Today was a somber yet deeply powerful trip to the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site. Dachau was the first concentration camp established by the Nazi Party and served as a model for many of the camps that followed. While it was primarily a labor camp rather than an extermination camp, more than 41,500 people lost their lives there, making it the longest-operating concentration camp of the Nazi regime.

When we arrived, one of the first things I noticed was the neighborhood directly next to the camp. Some houses even seemed to have views into the memorial grounds. It felt unsettling to think about how closely everyday life existed beside such suffering. I later learned that some nearby buildings were once used by SS officers and officials, while parts of the former SS area are now used by the Bavarian police. That realization made me wonder how people could witness others living in such conditions and remain aware of it.

We began our tour outside the camp walls, where we viewed the former bakery and command area. Today, parts of the former SS grounds are used by the Bavarian riot police, while the memorial itself preserves the former prisoner camp and crematorium area.

When we walked through the entrance gate, I could feel the mood change immediately. The heavy iron gate displayed the well-known phrase “Arbeit macht frei”. I knew of this phrase from visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum, but I did not realize it appeared at other camps as well. Since Dachau became the blueprint for many later camps, there were clear similarities to what I had previously seen. There was a large open roll-call area where prisoners were forced to stand for hours and complete repetitive, pointless tasks as a form of punishment and psychological torture. Standing in such a large open space carried an enormous emotional weight, knowing how many people suffered and lost their lives there.

Since seventh grade, I have been interested in World War II history and the Holocaust. During my sophomore year of high school, I even took a class called Holocaust History and Memory, which expanded my perspective on the topic. I have always found it difficult to understand how something so terrible could happen to so many people, and I have become especially interested in the psychological factors that led individuals to commit such crimes.

Last summer, I visited Poland and Netherlands with my family, where we toured the Anne Frank House and Auschwitz. Although I already had a strong understanding of the history and events that occurred during the Holocaust, visiting Dachau was still a fascinating and meaningful experience. I also learned many new things that I had not known before. Our guide offered a different perspective as a German citizen, explaining how this history continues to shape life in Germany today while also taking time to discuss the role of the United States in Dachau’s liberation.

This trip gave me time to reflect on the significance of visiting a place like Dachau. It is humbling to realize that we are able to walk freely out of the camp, while so many people who entered those gates never had the chance to leave.