2023 Germany and Czech Republic: Day 8
By Ashley H. '23
The final day of our trip began with biking around the beautiful city of Munich! Our guided tour was phenomenal, as we experienced the culture of Germany by exploring the English Garden. This large park is twice the size of Central Park. Along our route, we stopped at the Eisbach, a man-made river used for surfing. We found this tradition fascinating, learning that the river was first used in 1972 with ironing boards instead of surfboards! We then briefly stopped to take pictures at Temple Monopteros, a gorgeous landmark that overlooks the city and the park.
After this liberating morning, our day shifted when we visited the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site. In contrast to our freeing time on the bikes earlier in the day, our experience at Dachau was filled with feelings of confinement and restriction. The weather was fitting and incredibly powerful for the occasion, as it was rainy, windy, and miserably cold. Walking into the camp, I felt an immediate stab of emptiness and anxiety. After viewing a moving and emotional documentary, we began to walk through the Memorial Site with devastation. I felt a strong connection as I walked, paralleling the same path prisoners took after entering the camp some 80 years ago.
Once we viewed the exhibition, our group explored the prisoners' living quarters. Each barrack could hold over 1,000 prisoners, plagued with unhygienic and cramped conditions. Exiting one barrack, I was overwhelmed to see 29 more huts on the camp, all in the same poor shape. Mr. Weisgold accurately commented, "People didn't 'live' there; they survived." This powerful statement holds tremendous weight as he thoughtfully describes the prisoners’ pain and emotion. To finish our experience at Dachau, we visited the crematorium buildings and the Memorials in honor of the prisoners who passed.
As we entered the camp, we passed a gate inscribed, "Work Will Set You Free." Although walking past this gate into the camp was incredibly powerful, I found our ability to walk out more powerful, as the prisoners weren't able to. We learned valuable lessons during this trip, and we're incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to experience all that we did!
Photo gallery from Dachau.
Note: the barracks (including beds and toilets) and the crematorium were initially destroyed after the war, but rebuilt in the 1960s so that visitors may bear witness.
