flatschoolbudapest
scotland munichvienna
amsterdamblankoldsite

Munich, Germany
Nov 27-30, 2003

Click on any picture to see it larger
Next Pg →


pic picNov 27, 2003 - Thanksgiving Day.
We took the S-Bahn (train) out on a cold, damp, foggy, gray day to tour the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site. Dachau was the first concentration camp to open. It opened in 1933 and under the administration of the commandant of Dachau, Theodor Eicke, became the model for the rest of the concentration camps.

The gate where the prisoners entered the camp with the words Arbeit Macht Frei - Work Brings Freedom

pic pic
 pic
The (reconstructed) barracks behind the open roll call area and the main camp road lined with Poplar trees.

The concentration camp started as a prison for political opponents of the regime (communists, social democrats, trade union members, some liberal and conservative party members). The first Jewish prisoners were brought here because of their political beliefs. The following years brought homosexuals, gypsies, Jehovahs' Witnesses and Clergymen. After the 'Crystal Night' in 1938 more than 10,000 Jews were brought to Dachau. Altogether, there were more than 200,000 prisoners from more than 30 countries imprisoned in Dachau. In 1933 there were 10,000 Jews in Munich, only 200 survived the war.
pic pic
 pic
These are the foundation markers to show where the barracks were placed.
pic pic
 The guardhouse with the gate where the prisoners entered the camp.

Dachau pg 2