Dachau

Today was the perfect/horrible day to go to Dachau; rainy, cold, windy. I was on my own this time which made it all the more potent and unnerving. We walked the route of those before us, were told that the original intent was to break not kill people; only things got out of hand. It was sad and calming at the same time, to know that these people lost their lives but they are in no way forgotten. We walked through the maintence building where they registered countless prisoners, to the rebuilt bunk houses, each room showing each progression as overcrowding became normal at the camp. We then went to the crematorium and the gas chamber, the gas chamber was rarely used but was eery all the same, the crematorium was so sad, there was only a rose in one of the 6 ovens, I wanted to put roses in the rest. It gives you chills to stand in the place where the bodies of men where stacked with disregard to dignity or humanity. We watched the documentary on Dachau, it was so sad to see these shadows of men. Work will set you free, horrible, but the faster the men worked their bodies down the faster they were free from the devil himself.

Afterwards, I met up with one of my roommates from Paris and we went to dinner together, it was a very interesting place and devoid of tourists which was fun. We kind of annoyed the waitress because we knew very little German and she very little English. However, it was all in good fun and great food.

There is so much here that I didn't get to see, that I can't wait to come back, but at the same time I'm happy to be going back home.