Dachau

Dachau
June 10, 2010
Yesterday we visited Dachau. It was the model camp of all the concentration camps in WW2. It had actually been there since 1933, before the war actually started. It was a “reprogramming” type of camp that Hitler claimed to be for the protection against civil war in Germany. We know that was a total lie. But think about if you were in Germany post WW1, totally impoverished, angry, looking for some sort of answer… how easy would it be then to believe in this sort of propaganda? What if you were in the majority group who wasn’t being scrutinized? How easy would it have been to take what Hitler said at face value. Then not too long after we find out the horrors occurring at Dachau, and if you even made someone thing you were in opposition you or your family could get sent there. There was no easy answer. Hitler gained the support of industry, the military, and the government, otherwise none of his plans would have gone through. We have to look at money. It’s disgusting, but think about how it relates. Dachau prisoners slave labored to keep industry alive in Germany at that time, which brought back the economy and fueled Hitler’s cause. Does this ring a bell for anyone with issues at the present time? Anybody thinking about not letting this sort of thing happen again?
We often think of the number 6 million when we think of the holocaust. That’s the estimation of Jews who died. What about 27 million? That’s how many people were killed in Russia, says our tour guide.
Things that got to me:
The methods of torture- hanging people by their arms behind their backs.
Using prisoners to enforce the rules at the camps on each other, which led to extreme punishments or death of other prisoners.
Giving up all identity, property, or identifying document.
Standing inside the gas chamber. It wasn’t use regularly because most of the prisoners where tortured, worked, and/or starved to death. However, since Dachau was the model camp, they tried out different gases in the gas chamber to use at places like Auschwitz.
The crematoriums. They had to build a second industrial sized one after 1938 to take on the amount of bodies from Dachau everyday. There is still lots of ash inside.
Looking at piles of bodies and having to take a moment to see each body as an individual. I had to recognize my natural response to disassociate.
The buildings and scenery around the crematoriums were serene. This was one of the many psychological mechanisms used to make mass murder easier.

I’ve been listening to a book on tape called Don’t Bite the Hook, by Pema Chodron. It deals with anger and fear. It’s been a helpful tool for dealing with my feelings at these places. It’s just so much to process.