Dachau Concentration Camp

Posted May 5, 2010 in Thoughts
 John and I drove to Dachau directly from the airport in Munich. It was a very powerful start to our 2 week trip. Here are the remnants of the railroad tracks and platform the prisoners used upon their arrival at Dachau. It was very sobering to think of the thousands of men who arrived at this concentration camp. Dachau was originally built for 6,000 and at times there were 32,000 men here. Women weren’t at Dachau until just before the liberation by the US.
Newly arriving prisoners were forced to enter these gates with the inscription  “Work Brings Freedom”. The doors are very heavy and lead to a large courtyard where the prisoners were forced to stand at attention every morning for many hours. Dachau feels very still, currently. As we went from building to building I had an overwhelming pressure in my heart and had to force myself to continue on. The horrors of this time and place were enormous. And, it is important to honor the men who lived here and to those that survived.
 

The most poignant experience during our tour of Dachau came when we saw a huge display of pictures of several prisoners from their lives before imprisonment at Dachau.  They were men living ordinary lives with their families; they laughed, they worked, they played with their children.  The looks on their faces were expressions of people living varied and normal lives.  There were also many pictures throughout the camp (and I almost feel like the use of that word minimizes the horror of this prison) of prisoners during their imprisonment. The startling thing was they all had the same expression on their faces.  You can see it in the picture below.

 

The difference in the facial expressions of these men between pre-concentration camp and then as prisoners was stunning!  And, in spite of the horrors, many of the men formed covert groups to sing and write poetry, which shows you the power of the human spirit.

We were very fortunate to observe the filming of an artist, Max Mannheimer, who is a survivor of Auschwitz and Dachau.  We didn’t understand what he was saying as he showed his paintings because we don’t speak German, but his presence was inspiring.  If you want to see some of his stunning pictures or learn more about him there is a facebook page dedicated to his work – “HUMANITY IS WHAT COUNTS.” Max Mannheimer aka ben jakov + the white raven.

I cannot find the words that describe the experience of the visit to Dachau.  I only know that this was a very powerful experience.

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