Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site

We drove to Dachau in the morning, about 30 minutes from central Munich. Dachau is synonymous with concentration camps. Here, the old concentration camp site is now a memorial site, though many of the original buildings are still complete and intact. You enter the memorial site through the same entrance the prisoners took, passing through a gate which reads in German ‘Work sets you free’. We used an audio guide to guide us around. It too has a museum set up inside some of the buildings. Dachau was one of the original concentration camps, and saw some hundreds of thousands of people die during its use. It was used as a training facility for many SS troops to go to other camps. It’s quite creepy that some of the buildings in the SS living area are still being used, for training of German troops, after being used by the US troops post liberation.
They have recreated examples of the living quarters, whereby thousands of people were crammed into the barracks. It was very solemn to walk the same paths that so many did and never survived. Walking on the gravel and hearing your own footsteps could not compete with the sound of thousands of feet walking the same paths, in the freezing cold, in strict formation and in fear. The most horrific part was going into the crematorium area and seeing the ovens that were used to cremate the dead bodies of countless victims. You also entered a gas chamber, capable of killing 150 people. There was also a path that led you around a garden area, whereby plaques read things like ‘grave of thousands unknown’ and ‘pistol range for execution’. The terror these victims went through is just unimaginable. It was a very moving experience going there and visiting the memorial site and made you think about the terror in the world that still exists and how sick the Nazis were.

Following our visit to Dachau, we returned to the hotel for a small rest before heading back to Marienplatz so I could have a shop. I managed to get a jacket and Daniel some jumpers and chocolates. We were ‘lucky’ enough to see the Glockenspiel go off. Hint if ever in Munich I recommend you don’t plan your day around seeing the Glockenspeil go off. It is this small thing high up on a building where these little characters come out, a bit like on an old time cuckoo clock. It plays this awful tune and goes for about ten minutes. We then went to Haufbraus, Munich’s most famous beer hall. Inside it was immensely busy and noisy and not a spare seat, so we went to the beer garden. We enjoyed a beer and pretzel before heading off. On our way home, we went to the site of Oktoberfest, which starts on Saturday. It is just amazing with huge beer tents and a real carnival complete with rides. We could see how much fun it must be and would like to stick around but have other places to see.