We prepared ourselves for a harrowing day today, today we went to the Dachau memorial, the site of the Nazi concentration camp. What we weren’t prepared for was the size of the place. Dachau was the model ‘work camp’ that all other camps were based on.
There were 34 barracks for the prisoners, each designed for 200 prisoners. But by the time of liberation (29 April 1945) each of these barracks held 2000 prisoners, and the total camp population was 63,000, which included over 3000 dead bodies left lying in piles to greet the liberators. Amongst that first jeep load of liberators was the photographer Lee Miller. It is through her photographs here that a lasting impression has been made on many of us on what it was like in these camps. Most of those still living on that day were mere skeletal beings, after years of 600 calories a day and hard labour. The unfortunate thing is that many more died after that day, due to the lack of knowledge of how to bring the malnourished back to a healthy diet.
It is hard to imagine what the overcrowding and degradation of the prisoners was like. The punishments, the beatings, the pole hangings, the degradation and humiliation, all at the discretion of the SS Guards who ran this place. Dachau was known as the ‘School of Violence’, this was where the SS Guards were trained to go out and exert their power throughout the Third Reich.
We went through the bunker of ‘Punishment Cells’, a long low building with a central corridor with small cells on both sides down it’s entire length (137 in total). Some of these cells were converted into ‘standing cells’, a cupboard 70cm square in which the offending prisoner was forced to stand for days at a time, with no light, no food, no toilet facilities, no ability to lay down, sit or even squat. This is where the guy that tried to assassinate Hitler in 1939(?) spent his last days. It makes you wonder how history would have changed if he had been successful.
What we found interesting about this camp was that unlike most other camps this wasn’t a predominantly a camp for Jews, although a lot of Jews went through here. The reason was that Germany didn’t want the Jews in Germany at all, so most of them were sent elsewhere. But this was a camp for political prisoners, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witness, asocials, immigrants, women who had too many men, etc, etc. This was the camp that you were sent to if you didn’t ‘fit into’ society, and you were sent here to work, and work hard. Of course the question has to be asked, ‘Who decides if you don’t fit in?’ Well that was at the discretion of the SS. And according to that discretion, 200,000 people went through these gates.
We could go on at length about what we saw, and what happened at this camp, but what we feel is important about this place, is that it is not to point the finger at any one person or group, but more important to see what people are capable of doing to other people. To put it in a current context, it raises the question of ‘who are the terrorists?’ At what point does retribution for terrorism become terrorism itself. I guess your definition of terrorism depends on which side of the fence you are standing.
After spending most of the day here we decided that it was time for something a little more … pleasant. We went to the Neue Pinakothek art gallery. They had some fantastic works there mostly from the 19th Century. As well as a lot of works by local artists there were works by Picasso, Monet, Degas, Renoir, Matisse and their centre piece Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’. Was definitely a great way to end the day after how we had started. Unfortunately this part of our day was ended rather abruptly as we were chased out of the gallery rather abruptly at 7:45pm.
The gallery closes at 8:00pm and we all know the German tradition for punctuality, and that means the staff leaving, not the visitors exiting. As we were being ushered out the door, we could see the staff arriving from all corners of the gallery, with the first hint of urgency that we had seen in their gait, and the first hint of joy in their countenances since we had arrived.
But to really top off an interesting day with a bit of the eccentric, as we were walking home we were passed by an older guy in lederhosen and full beard, going full speed in his electric wheelchair along the footpath and yodeling at the top of his voice. We have become accustomed to the constant ringing of incoming bikes trying to clear the way ahead, but yodeling? Well it certainly got a lot of attention.
And to make a good day even better we found a cheap source of beer! The bottle store downstairs sells the same beer that you buy at a biergarten (10 euro per litre) for 2 euro. Bargain!!! It’s a shame that we’re leaving tomorrow, but at least we can take some to go. But before we went we checked out the construction at the Octoberfest site, which is just a stones throw from where we are staying. This place is HUGE! To call these beer tents, tents, is an understatement.
