Germany
Dachau

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    • Day 40

      Dachau and art gallery

      June 29, 2022 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

      Today we woke up and did a group tour of the Dachau concentration camp which we learned was the first one there was. The tour was very informational and sad but important to see. The guide was very knowledgeable and offered a lot of information as he’d been doing it everyday for 10 years. The whole tour took most of the day but we spent the rest of the afternoon at the Alte Pinakothek art gallery where there were some Van Goghs and Monets. Then we met up with some of the people from the hostel for the night.Read more

    • Day 3

      Dachau - Ort des Grauens

      April 9, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

      Nach der vielen guten Laune der letzten 2 Tage ging es nun geschichtlich und kulturell weiter. Zuerst in das Konzentrationslager in Dachau. Etwa 2h waren wir insgesamt hier, wir hätten uns aber auch länger hier aufhalten können. 1933 erbaut als "Prototyp" und Gefangenenlager für verschiedene Menschengruppen sind bis 1939 auch nur weniger Menschen hier gestorben. Dachau wurde auch offiziell nie als Vernichtungslager gebraucht. Ab 1939, zum Beginn des 2. Weltkriegs, stieg dann die Brutalität und Gewält im Lager und damit auch die Opfer. Am 29. April 1945 folgte dann die Befreiung durch die Amerikaner. Wir haben die Stehzellen, einen Nachbau der Baracken, das schreckliche Krematorium mit der Gaskammer besucht. Diese wurde damals den Inhaftierten als Dusche mit "Brausebad" verkauft. Ein schrecklicher Ort, der trotzdem ein Teil der Geschichte der Menschen ist.Read more

    • Day 12

      Dachu Concentration Camp

      December 20, 2022 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 32 °F

      It’s amazing how two horrific places in history can feel different. Today we visited Dachau Concentration Camp. When we entered we both immediately noticed the size difference, Dachau was much smaller. Most of it was empty, simply surrounded by wire fences. The basic layout was the same as Sachsenhausen but wasn’t designed as intimidating.

      As we walked through the buildings, most of them were recreations as the originals were demolished or had fallen apart over the years. The majority of the memorial was housed where the former maintenance building had been placed. This huge museum walked through the history of the camp and what happened there. The stories told were absolutely tragic.

      However once leaving the museum very few buildings remained on the site. There were two recreated barracks which we found slightly more cramped than Sachsenhausen. The old prison stood intact. As we walked through the cold halls we could feel the pain of those imprisoned in those cells.

      Beside the prison, the only other original buildings was the original crematorium and barrack x, which was the name of the second crematorium and gas chamber. These buildings were the most powerful part of the memorial. To think about the tens of thousands of bodies that had passed through the crematorium was sickening. The gas chambers were constructed at the end of the camp and were never used.

      While the experience was different between the two camps the end result is clear: What happened here is horrific. How could this have been allowed? How can we make sure it never happens again? None of these are easy questions to answer but they must be answered or we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes again.
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    • Day 202

      An end to a dream.

      August 13, 2020 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

      Today, we left the city of Salzburg, and headed for Germany. Especially Munich.
      As we wanted to cross the border, the customs, waved us to stop. As I stopped, the officer said: "You can continue your journey, but I wanted to say you have a nice car!..."
      ..
      Welcome in Germany.
      ..
      The climbs we had to do were far more worse than straight through Austria, but Lieske might be old, but not yet done.
      ..
      We needed to go to Munich and visit the ADAC, this organisation issues the "carnet de Passage" which we would have needed for Iran.
      But as corona F#$@ckt our journey real bad, we will not make it to that destination anymore.
      So by personally delivering back the Carnet, it's a formal end to a dream.
      Lieske will probably never touch Iranian soil.
      ..
      The ADAC was realy friendly, and ensured us that the deposit money will be released within a few days.
      ..
      As this done. And it was a serious day anyway, I decided to visit the concentration camp memorial of Dachau.
      This camp was the bleu print for all camps build by the Nazis during and befor the second World war.
      Impressive and sad.
      We should never forget.
      After this "moment of sadness " we looked for some happy stuff, and found it in a nice piece of "apfelstrudel mit Eis und Sahne"..
      As life goes on...
      Now.. heading for a campsite.
      ...
      Tomorrow.. Stuttgart.
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    • Day 9

      Munich - Monday

      August 22, 2016 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

      Boy, I have been slack in posting on our adventures in Europe. In my defence I was drinking at least 1.5 litres of beer a day in Munich so I was usually feeling a little snoozy by the end of the day.

      On Monday Tessa and I went to the Dachau concentration camp on a walking tour with a guide. As Dachau was the only concentration camp that existed from the beginning of the Third Reich to the end of the Second World War, it was interesting (if that's the right word to describe something so horrific) to see how the camp evolved over time. The picture of the camp that I've added below is a sculpture made in memorial of the victims of the camp.

