Dachau: A day I will never forget.
Kadyn and I toured the Dachau Concentration Camp through a self-guided audio tour. You had to be 13, so Kinnon had to stay back. At times I had to ask Kadyn if she was doing ok, as the images were graphic. I almost broke down a few times: walking through the “bunker,” basically the jail within the jail where people were placed in standing-only cells, “the firing wall” was their view to the outside and reading the scribbles on the cell walls. It was hard to imagine people could be this terrible to other humans. “Barrick X” or the crematorium was the other location especially “the waiting room.” Walking through the imprisoned footsteps which led to their ultimate death was jarring. Room by room, slowly, methodically led to your mass execution, and disposal…how did it come to this?!?! I was reading the Diary of Anne Frank during this time, so it hit another level, understanding the horrors from their perspective.
Outside of Dachau, Munich does not dwell in its past, unlike Berlin. Is that good, bad or indifferent? I don’t know, but it is a vibrant, joyous and fun city to visit. One I wish to return to, especially for Oktoberfest!
Cody
August 19, 2024I cant imagine standing in a nightmarish place we have only read about. That would have been awful