There were 34 barracks for the prisoners, each designed for 200 prisoners. But by the time of liberation (29 April 1945) each of these barracks held 2000 prisoners, and the total camp population was 63,000, which included over 3000 dead bodies left lying in piles to greet the liberators. Amongst that first jeep load of liberators was the photographer Lee Miller. It is through her photographs here that a lasting impression has been made on many of us on what it was like in these camps. Most of those still living on that day were mere skeletal beings, after years of 600 calories a day and hard labour. The unfortunate thing is that many more died after that day, due to the lack of knowledge of how to bring the malnourished back to a healthy diet.
It is hard to imagine what the overcrowding and degradation of the prisoners was like. The punishments, the beatings, the pole hangings, the degradation and humiliation, all at the discretion of the SS Guards who ran this place. Dachau was known as the ‘School of Violence’, this was where the SS Guards were trained to go out and exert their power throughout the Third Reich.
We went through the bunker of ‘Punishment Cells’, a long low building with a central corridor with small cells on both sides down it’s entire length (137 in total). Some of these cells were converted into ‘standing cells’, a cupboard 70cm square in which the offending prisoner was forced to stand for days at a time, with no light, no food, no toilet facilities, no ability to lay down, sit or even squat. This is where the guy that tried to assassinate Hitler in 1939(?) spent his last days. It makes you wonder how history would have changed if he had been successful.
What we found interesting about this camp was that unlike most other camps this wasn’t a predominantly a camp for Jews, although a lot of Jews went through here. The reason was that Germany didn’t want the Jews in Germany at all, so most of them were sent elsewhere. But this was a camp for political prisoners, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witness, asocials, immigrants, women who had too many men, etc, etc. This was the camp that you were sent to if you didn’t ‘fit into’ society, and you were sent here to work, and work hard. Of course the question has to be asked, ‘Who decides if you don’t fit in?’ Well that was at the discretion of the SS. And according to that discretion, 200,000 people went through these gates.
We could go on at length about what we saw, and what happened at this camp, but what we feel is important about this place, is that it is not to point the finger at any one person or group, but more important to see what people are capable of doing to other people. To put it in a current context, it raises the question of ‘who are the terrorists?’ At what point does retribution for terrorism become terrorism itself. I guess your definition of terrorism depends on which side of the fence you are standing.
After spending most of the day here we decided that it was time for something a little more … pleasant. We went to the Neue Pinakothek art gallery. They had some fantastic works there mostly from the 19th Century. As well as a lot of works by local artists there were works by Picasso, Monet, Degas, Renoir, Matisse and their centre piece Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’. Was definitely a great way to end the day after how we had started. Unfortunately this part of our day was ended rather abruptly as we were chased out of the gallery rather abruptly at 7:45pm.
The gallery closes at 8:00pm and we all know the German tradition for punctuality, and that means the staff leaving, not the visitors exiting. As we were being ushered out the door, we could see the staff arriving from all corners of the gallery, with the first hint of urgency that we had seen in their gait, and the first hint of joy in their countenances since we had arrived.
But to really top off an interesting day with a bit of the eccentric, as we were walking home we were passed by an older guy in lederhosen and full beard, going full speed in his electric wheelchair along the footpath and yodeling at the top of his voice. We have become accustomed to the constant ringing of incoming bikes trying to clear the way ahead, but yodeling? Well it certainly got a lot of attention.
And to make a good day even better we found a cheap source of beer! The bottle store downstairs sells the same beer that you buy at a biergarten (10 euro per litre) for 2 euro. Bargain!!! It’s a shame that we’re leaving tomorrow, but at least we can take some to go. But before we went we checked out the construction at the Octoberfest site, which is just a stones throw from where we are staying. This place is HUGE! To call these beer tents, tents, is an understatement.
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