Christmas Day

 Cody and I went to Dachau. 


The inside of the entry gate

"Arbeit macht frei: Work sets you free"

The camp looks immense, but it was built for only 6000 prisoners. Starting in 1933, political prisoners were sent there, and in 1940, other prisoners (Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, criminals - anyone the Nazis considered a threat to the purity of the Aryan race - were housed here. Up to 32,000 people were here at one time. The camp was liberated at the end of April, 1945. 

A rebuilt barracks 

One of many watchtowers

Here you can see foundations of barracks and one side of the wall that surrounded the camp.


"Crematorium
Remember how we died here"


A replica of the crematorium

At Dachau, the crematorium was used to incinerate the bodies of those who died from disease, malnutrition, exhaustion, or execution. Although a gas chamber was built, according to the information on the site, "There was no mass killing of people by poison gas in the Dachau concentration camp. It is unclear why the SS did not use the functional gas chamber in this way. In 1944, according to a contemporary witness report, some prisoners were killed by poison gas." (https://www.kz-gedenkstaette-dachau.de/historischer-ort/virtueller-rundgang/krematoriumsbereich/)

The secluded crematorium was also where ashes were interred and where prisoners were taken to be shot (usually at the fence or near a ditch.)

Memorial 

Ash gravesite





"Honor to the dead, a reminder to the living"

The foundations of barracks

A memorial to the Jews who died at Dachau

You can see the vastness of the bunker area


Where one of the three "infirmary" barracks was. This is where experiments on prisoners took place.

Being there was a somber and sad experience, but both Cody and I felt like we needed to go to pay homage to those who were prisoners there. 

I was surprised that there is a town called Dachau very close to the camp. There is no way that the people of that town did not know what was going on, and Cody and I both wondered how many may have been part of the resistance or were afraid to speak out or agreed with what was going on. 

On a lighter note:

Because Dan did not go, I told Cody to feel free to open it up on the autobahn. So he did. And he was a happy man. 




We walked to a restaurant about 30 minutes away to have our Christmas meal and took a selfie. Yes, we were those people.


And this was someone's decoration in front of their home. I want it. 


The boys have gone back to the Hoffbrauhaus to have a [probably not final] German beer, and I am hanging out here at the hotel, blogging and drinking tea. It's been a happy Christmas for us, and I hope that it's been a good day for you, too. 

Tomorrow, we drive back to Frankfurt to take the TGV to Paris! 

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