      In the afternoon I went on a Third Reich walking tour through Munich with an Italian guide Sabine, who also happened to be a beer sommelier (beer expert basically - she gave some excellent bar and restaurant suggestions). We walked past places such as the Feldherrnhalle where Hitler's attempted Beer Hall Putsch was ended by Police gunfire in 1923 and the Hofbräuhaus where some of the early meetings of the Nazi party were held (it also has this cool section where regulars have their steins kept locked away for their personal use when they come to drink). After Hitler took power, the Feldherrnhalle became a shrine to the 16 men who died in the Beer Hall Putsch and everyone was required to give the Hitler salute as they went past, but there was an alley nearby that some people used as a shortcut to avoid giving the salute. It was nicknamed "Shirkers' Alley" and it now is a memorial to the German resistance.

      For dinner Tessa and I went to this lovely restaurant recommended by Sabine during the walking tour for a Bavarian Plate (bits and pieces of everything). The duck was basically the best I've ever had, just so much flavour!
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    • Day 9

      Dachau

      March 14, 2019 in Germany ⋅ 🌧 4 °C

      Another insight into humanities darkest hour. A reminder that the Nazi's were not the first to commit atrocities like the Holocaust and certainly weren't the last.

      Late lunch of Currywurst after exploring Marinenplatz now time for a nap I think!Read more

    • Day 51

      Day 51: Munich, Germany

      August 10, 2017 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

      Today we decided to visit the Dachau Concentration Camp with a tour from our hostel. The first established concentration camp where 43,000 people lost their lives. It was not an easy morning. Watching it in a movie or reading it in a book truly doesn't get you to understand fully the horror and injustice of the camps. I can't even begin to describe it, but it made me feel so uneasy and overwhelmed with anger and sadness. I also didn't feel comfortable taking a lot of pictures.

      After the tour, I grabbed lunch with a few of the people we met and the food was really good. We were all meeting up later in the hostel bar for trivia night, but there turned out to be none, so we just hung out for a few hours. Radler's are really good beers for anyone who visits Germany!

      We then went to get a late snack and turns out Munich is quite sketch at night. It turns out one of my roommates is slightly sketch too. When I went to shower later, turns out someone stole my used bar of soap! I had left it to dry near the window and the soap and case completely disappeared. My used bar of soap certainly wasn't something that I thought I had to lock up, but I guess when you need soap, you need it. Thank god the hostel had mini body washes for a euro as everything was closed.
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    • Day 50

      Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site

      October 15, 2017 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

      A sombre day...

      We have spent a reasonable amount of time on this holiday doing things associated with either WWI or WWII. It only makes sense whilst in Germany to visit the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site just outside Munich, the site of the first concentration camp established by the Nazis in 1933 and liberated by the Allies in 1945.

      This camp served as the blueprint for all 80 or so concentration camps which followed. The main administration building, which is now a large museum through which you linearly travel through the 12 years of Dachau's history, was formerly the receiving and processing stations, including the place where prisoners personal details were registered, stripped, shaved, showered and provided their uniforms. It also included the kitchens.

      There is a recommendation that children under 12 do not enter the museum, so Kate stayed out with Craig whilst Finn and I went through.

      Behind this building is the "Bunker" with the corridor between the two buildings forming the execution area for special prisoners, as well as the place various tortures were performed. Within the Bunker, the special prisoners were housed and included isolation cells and standing cells - 70cm x 70cm cubicles with no light where prisoners could neither lie nor sit and were submitted to this torture for up to 3 days at a time.

      Between the main admin building and the first of the dormitories was the parade ground where roll call was made twice a day. Even in winter with temperatures of -12C, prisoners had to stand there for a minimum of 1 hour each time. Longer if the guards felt like it. The area held approx 40,000 prisoners.

      The barracks were all destroyed after liberation, with two having been reconstructed to demonstrate the cramped living conditions for prisoners. What is left of the barracks that stood there previously is now marked by the footings of each building, along the poplar-lined main walk. At the end was the SS quarters, now converted into a convent for the Carmelite order.

      To the left was the old and new crematoriums, and the gas chambers, which at Dachau were reportedly only used a few times for a few small groups or individuals and experimentally. I could not bring myself to take a photo of these buildings. I had always imagined them to be large processing plants. In fact they were quite small, and in the new crematorium which was built because they couldn't keep up with the demand for use by the smaller crematorium, there were only 4 ovens, which would usually be used for 2-3 bodies at a time. Mass graves were in fact only employed after there became a coal shortage, so the crematoriums could no longer be used.

