Today we went to the first concentration camp built in Germany. Contrary to what most people believe it was no an extermination camp, they are two different things. People were sent here as prisoners to work and most passed away due to the poor living conditions, disease, and starvation. At the start, this camp housed mainly political enemies or people trying to resist the way Germany was being governed at the time. They treated the prisoners as less than human and during its time at least 40,000 prisoners died at Dachau. In the featured image you can see the gate into the camp and the words on the door, “Arbeit macht Frei.” This translates to “work sets you free,” a phrase used a lot during this time, but could not be farther from the truth.

While there we spoke about Germany’s attitude towards the Second World War and how they talk about their history. While there are some differing options, I thing that stuck out to me was the fact that they do not sugar coat it. All school children have to visit a concentration camp as a part of their education. I think it is important to educate pun people about the history of their country because it makes them more aware as to why things run the way they do. This is something I believe America does not do a great job of when it comes to the less appealing side of its history.

Overall, the tour and museum at Dachau were heavy and a lot to take in. Knowing that this is not even the biggest or worst of them is disheartening as well. I think it was beneficial to get a real and raw glimpse of the history that makes up Germany and how it has affected the entire world. Our tour guide left us with some wisdom at the end of our tour. He told us it is now up to our generation to make sure that nothing this awful will ever happen again. It is important that we as a society learn from our mistakes so that history does not repeat itself.