Beginning 1933, Germany was beginning to create a new ‘German Society’. The number of political prisoners were increasing and the need rose to place them somewhere thus giving birth to the concept of concentration camps. Dachau is actually the first concentration camp and was used then as a model for others, including Auschwitzs. The initial site of this camp was actually a machinery/weapons factory but after WW1, the Germans were not allowed to produce any of these so some guy known as Heinrich Himmler converted the factory to a concentration camp. However, they wanted to give the impression to outsiders that Dachau was a work camp, where people were rehabilitated so that they can fit into the new German society! (doesn’t this ‘rehabilitation’ concept sound like ISA?). But soon after the war in 1943, many Jewish, Polish and Russian prisoners were also held here and the place became over populated (41000 prisoners died in that 12 years, which is about 9 people per day!)
Anyway the whole history and walking the path of the prisoners was a real eye opener for me. I’ve watched many movies, read books about the sufferings in concentration camps but just standing on the soil where innocent blood was shed is just overwhelming. Many prisoners resulted to committing suicide because it’s the easiest way out.
During the tour, Aleesha and I met other travellers: Chris and Sam from New Mexico (USA) and Steve, Justin and Laureen from Whistler, Canada. We were all depressed after the tour and decided to head to the famous beer gardens to lift our spirits!
After some beer, we headed to the ‘travellers’ campsite, where Laureen suggested we make s’mores (marshmallow burnt lightly until soft, then sandwiched between 2 graham creackers). Sounds mouth watering but it started to rain and the campfire was put to a halt. Instead we went out for ice-cream and played in the rain. After saying our farewells, Aleesha and I left for our hostel. Definitely able to sleep well with all the walking and alcohol.
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