Today we went to the former Dachau concentration camp, a place where many died throughout the duration of the Third Reich. The experience, though I had never been to a concentration camp before, I felt I was prepared for, as I have studied German history for most of my schooling career. I had also been to Holocaust and Stasi museums before, one of which was dedicated to the preservation of the killing of Sinti and Roma people during the Holocaust. It did not fully prepare me for this experience however, even with friends of mine having told me about their experiences here.

In comparison to the horror exercised by the SS and the German army on different groups of people throughout Europe in extermination camps, the experience at Dachau was somewhat less. That is not to say the experience was good, but it deteriorated quickly throughout the course of the war. The camp was also used at some point as an example concentration camp, both for propaganda purposes and for other camps as a model. One of the things that most surprised me about the camp, beyond the explanation of the camp from our guide (who was amazing by the way), was the “Arbeit macht Frei” words on the iron gate at the entrance. I was unaware that this sign existed anywhere outside of Auschwitz, as it is one of the most famous things about the famous death camp. After learning Dachau was used as an example, this made a great deal more of sense.

After our tour, we were able to go through the place where politically significant and particularly difficult prisoners were kept in isolation, sometimes without light. We also had a brief time to walk through the museum, through the rooms where the initial intake of prisoners was conducted. Our guide was amazing, managing to present this information in a way that did not completely overwhelm us, while also presenting the facts in a very precise manner. The images were the most upsetting experience, as the camp itself is somewhat changed from when it existed to house prisoners.