10/13/2026
Dachau is a lovely village that has Roman and Celtic beginnings, but unfortunately, it will always be associated with the N**i agenda. The Dachau concentration camp tour evoked an array of emotions for me and I will explain this in a moment. This post may have some images that are tough to see, but I’ve always said we need to know the good, bad, and ugly of history so it is not repeated.
Let’s talk about those emotions. The first was excitement. This probably sounds odd to be excited to see this location, but it was more excitement that I had the opportunity to visit. I am such a history buff and to experience this first hand was amazing. Our guide, Jake, was fantastic and explained everything so well.
Dachau was the first concentration camp and it was built as a training camp for soldiers and a workers camp for political prisoners. It was not built as an extermination camp, but later in WWII it did start to bring in Jewish prisoners.
The second emotion was shock. The first prisoners brought to Dachau were from the royal family, clergymen, artists, and any others that did not fit into the N**i ideals. The treatment to these men was brutal. It was all about demoralizing and breaking the spirit of the individual. There was no unification of the men, it was all about survival. They were treated horribly and seen as less than human. The prisoners were always to keep their heads and eyes looking down and they could not put their hands in their pockets. If they did not do this, they would be beaten brutally. Our guide told us about a story about a soldier giving his son a pistol as a present. He taught his son how to shoot by aiming at the prisoners. Our guide told us that parents would tell their children, “if you don’t eat your vegetables, you will be sent to Dachau.” 😢
The guard tower, main processing building, cells, and crematorium are original. The barracks and few other buildings were reconstructed to give visitors an idea of life at Dachau. The memorial in front of the main building is a timeline depicting the start of Dachau, the sculpture in the middle represents the chaos that occurred during the height of the war, and finishes with liberation of the camp. The last statue is that of a survivor. It is located outside of the extermination building. If you look at the prisoner, he looks so frail, but he has his head and eyes looking up. He has his hands in his pockets and he is showing defiance as he looks towards the camp. It was a very powerful monument!
I felt so much gut wrenching sadness for these prisoners, but joy in the fact that their stories are being remembered today. Our guide informed us that German students cannot graduate from high school until they visit at least one concentration camp. There are memorials all over this location honoring the men and women that suffered at Dachau. Yes, women were eventually brought here.
The historical pictures we see today were either taken by the N**i soldiers or were secretly saved by brave individuals after the war when the N**is were destroying evidence. I feel very honored to have visited this memorial site and paid my respects. As difficult as it was so to see film, photos, and the actual buildings, I am glad I visited. I hope my pictures will give you a small glimpse into life at Dachau.
