Dachau Concentration Camp

To complete my WW2 tour of Europe, I wanted to visit a concentration camp. While in Munich, I realized that Dachau Concentration Camp was within a hour, so I decided to take a tour to visit the camp. While I knew that it wouldn't be a "fun" or "cool" part of my overseas adventure, I did think that it would be informative and would add to my understanding of the war and the events surrounding it. I can't do justice to the wealth of information that exists about Dachau or the war, but I will say that the historical facts and figures come to life when you are within the gates of the camp standing where the prisoners stood for counting on a daily basis, for the seven years that the camp was operational. The misery of being separated from your family, the fatigue from lack of food, sleep and sickness, the mental and physical torture from the guards, and the knowledge that you likely are going to die, must have been overwhelming. It is amazing that anyone survived to be liberated. The camp was designed for 2,000 people. Upon liberation, there were 30,000 people living in the camp. The conditions were horrible.

I found this quote as I was doing research for the visit. And it stuck with me through the tour that day. It was an informative tour and visit, but I definitely was grateful that I had the ability, freedom, and right to leave the camp at the end of the tour, rather than the uncertainty of wondering if I would ever be free again.

Pastor Martin Niemöller, who initially supported the Nazis, ended up here in 1938, whereupon he famously noted that :

When the Nazis arrested the Communists,I said nothing; after all, I was not a Communist.
When they locked up the Social Democrats,I said nothing; after all, I was not a Social Democrat. When they arrested the trade unionists,I said nothing; after all, I was not a trade unionist.When they arrested the Jews,I said nothing; after all, I was not a Jew.
When they arrested me, there was no longer anyone who could protest. -- translated by Bob Berkovitz