One of my biggest weaknesses is travelling. It enriches me. On one hand, the wonderful nature in Norway, Switzerland , France and Denmark etc instills me with peace, inspiring places like Nobel Museum in Stockholm , CERN Switzerland , The Neils Bohr Institute in Copenhagen and The Freud Museum in Vienna etc inspires me and on the other hand some places take away words from my pen, takes away thoughts from my mind and senses from within.
I have not written about those places till now. Since life is not a bed of roses, it includes both good and bad, I decided to write about those places as well, which can never veil our mind with caresses of nature and can only make us ashamed and sorrowful instead.
Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site
Finally, I tried to gather enough courage to write about one such place – “Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site“. I am incapable of finding a word or sentence which could do justice in describing the brutality done on human beings by human beings inside this camp.
I am incapable of finding a word or sentence which could do justice in describing the brutality done on human beings by human beings inside this camp. Click To Tweet
Dachau is a place in Southern Germany, which was the site of the first concentration camp built by Hitler to torture and kill political opponents, Jews, gypsies, soviet soldiers and basically anyone who opposed him.
Dachau is a place in Southern Germany, which was the site of the first concentration camp built by Hitler to torture and kill political opponents, Jews, gypsies, soviet soldiers and basically anyone who opposed him. Click To TweetThis camp became the model for all subsequent camps built all over the third Reich.
Dachau concentration camp and Nazi rule
Dachau was one of the first concentration camps and is the only camp to have existed throughout the entire twelve years of Nazi rule. In the early years, it was the largest and most well-known concentration camp. The name “Dachau” soon spread fear and terror throughout Germany.
Dachau was one of the first concentration camps and is the only camp to have existed throughout the entire twelve years of Nazi rule. Click To TweetThis old photograph shows the train line which stopped at the camp and brought in the prisoners.
The same place now. The child is probably unaware of what happened here in the past.
After disembarking from the train, the prisoners had to pass through this gate to enter the camp. The words on the gate read “Arbeit Macht Frei” which means “Work sets you free”. The prisoners were supposed to work themselves to death to finally become “free”
Inside Dachau concentration camp memorial
The place looks very pristine today, but it was and will always remain the site of some of the most inhuman torture prisons.
The call to action by the socialists against Hitler were to end in defeat mainly due to disunity among the socialists and communists, who constituted the most powerful political forces in Germany during the 1920s.
The bill of rights for the prisoners.
Frequently, prisoners who died of torture were officially recorded as having committed suicide.
Death was everywhere…Perhaps one had to die to start living.
Death was everywhere...Perhaps one had to die to start living. #Germany #ConcentrationCamp Click To Tweet
In the end, most prisoners were mere skeletons with a layer of skin on their bodies, devoid of everything human.
The greatest tragedy is that the call for “Never Again” has since remain unheard. There is no end to conflict and unfreedom in the world. Perhaps the call will always remain unanswered.
Travel Realizations
The most poignant moment of our visit was at this place, when a small child was asking his father “Why have they kept flowers here?” . The father was trying in vain to tell him something…I think every generation carries this shame.
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Datta Ghosh
I cannot even comment. Just feeling so numb. You have held the worst of human emotion and exposed it with such a poignant approach
Travel Realizations
Hi Datta Ghosh,
yeah, it is hard to comprehend such suffering!!
sunil
Most pronounced tragedy of modern time…some of the photographs really are haunting and provoke mix of despair ,sorrow and anguish…
Travel Realizations
Absolutely Sunil!
Optimistic Existentialist
So so sad, but also important for people to see since awareness of these things will prevent anything like this from happening again in the future!
Travel Realizations
I completely agree with you Keith!! Awareness and true understanding of these facts can only prevent the repetition of such thing !!!
angshu
Ohhh.. Your blog reminds me the day i spent there in 2010.. The gas chamber.. The solitary cells.. The barraks still haunt me..
Travel Realizations
Hi Angshu,
Truer words could not be spoken.At the end of the day compassion is the basis of all moralities!
Plowing Through Life (Martha)
Oh my…what a trip. It's an important but disturbing historical site. I would visit, of course, because I love to travel and see places around the world. And because I think it's important that we learn about these things, and never let them be forgotten. But just looking at your photos leaves me upset, which is how I would feel. I'd probably end up having nightmares for days on end, but that's nothing compared to what the victims of these places suffered. What a terrible part of history. Humans can be horrible to one another.
Travel Realizations
I can't agree with you more, Martha!! It was a heart rending trip !!