So far, this trip has been filled with many days of exploration, beauty, learning, and revelation. Today, it was just one of the somber ones. We were able to tour Dachau concentration camp this morning and afternoon. It’s not the first time I’ve been but visiting concentration camps are always a time for reflection. After half a day of that, Valerie and I took off to go check out some cathedrals around Munich. It was a big day!
Dachau
If you’ve ever thought about visiting a concentration camp, Dachau is certainly a good choice. The US and German governments along with several other groups have gone to great lengths to preserve the history and essence of the camp. They’re very blunt and unapologetic, making sure the history of the place is not forgotten or sugarcoated.
I had the opportunity to visit Dachau two years ago in the winter. That visit helped prepare me for today. On both occasions, I was surprised to find that I wasn’t significantly affected emotionally. As a highly emotional individual, I’m assuming it’s my subconsciousness trying to protect me from very painful empathy. I also found it tough to imagine such horrible things happening in the very spots where I stood, despite the images being right in front of me.
There’s far too much to say, but I’ll try to highlight the basics. For context, Hitler came to power in 1933. Within a few months, Dachau was the first concentration camp to be established, intended for political opponents to be held and worked as in a “normal” prison. Six years later in 1939, WWII began and things ramped up in the camps. As the Germans moved eastward to invade Slavic countries like Poland and the Soviet Union, the camp filled with “undesirable” people groups from all of those places. Jews, Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, the disabled, the homeless, communists, and others were all sent to work in Dachau.
There were two types of concentration camps: the work camps and the extermination camps. Dachau was designed as a work camp. Though death became very common as the war dragged on, forced labor was the primary objective. Prisoners built everything from weapons and ammo to home goods like dishes and food. The brutal methods of torture and neglect would result in over 40,000 people dying at Dachau.
Following the war, the German people wanted to move on and forget. It wasn’t until 20 years after the war that survivors would finally have their wish of a memorial at the site. Throughout the 1970s to 1990s, more efforts would be made to preserve the essence of the camp. Today, the governments and a group of nuns maintain the grounds as an important reminder of how democracies like our own can fall quickly into the worst that humanity can offer.
Here are some of the most impactful revelations and thoughts from today:
- The people in the camps were not just Jews, communists, homosexuals, etc. They were regular, respectable people. They were people with childhoods growing up on farms in the country, people with heartwarming love stories, people with hopes and dreams, people who enjoyed eating around the table. It’s easy to think of the Holocaust as the murder of different “types” of people, but it was really the mass killing of people like you or your parents or your children. That makes it feel so much worse.
- The Jews are often the first thing people think of when they hear the word Holocaust. They are certainly the group that suffered the most in terms of number of victims, but they are usually the first to be recognized too. The Jewish survivors got their memorial 20 years after the camp was liberated, yet it would be decades longer before the homosexuals, the homeless, and the communists would be recognized as victims. For a long time, societal values saw them as just prisoners. I’ve thought about that a lot in the past two years and the reminder today was important. Just because a people group that you don’t respect or agree with doesn’t mean they deserve to suffer or be unrecognized for their suffering. I think of the Uyghurs (Muslims) in China today, being forced into their own labor camps and being killed. I think of illegal immigrants being dehumanized and viewed as criminals. I think of the Palestinians facing another horrible war in the midst of their homes. Politics aside, these are people groups facing traumatic situations and pain. Just because we don’t agree with something about them doesn’t mean they deserve the suffering or recognition.
- Where does our responsibility lie? What ought we be doing? That’s not a question that can be answered easily or even consistently. My tour guide at Dachau two years ago told us that the Germans in the village of Dachau stated they had no idea what was going on in the camp. But how could they not? Their homes looked over the walls. They could see and smell the smoke from the crematoriums. She posed the question, “But what could they have done?” Her answer to her own question will never be forgotten. “Not nothing.”
- What did the survivors of the Holocaust live for? Why carry on hope of surviving? Many have stated that they stayed alive to testify, to make sure this didn’t happen again. But that couldn’t have been the reason that they all stayed alive. I’ve read the survival account of Dr. Viktor Frankl, a psychologist and Jew that survived four concentration camps. He had many meaningful experiences to share, but one has stuck with me. He said something like “nobody innocent survived the camps. At one point or another, every survivor had to choose himself above his neighbor. There are no decent men left.” That’s a little harsh and I may be misremembering, but that’s what I believe to be his point. If that’s the case, what for? What could there possibly be in this life that makes continuing with the nightmare of reality worth it? I don’t have an answer yet.
There’s so, so, so much more that can be shared about Dachau, but I’ll stop there. I’m sure I’ll have more to say after Auschwitz. I’ll leave the topic with this quote from Martin Niemöller, a famous German pastor that spent several years at Dachau concentration camp.
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
Dachau town
On a lighter note, we spent some time in the village of Dachau. Like most concentration camps, this one gets its name from the nearest town. The village is actually a very nice place. It’s a pretty little community with excellent bakeries, shopping opportunities, and people. We ate lots of pastries this morning, enjoyed döner kebab in the afternoon, and tried a few coffee drinks. We also went on a very pleasant walk downtown to kill some time. It’s a great place.
It’s interesting to think about the beauty that can happen in places that once held such horror. I thought the same thing at Omaha Beach. I guess that’s the goal though, isn’t it? That’s why people fight and die for causes they believe in. So that someday there can be flowers where the blood spilled.
Exploring Munich
Valerie and I spent the remainder of our day checking out some of the gorgeous cathedrals of Munich while Mom caught a much-needed nap (jealous!). It’s hard to comprehend how such care, detail, and skill went into these buildings, especially hundreds of years ago. They’re wonderful to experience in-person though and I find myself looking for the characters of the Bible in every one we visit, a purpose which I assume is intended.
We also checked out a park. There were so many geese! They look so different from the ones back home and these ones were extremely tame. It was awesome.
Traveling again
Tomorrow, we’ve got a train ride to Salzburg, Austria. It’s a short one and we don’t have anything else planned, so I don’t know what to expect. Guess we’ll find out! I’m glad to be leaving Munich. For all its cool stuff, it’s a busy, dirty, scary city. Definitely the lowest on my list of visit-agains. It probably didn’t help that the League Championship for Soccer was held here today. My goodness, the streets were filled with screaming, singing, and drunk football fans. I’ve never experienced sports fans like this, and we all know how bad NFL fans can get lol. Next time, maybe I’ll check those details. 🙂 Anyways, we’re looking forward to leaving here and going where we’re going tomorrow. Time flies!