I slept in a bit on Sunday, December 17th and had breakfast at the hotel. I was planning to head out of town for the biggest part of the day, but I decided to stay around Marienplatz for the 11:00 a.m. Glockenspiel show. I enjoyed the snowcapped views of Munich that morning.
I had a chance to walk around Marienplatz and the Christmas Market while it wasn't crowded. I purchased a few ornaments (though not from either of these booths)...
The Glockenspiel
It was snow flurrying during this. Here is a bit of the show...
After the show, I took the train out to the city of Dachau, and then a bus to Dachau Concentration Camp. Dachau Concentration Camp was the first Concentration Camp that the Nazi's opened. It was originally for political prisoners, but later housed Jews, criminals, and foreign nationals from other countries the Nazis occupied. Dachau was a work camp, but even though it was not an extermination camp, there were over 30,000 documented deaths and thousands of undocumented.
You enter through the same gate the prisoners entered.
"MAY THE EXAMPLE OF THOSE WHO WERE EXTERMINATED HERE BETWEEN 1933-1945 BECAUSE THEY RESISTED NAZISM HELP TO UNITE THE LIVING FOR THE DEFENCE OF PEACE AND FREEDOM AND IN RESPECT FOR THEIR FELLOW MEN"
These buildings have been turned into the museum and a theatre that shows a 1960's documentary about the camp.
The museum starts with the rise of the Nazis and how they came to power. I found these two information boards to be so timely and frightening.
I sent this to my law partner and she sent back "What is that? A description of current events?" She knew where I was and what it was, but honestly I had chills through the whole thing because I see so many similarities with things happening now...the cries for nationalism, for making things the way they "used to be".
You go through the museum and it takes you through detailed information about the camp opening, who was imprisoned there, what the day to day life of prisoners was like, the liberation of the camp, what happened to prisoners once they were released, and honoring those victims.
Also, there was the recently returned stolen historical gate...
One of the guard towers
These are rebuilt barracks
Inside conditions of the barracks
These are the footprints of all the barracks
At the back of the camp, there are Jewish, Christian, and Russian religious memorials. This is the Jewish memorial...
The Christian memorial...
The Russian Memorial...
Part of the security of the camp involved this ditch before the fence. Then on the other side of the fence was a creek...
In the far corner of the camp is the crematorium and gas chamber.
This is the "new" crematorium...
The informative sign said these gas chambers were used to disinfect clothing. They were definitely designed to gas people, but for some reason, they didn't use them for this purpose at Dachau.
This is the "old" crematorium that couldn't keep up with the demand after 1940.
The building on the right is called the Bunker. It was a cellblock for "special prisoners" like failed Hitler assassins, German religious leaders, and politicians who challenged Nazism.
This is the house where the camp commandant and his family lived. It was just outside the gates of the camp.
Here is a short video of the camp that I posted on instastories
The visit to Dachau Camp was really an impactful visit. I'm sure it always is, but as I toured that day, it snowed on and off. I thought the whole time about those prisoners who were forced to stand out in the open and the elements every single day for roll call. This would last upward of an hour every day. I had double layers of clothing, a parka, a scarf, gloves, and yet, I was cold. They had thin canvas garments. It just boggles the mind that evil like this existed and that it still exists.
I got back to Munich and got a late lunch at a bakery. I took it to my room to eat so I could check in with on my pup. Part of lunch included a giant pretzel...
I went back out and intended to go to St. Peter's, but it was closing soon and the line was LONG, so I skipped that. I did walk to Hofbrauhaus, the world's most famous beer hall. I basically just walked through and took it all in, but failed to take any photos. I walked back to Marienplatz and walked around the market in the snow, and they had a group singing up on the town hall. It was magical.
That's a wrap on Munich. The next morning I took a train to Salzburg, so stay tuned...
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