Dachau

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I think pretty much everyone, including our tour guide, thought I was insane for bringing an 8-year-old to the KZ-Gedenkstätte Dachau (Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial). Sure, all German schoolkids are required to visit a concentration camp, but that's 12- and 14-year-olds. Not 8.

By the end of our tour, our guide had no doubt why I figured LG could handle it.

Throughout the tour, I was happy to let LG wander off, or zone out; I certainly didn't force her to listen attentively to the catalogue of atrocities committed at Dachau. Inside the museum, we breezed quickly past the most graphic photos. We got to take a welcome one-hour break while the rest of our tour viewed a film recommended for ages 12 and up only. I've seen it, and LG certainly didn't need to. We even had some fun and talked about a few silly things during our downtime, while still keeping things mellow and as respectful as possible.

I think LG got out of it exactly what I hoped she would: Dachau is a depressing place, and people are capable of doing very bad things to each other, and all of us have a responsibility to help make things better when we can. I told her I don't expect her to remember every, or even any, details about the place... but when the time comes for her to study the Holocaust in school, I think she'll have a personal stake in the conversation in a way most American kids can't.

Still, when we stopped at the "Never Again" plaque, about which I have decidedly mixed feelings, LG said, totally spontaneously: "Never again war? But that isn't true. Aren't we in another war right now?" Wow. "How about," I suggested, "never again camps like this one?" "Good." What a kid.

We finished with a fantastic Imbiß (fast food) dinner at the München Hbf (Munich train station) before catching the direct train back to Nördlingen. Successful day.

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Photos

Dachau
It was incredibly hot out, and LG's bag was heavy, putting us both in exactly the right frame of mind all day. We stopped for this pic on our way back to the bus.

LG and wonderful tour guide
Our amazing and sensitive guide was an unqualified LG fan by the end of the tour. A native of Cairo, Egypt, who has acquired German citizenship (no small feat!!), she brought her own impressive perspective on the issues.