DACHAU

Sculpture depicting the horrors of Dachau by Nandor Glid 

June 15:  Richard woke me up, and told me it was 9 a.m. Later, when we were the only ones at breakfast, we realized we had awakened at 6 a.m., but that still means we slept for 12 hours (not 15, as we first thought). We have banished the jet lag. Breakfast at Blauer Boch was fantastic! They have an entire room dedicated to the buffet of pickled herring, fried pickled herring (surprisingly delicious), smoked salmon, Bavarian sausages, liverwurst, perfectly-cooked soft-boiled eggs, pastries, croissants, muesli, fruit, yogurt, assortment of superb cheeses, cold cuts, dark German breads, rolls, juices and coffee. Breakfast was really impressive and will keep us going most of the day.

Today we took the S-Bahn to the village of Dachau, north of Munich, to visit the memorial at the site of the Dachau Concentration Camp. Dachau is a typical Bavarian village that 80 years ago became host to one of the Nazi's first prison camps for (in the beginning) political dissidents. It seemed so incongruous--the tall trees, the chirping birds, the neat and tidy German houses--and a killing factory. The people of the village had no say that the camp was placed in their town, however, many hoped to reap economic benefits, and they didn't question what happened inside the walls. The banality of evil.

The memorial site, despite constant rain, was overflowing with visitors, including hundreds of school children. I was not expecting so many people, but am glad this site draws such interest. We signed up for the 11 a.m. English tour and had the good fortune to have Gabriella as our guide. Gabriella was extremely knowledgeable about the camp and the history of the Third Reich. She tried to explain--not apologize for or excuse--the actions or inaction of the German people. We must understand why and how so it can never happen again.

Gabriella, our guide in tan anouk

The immensity of the site is surprising. More than 40,000 prisoners were at the camp when the war ended, and I believe more than 600,000 people had been through the gates over the dozen years the camp operated. Soon after the camp opened, it began accepting people who had done nothing against the regime, except belong to a group the Nazis despised such as the Jews. According to Gabriella no one ever escaped from Dachau. Only one row of barracks is still standing, but the footprints of the others cover acres of ground. I learned things I wish I hadn't, but will never be able to forget. The Nazi SS were cruel. Some of them undoubtedly sociopaths, but what of the others? How could they live with themselves after Dachau? 

Guard tower

Footprints of barracks--each one almost as long as a football field

Sculpture representing those who died at Dachau

When the camp was liberated by U.S. soldiers, they compelled the citizens of Dachau to come to the camp to see what had been happening in their midst for the past 12 years and made them bury thousands of the dead. The men and women of the village were sobbing at the sight, but it's impossible to believe they didn't know what their regime was doing behind the barbed wire. Gabriella told us that today, 70 years after the liberation of Dachau, mothers go to Munich 30 kilometers away to give birth, so Dachau will not be on their child's birth certificate.

Roll call at Dachau by artist David Ludwig Bloch, a prisoner who was released in 1938. 

We took the train back to Munich and had a light lunch at the Viktuelienmrkt near our hotel. I had weisswurst and Richard had weiners on top of potato salad scattered with watercress. Our big breakfast and late lunch meant we still weren't really hungry at dinner. So we picnicked in our room on cheese, bread, apricots and cherries and a Tuscan barbera, then early to bed.