Germany – Dachau Concentration Camp
Visiting Dachau Concentration Camp was an emotional experience. It was not an exciting, thrilling, or beautiful location like everything else we did in Southern Germany, but it felt necessary. It felt necessary to recognize the effects of war and what people are capable of doing to one another. While I was there, I felt a mixture of sadness, anger, and helplessness, which created the feeling of carrying a heavy stone in my stomach. Honestly, this post has been one of the hardest to write, but I also think it will be helpful for anyone else thinking of visiting Dachau.
Getting to Dachau Concentration Camp
Dachau (pronounced Daak-how) is about 25 minutes northwest of Munich’s city center. We drove a personal car and this was one of our last stops before going carless in Munich. The public transportation options in Munich are phenomenal, so you can also get to Dachau by train or bus. Entry to the historic site is free, but there is a 3 € parking fee. When you first arrive at Dachau, you will see a modern building made of glass on your left. This is the information building, where you can pick up a map or an audio guide for 4 €. We opted for the free map. There are also guided tours that last 2.5 hours and cost 3.50 €.
To enter the concentration camp, follow the walking path away from the information building to the Jourhaus or main camp gate. This building is where all new residents checked in and where the SS determined punishments. There is a iron gate that reads “Arbeit macht frei”, a German phrase meaning “work sets you free”. A lie, which everyone either knew or suspected that the only freedom that prisoners could reach was in death. This sets the stage for a stark, barren landscape you enter.
At a Glance:
- Rating: 3 (out of 4) stars – very heavy emotionally, but I would visit other concentration camps
- Intensity: Comfortable clothes, walking shoes, and tissues
- Location: about a half hour
- Cost: Entry is free, parking is 3 €
- Timing: 3+ Hours
- Restrooms: At the entrance and near the auditorium
Quick Points About Dachau:
- 30-minute film gives details about what happened at Dachau, specifically, and context for the rest of your visit
- Recreation of the barracks were insightful and terrifying of how the prisoners were forced to live
- A reminder of what happens during war
- Be prepared for emotional heaviness
We had read that you should buffer at least 4 hours to visit Dachau. I thought for sure we would not be spending that much time at Dachau, but alas, our visit was 3.5 hours. We spent the time watching the 30-minute documentary film (I recommend trying to see it), walking across the large grounds, looking through the recreated barracks, and trying to absorb the large amount of information on the information plaques. We did not spend very much time in the main bunker, which is now a detailed Museum.
The 30-Minute Film
There is a 30-minute documentary film called “The Dachau Concentration Camp 1933-1945” (1969) in the Bunker’s auditorium. The film plays throughout the day in different languages, so be sure to check the website for times. I recommend seeing the film to give you a overview, context, and visuals of Dachau Concentration Camp when it was in use. There is a recommended minimum age for the documentary film due to the graphic imagery. The graphic imagery was similar to what I saw when learning about the war in high school.
One of the more shocking things about the film was learning how long Dachau was in operation. It was not just during the war, but held prisoners beginning in 1933. At first Dachau was a prison for politicians, opposing thought leaders, and fringe people with an estimated 4,800 at the camp. Overtime it became grossly overcrowded to have over 67,000 people in camp and its subcamps at the time of liberation.
The Recreated Barracks
After liberation, American forces demolished the sleeping barracks. When the site later became a museum, the government constructed example barracks to show what daily life was like for the prisoners. Walking through the barracks, there are a couple sleeping arrangements a few toilets and a few wash basins. On the walls, there are quotes from prisoners who survived that described the harsh conditions. These quotes are heartbreaking and it is hard to imagine what it would be like in these small rooms with hundreds of prisoners. But reading the first-hand accounts gave perspective of the fear and manipulation the the SS exerted on the prisoners.
One of the destroyed barracks was the medical building. Seemingly innocent, this is where medical experiments took place and often left prisoners permanently disabled. Dachau was SS training ground and a model for all other concentration camps.
Crematorium
There are two crematoriums adjacent to the end of the property. One was part of the original Dachau plans, but the SS decided it was too small and forced prisoners to build a second, larger gas chamber and crematorium. For an unknown reason, the new crematorium was never used on the prisoners. Instead, many were killed at Dachau via the shooting wall, gallows, and extreme conditions.
Walking through the crematorium created another set of feelings. This set of feelings included fear, disgust, and small bit of gratefulness that this crematorium was not used on humans. The SS determine those that were too weak or sick to work and sent them to Hartheim to get “euthanized”. I could only begin to imagine what deep feelings of hopelessness and dread the prisoners experienced.
What to do after Dachau
After the crematorium, I was ready to leave. We didn’t make it into the chapels and memorials or back into the bunker. On the way out, my mother and I discussed how my grandfather was 10 during the height of World War II in the Netherlands and was a messenger for the Dutch Underground. The scars from the war run very deep for so many people. I felt so grateful to be able to leisurely walk out the main gate. How long you stay and how visiting a concentration camp affects you is very personal and there is no right or wrong amount of time to stay.
By the time we made it to the car, I was already feeling a little lighter. It was mid-day, so we headed to Hirschgarten to have a picnic lunch. Hirschgarten is on the edge of a large park and is an enormous outdoor beer garden about 15 minutes away from Dachau. At the beer garden, we grabbed a beer and picked a solitary table and set up a large picnic. We had a little area to ourselves, where we could enjoy the beer, the warm fall day in the dappled light, and the families playing in the distance. It was a wonderful way to process and a reminder of the simple good things in life. I wrote a post on visiting Hirschgarten and some tips for visiting biergartens in general in this post.
I recommend planning something after Dachau. Nothing too overwhelming, but maybe something gentle and a bit exciting. Food is always a good option! The outdoor biergarten could not have been a better choice for me.
Overall thoughts: Dachau Concentration Camp
As an empathic person who doesn’t like violence, I was very emotional at Dachau concentration camp. I didn’t necessarily cry, but felt on the verge of tears a couple times. It is more of a deep sadness for the people who lived at Dachau for those 12 years it was operating. Am I glad I visited? Yes. I am not sure I could go to Germany and twirl around the castles, but ignore another enormous part of German history. It’s important to remember the bad things too, so we don’t repeat history. I do not need to return to Dachau anytime soon, however I would visit other concentration camps.
Have you visited a concentration camp before? How did you handle it? Looking for tips because it still brings up a lot of emotion when thinking about my visit to Dachau.
Happy (?) Travels,
Hanna