      I am not quite sure how to process the actual experience of today. Of course I have read novels and seems documentaries, but being physically here is still quite different. The memorial site is so peaceful and quiet. It certainly defies any comprehension of how men could commit the atrocities witnessed here on fellow human beings. One would like to hope that the sentiment on one of the pieces of art work outside the main administration building is true - Never Again.
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    • Day 101

      Termine, Termine, Termine 😁

      April 20, 2022 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 2 °C

      Nach einem sehr eindrucksvollen ersten Wochenende Zuhause, begann am Dienstag meine Arbeitswoche am altbekannten Infineon Standort in Neubiberg.
      Es war alles wie immer. In der Früh hatte ich schon meine ersten Schwierigkeiten mit der S-Bahn. 😁
      Es war ungewöhnlich, plötzlich wieder einer alten Routine nachzugehen. Aber alles funktioniert als wäre ich nie weg gewesen. Ich kam an meinen Arbeitsplatz. Platzierte meinen Laptop in der Docking Station und los ging es.
      Ich nutzte die Zeit am Standort, um so viele Termine wie möglich persönlich stattfinden zu lassen. Es war total schön, alle meine Kollegen mal wieder persönlich zu sehen und zu merken, dass auch hier am Standort wieder etwas mehr Leben herrschte.

      Ich versuchte außerdem, einen Termin beim Zahnarzt für mein Veneer zu bekommen. Leider erfolglos. Er hatte am Dienstag noch Urlaub. Ehrlich gesagt, sah ich schon schwarz, dass ich das bis zu meinem Rückflug am 02.05 wieder repariert bekommen würde.

      Da hatte ich am Mittwoch Morgen umso mehr Glück. Als ich in der Früh meinen Zahnarzt anrief, verstand er sofort meine Notlage und wollte sich den Zahn schon Mittags ansehen. Gut, dass ich im Home Office war und den Termin wahrnehmen konnte. Sehr zu meiner Überraschung, hatte er bereits mit dem Labor in München telefoniert, die ihm zusicherten ein Ersatzveneer bis Freitag zu liefern, wenn sie heute noch Abdrücke zum Abgleich mit den alten Abdrücken bekämen. Ich hatte wieder einmal Glück, dass sie ausgerechnet nach Ostern freie Kapazitäten hatten und ich nicht nochmal extra nach München musste ins Labor.
      Außerdem hatte mein Zahnarzt vollstes Verständnis, dass ich am Freitag auf die Hochzeit meiner Freundin wollte und verschob deswegen seine Termine. Damit bekam ich einen Termin zur Fixierung des neuen Veneers zwischen Standesamt und Hochzeitsfeier. 💪🏻

      Weil ich eh schon unterwegs war, holte ich noch meine neue alte Brille bei meiner Optikerin ab. Ich hatte sie sofort bestellt, als mir klar war, dass alte Brille wohl in Florida verschollen blieb. Die Neue war schon fertig und musste nur noch bezahlt werden. Schön, dass auch mal was klappte. 😊

      Und, man glaubt es kaum, mit ganzen 5 Tagen Verspätung, habe ich heute endlich meinen Koffer bekommen. 😁

      Am Abend war ich zur Feier des Tages noch mit meinen Eltern beim Essen. Natürlich war es Zeit für gut bürgerlich bayerische Küche. 😋

      Am Donnerstag jagte in der Arbiet mal wieder ein Termin den nächsten, so dass ich erst um 20 Uhr Zuhause war. Es gab allerdings keine Zeit sich auszuruhen. Heute war es an der Zeit den Kindsbaum aufzustellen. So trafen sich alle Beteiligten bei dem morgigen Brautpaar, um sie damit zu überraschen. Die Überraschung ist uns nicht ganz gelungen, da die Beiden es bereits ahnten. Die Freude war trotzdem groß! Bei Sekt und Wein wurde also der Baum im Garten aufgestellt und die Vorfreude auf den morgigen Tag geteilt. 😍
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    • Day 9

      Dachau

      August 21, 2021 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

      The concentration camp at Dachau, opened in 1933, was used at first for political prisoners and as a work camp. Over time, it expanded. Most of the concentration camps built by the be Nazis followed the layout developed at Dachau.
      The 1st picture is the gatehouse with it's familiar sign in the 2nd picture: "work makes you free" (it can be translated other ways, but this is the essence). The 3rd is the main yard were morning and evening roll call formations were held. The 4th picture looks through the window to one of the barracks which were closed due to covid.
      The camp was originally built for 6,000 prisoners, but got to a terribly overcrowded 30,000. Due to increased deaths, a crematorium was added. Then it was turned into an extermination camp. The 5th picture is of the gas chamber, and the 6th is the crematorium.
      I found it extremely hard to imagine the crowded conditions, let alone the cruelty of the place and the abject fear the prisoners must have lived with. The camp as it is today seems to me to have been prettified, perhaps as a memorial; perhaps to soften edges. Yet, there are plenty of pictures of the horror that I have not included here.
      A sign recalls a quote from a US Army liberator: "the most horrible sight I have ever seen." I believe it.
      I can only see this a a mild preparation for Auschwitz. I will be there in a couple weeks
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