A Closer Look at Dachau

Being in Europe has remnants of the world wars, but going to one of the concentration camps was more moving than I expected. We walked the grounds and went into the Crematorium, watch the video of the times, and walked through the museum. There is so much history just in this one camp that none of us can comprehend. We feel hungry when we have to wait for a table at a busy restaurant or we feel cold walking from the house to the car...we have no idea what real hunger is or about freezing to death. It was very humbling to sit and look at everything. I had to leave the museum because it was just too much at one time.
I was sitting outside when Jan came out. He is a little younger than me and is from Holland. We started discussing how the people could have felt and realized we have no idea at all. We have no comparisons in our lives. We wondered if this kind of thing could happen again. Personally I wonder why they do not tear the place out--it must be hard for those that survived to see it (and for their families)...on the other hand they keep it open so people can learn about what happened and so it does not happen again. I still plan to go to Auschwitz and I am sure it will be even more moving. What would you do if all of your possessions were taken from you, told you were to take a cleansing shower...what must they have felt...and the immense amount of pre planning that went on makes me sick. I walked through the crematorium as the people in the camp would have and read the signs...at the end was a large room where they burned those that died. They say that they never used the gas showers in the large crematorium, but they definitely used the ovens. Thousands died from starvation and disease, and serious mistreatment. What must if feel like to know you were going to die? Can it be correlated to Cancer and Chemo? Can you remember in elementary school when they tried to teach about difference. All those with blue eyes or red shirts or tennis shoes...etc. I read about Hitler's desire for Racial Purity. So overwhelming, but proud to be from a nation that protects our freedom!