Today I had an eye-opening and, honestly, a depressing experience. Today we visited Dachau, the first concentration camp in Germany. The camp served as the blueprint for future concentration camps, with many elements that can be seen at many other camps. It had the words “ARBEIT MACHT FREI” written across the gates at the entrance, the popular sarcastic slogan that suggests freedom through hard work. However, as we toured the camp, it soon became apparent that the only freedom that most these prisoners earned was through death. We visited the prisoner barracks, the solitary confinement rooms, the crematorium, and the gas chambers. Each site was more shocking than the last. We saw pictures that were taken during and after the liberation of Dachau, where we could see the literal skeletons that these prisoners had become and even piles of deceased prisoners in some of them.
I honestly do not know a good way to describe the feelings that arose from this entire experience. It really put into perspective how horrible the atrocities the Nazi’s committed were. The living conditions and the torture that the prisoners experienced were so inhumane that when I tried to put myself in their shoes all I could think about was “How?” How can humans treat other humans this way? The torture methods and systematic dehumanization inside the camp left me speechless. The tour guide reminded us that history is doomed to repeat itself unless we learn from that, and I believe that this trip serves that purpose. Leaving the camp, I felt that this trip was necessary. Reading about these camps in history books is absolutely incompatible to actually touring them in person, and it puts into perspective how evil this world can be, and that we have to do everything we can to not let it become like that again. This trip was not easy whatsoever, but I recommend that anyone do something like this once in their life so that they can learn the lessons that this place has to give.
To switch to a lighter note, we got back to Augsburg and went to eat dinner at a very hole-in-the-wall joint a few minutes from the hotel. The owners there barely spoke and english, but we figured out our individual orders and ate some amazing food. What I loved most about this place was the vast quantity of food that we got for a very affordable price. We went to pay for our meals but then realized that they only took cash. So long story short I now owe my friend 20 euros… whoops. We then went straight to get ice cream at Tutti Frutti, the best part about the entire city. This must be my fifth time visiting this place it is just that good. I am slowly trying to become friends with the owners for discounts. I will be giving updates on that in later vlogs. But that is all for now, see you tomorrow!
