Dachau

22^nd December – Today we have decided to do the Dachau tour.  Meeting our guide in front of the Town Hall (72 euro for the tour) a group of about 40 of us board a local train to Dachau then a bus to the camp.

Dachau was built in 1933 and operated until 1945.  It was the model for all other concentration camps first housing political prisoners, anti-socials, priests etc.

There is a ‘gas’ shower at Dachau but apparently this was never used for that ghastly purpose.  A small crematorium is on view, however this was replaced by a much larger one during the war to cope with the increasing number of corpses.  Due to the lack of coal toward the end of the war, when Dachau was liberated the allied forces discovered mounds of bodies that had not been cremated.

Within a month of liberation a further over 2,200 prisoners died – too weak to survive.  Typhus killed many inmates, along with malnutrition, hard work and sheer brutality.  Prisoners were distinguished by coloured bands – anti-socials – green, homosexuals – pink, career criminals – black, Jews, priests, Jehova Witness, political prisoners.

In the memorial constructed in 1962 three colours are missing – green, black and pink. (homosexuality had not yet been legalised.)  Living conditions in the barracks, which were built to house 50 deteriorated as the war escalated finally housing many more prisoners.  On the day the Americans entered Dachau 2,917 prisoners were in Barrack #25.

Prisoners had to line up for roll call every day – feet together, heads down, hands by their sides.  If any prisoner was missing, then the others had to remain in that position until the missing person had been accounted for.  The longest recorded time of this punishment was about 20 hours – from one day till the next.

Prisoners would work within a particular area surrounded by a ring of SS guards. The guards would often move without the unsuspecting prisoner realising ….. as soon as the prisoner was out of the ring – he would be shot.  Another form of punishment was to chain a prisoner’s hands behind his back then hang him up for an hour – usually dislocating both shoulders.  If he could not get another prisoner to pull his shoulders back into place so that he could work again – he would be shot.

When prisoners entered the gates of Dachau they would be taken into a room where they would be ordered to hand over all worldly possessions, they would then be forced to strip and have their heads shaved.  Thus losing... property… identity …and dignity.  “Work will set you free” was the greeting on the gate.

There was only ever one recorded escape from Dachau after which the security was tightened.  Prisoners would often run across the grass strip, leap the moat and land on the electrified wire as a means of escape.

The weather, while we visited Dachau was inclement – cold and snowing heavily – a fitting backdrop………