the pictures at the bottom is a map.

Opening Times etc
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The Memorial Site is open daily, except for Mondays, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. No appointment is necessary.
Admission to the Memorial Site is free. So too are the film showings and the various exhibitions on the grounds.

The site does include toilets which are of a good standard.
The place in general is wheelchair friendly although some of the buildings have steps to enter.

Munich transport operators- www.mvv-muenchen.de
German Railway- www.bahn.de

For more information simply do a search on the Internet for “Dachau” it will come up with many websites.
I wish I could have put more in here of life in the camp but I thought firstly I did not want to bore you and secondly, you can always visit yourself! If you visit Munich or nearby, Dachau is a must visit.

Verdict
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I found this was a really good insight into the concentration camp even if a depressing visit. I learnt a lot, but for those of you who don’t like the sound of lots of reading and learning don’t worry, you don’t have to! Plus you can get an audio guide, have a guided tour or simply look around yourself. However I really enjoyed (can I use that word?) reading about it all and felt it was a worthwhile day. Some people might find it a bit disturbing, but I wasn’t affected a lot. Some people might think children would be disturbed at it but I think that maybe they wouldn’t understand. It is certainly not a horrible place; otherwise people would not go there. Yes, it is morbid and very saddening to think what happened there, but no, it is not particularly distressing. I think they have done a wonderful job turning it into an informative memorial site, five stars from me and I recommend that you visit. You can definitely spend several hours there seeing all that is to be seen.

Thankyou for reading…I would love to read your comments.
Debz x

 

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