Arbeit Machi Frei

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Yesterday I went to visit the Dacchau concentration camp memorial. Nothing that I say in this blog will do any justice to the experience or to the people whose lives were affected by the concentration camps.

I saw the grounds where so many people were prisoned, tortured, forced to stand at attention for roll call, cremated and forced to live in conditions so horrible that I cannot fully understand. I entered the camp through the same gates where prisoners entered and the gate reads Arbeit Machi Frei or Work Will Set You Free. No matter how many pictures or stories I hear I can never fully wrap my head around what transpired in these camps and furthermore what motivated and drove their creation and maintenance.

Even today it felt as though the place sucked the life out of me--everything is grim and dreary. The first thing you see when you enter are the roll call grounds which basically consists of a large open area full of gravel facing out to the main camp road and the area where the bunkers stood. There is no color other than the gray and brown of the dirt and surrounding buildings

There were so many things that were striking to me and I know I cannot possibly explain all the emotions I had in this blog. One of the museum exhibits that was particularly interesting to me was about the Propaganda that the SS created and displayed in the mainstream media. There were clippings of photos and articles that were published in papers about the Dacchau camp and it was amazing to me how convincing and misleading the publications were. They portrayed the camp as a place where order, cleanliness, discipline and hard work prevailed in a successful effort to reform the prisoners at the camps. In order to further hide the realities within the camp walls, the SS officials even organized for people from outside to visit the camp, putting on a show while they were there so that people would believe that the camps were actually well intentioned and productive.

Seeing this exhibit was especially meaningful to me because it speaks to something that is important to me and something that I am not always actively doing but hope to grow in-- and that is searching for truth in my life and in the world. I do hope that I remember this experience in order to sustain the motivation that I often lose track of to continue to search for truth in the world.

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Comments

[Melis]

wow, I'm glad you were able to see that place. I just finished a class about the Holocaust and other genocides, and it was probably one of the best classes I've ever taken. heavy of course but a vital learning experience. Even after the class, and learning about all the factors that lead up to the holocaust, it's unfathomable. My great uncle was one of the American GI's who liberated Dacchau... I don't know anything about his experience though. Anyway, I could go on and on. safe travels, ciao guapa