While yesterday was super fun and light-hearted, we took today to reflect on Germany’s history and visit the first ever concentration camp, Dachau. As soon as we stepped off the bus, there was an eerie feeling about the place. We were far from the only group there, but the vastness of the camp made it hard to feel like we weren’t alone in our guided tour.
Our tour guide, Tobias, gave us an in-depth look into not only the history of Dachau, but also how WWII continues to affect Germans to this very day. Tobias made a specific note of how he couldn’t really talk much about the war with his parents, and he certainly couldn’t talk about it with his grandparents; they were complicit in the war effort, and it’s something that brings them great shame. Though Tobias spoke of how his ancestors were ashamed of what happened, he himself had a different perspective on everything, given that he wasn’t even born until after the war was long over.
Tobias said that though everything that happened during the war was atrocious, he would not apologize for it. Germany as a country carries the shame of the events of WWII and the Holocaust, but that doesn’t mean that they have to act abashedly forever. Rather, the people of Germany, or at least Tobias, seem to have the mindset that while what happened was terrible, all that they can do now is learn from the past and strive not to repeat the same mistakes that once befell them.
While we walked through the camp and learned more about both WWII itself and how it affected the German population, we gained valuable insight into just how horribly residents of Dachau were treated. I had a constant pit in my stomach as we saw where they slept, showered, and used the bathroom; all of which was extraordinarily claustrophobic. I could only imagine how terrible it must have been to have been prosecuted for nothing other than your religious beliefs and worked to death in such a horrible environment. It was truly sickening.
Even worse than the living quarters were both the gas chambers and the cremation ovens. Walking through and seeing where these atrocities were carried out was an entirely different level of unease. The weight of the camp became heavier, and my appreciation for all I have in my day-to-day life became even greater. After taking time to appreciate just how far the world has come from these atrocities and paying our respects to those who were so terribly treated in the holocaust, we gathered back at the buses and headed home with a much greater appreciation for our lives than we came with.