The tour of Dachau today changed my perspective on the living conditions these innocent people were forced to endure. You learn about how awful it was in school, but it does not truly do it justice. Walking through the rebuilt barracks, you can really see how little space the prisoners had. On top of that, the barracks were almost six times overfilled. Seeing the rows and rows of barrack foundations, it is hard to imagine all of those people living there.
I did not come into the tour with much background knowledge about Dachau or even World War II as a whole. I learned that Dachau was the first concentration camp built, and its main purpose was supposedly to serve as a “reeducation” camp, or at least that is how it was presented to the world. It was originally meant for political prisoners such as opposing politicians, journalists, communists, and others who disagreed with the Nazi regime. Compared to the end of the war, the living conditions at the beginning were considered somewhat manageable. The barracks were not overcrowded yet, and there was enough food and water for everyone. However, as the camp expanded, the conditions became worse and worse.
The other half of the camp was used to train members of the Schutzstaffel (S.S.). Our tour guide made an important point about why people joined the S.S. rather than the army. They joined of their own free will. These individuals truly believed what Hitler was doing was right, supported it, and wanted to take part in it. Many people in the German army, on the other hand, did not necessarily have a choice and were required to enlist to fight in the war. The buildings once used to train the S.S. are now closed off because they have been turned into an active police station. The idea of transforming a place with such a terrible history into something useful is somewhat unsettling to me. If I worked there, I do not think the memories and emotions tied to what happened there would ever leave my mind.
One of the last things we saw on the tour was the cremation site. There were two buildings filled with ovens used to cremate the bodies. I believe these buildings are original. Connected to one of them was a gas chamber. Our tour guide explained that there is no official record proving it was used, but walking through it tells a very different story. Many of the people entering the gas chamber were told they were simply going to take a shower, and the room was designed to look exactly like one. Several rooms led up to the chamber that gave prisoners false hope that they were actually going to bathe. It is very difficult for me to describe the emotions I felt standing in that room. You feel overwhelming sadness for the people who were forced to experience such horrific events. Never again should the world allow something like this to happen.
