Dachau Day 4

It seems like we have been in Germany for weeks with all the activities we have done. Today however, was by far the most moving and interesting experience we have had. We woke up on the earlier side, stuffed ourselves and even took some extra goodies to go. We hopped on the train to Dachau which was about 40 minutes followed by a short bus ride to the actual camp. When we arrived it was overcast which changed the whole experience. I was a bit nervous the entire ride there since this was my first visit to a concentration camp. It is a lot different when you see something in person versus seeing it in a book. I wasn't sure how I was going to react and how graphic the tour was going to be.

We were greeted by our friendly tour guide as well as a swarm of mosquitos. This really affected my feelings about being in Dachau. We were then guided through the front gates of Dachau.

Original bunkers 

 

 We made our way through the museum that is set up in the middle of the camp, but only saw the first section of the massive center. I found it very hard to concentrate on the guide as well as the exhibits in the museum. This is such a heavy topic and it seemed like so little time to learn about something that was so horrible. 

The hardest part for me (and I'm sure for most) was the crematorium. We were able to walk through the original crematorium that was located across from a small one that was actually the original. During the war they built a second larger one since the first was too small. I felt like I could not be in there for more than a few minutes. Being Jewish I felt sick to my stomach thinking that people just like me were a part of such an awful time. I walked through the whole building but could not even comprehend that these machines were actually used at one point.   

After we walked through the majority of the camp, we went to watch a small documentary. The documentary summarized a lot of what the guide told us. As awful as I felt during this entire tour, I found myself to be starving after the documentary. We had an additional hour to wander around if we wanted, but I couldn't even think about looking around any more. I headed back to the main entrance with a few others and had a small snack. It felt so wrong to be eating after witnessing all of that but I figured if I didn't eat I would probably pass out. Overall I am really grateful that we were able to have this opportunity. I feel as though I need a few days to digest all of this material.

On a lighter note, we are all heading back out to the city for a Fourth of July party at one of the bars in town. Hopefully this will help us all relax and lighten up after the heavy stuff we saw today.