Dachau

Today we went to see the Nazi concentration camp memorial at Dachau. It was an interesting and sobering place. We got an English tour filled with lots of information from a tour guide who was German but spoke English, and had relatives that were both German and Jewish. So she had quite the interesting perspective. I didn't take too many pictures there - it didn't seem quite appropriate. But here are some:

The famous gate which says "Arbeit Macht Frei." Actually, this gate is a reproduction, for someone stole the original! But they found it later in Norway (I think it was) and now have it on display behind glass.

Memorial to "The Unknown Prisoner." What was interesting is that he has his hands in his pockets. This, our guide told us, represented freedom, since they weren't allowed to do this while in the camp!

Perimeter fencing. Where the person is standing is the "no go zone." Anyone on that grass would be immediately shot (from the guard tower in the background). If you made it through that area, you had to go down and up the ditch, then was the electrified barbed wire fence, and on the other side of that (not pictured) is a moat! Our guide said there was only one successful escape from Dachau. But even if you did, there was no place to go. The people didn't want to be caught around you and would probably turn you back in anyway.

Our guide told us that one thing guards would do it take a prisoner's hat, throw it into the "no go zone," and order them to retrieve it. If they did, they would be shot from the guard tower. If they did not, they would be shot for disobeying an order!

Memorial sculpture. Barbed wire and people all twisted together.