Dachau, Day 8, 6-12-2019

Today marks our last full day in Europe. Delta is ready, we are ready. We will be airborne tomorrow around 10:00 a.m. This has been a fun trip. We have seen a lot, done a lot, and learned a lot. We all grew up with parents who served in WWII. What they told us about the war did not prepare us for a walk through history in a German concentration camp.
Let me tell you about our last day.
We left the hotel this morning and took a train to the village of Dachau, then a bus to the Dachau KZ (concentration camp). This camp was one of the longest serving camps during the Nazi regime. It was opened in 1933 and remained operational until it was liberated in April 1945 by the U.S. Army. Over 200,000 prisoners passed through its portals over the 12 years it was operated. During this same period of time over 41,500 people met their deaths under conditions that are unimaginable. It is estimated that this death toll exceeded over 50,000 due to unrecorded deaths.This role of the prison camps expanded rapidly with the influx of prisoners from other countries and when the Nazis implemented the "Final Solution". This was the government sponsored systematic annihilation of the Jewish race in Germany. Barbaric murder. The things one person would do to another is unbelievable. Their defense, "I was under orders". As we found out, thousands of European citizens lost their lives in the concentration camps because of their race, their beliefs, their objections to their form of government, or just simply because of their looks. As I mentioned this camp ceased its operation as a labor camp in 1945. Dachau's use was re purposed. It was still a prison. The prisoners changed. The U.S. used it to house the German SS prisoners as they awaited their war crime tribunals for crimes against humanity. The U.S. Army turned a portion of the prison into a U.S. Army base and from the mid '50's to the mid '60's it was used a a refugee camp for displaced Germans. Later it was turned in to a memorial for the many people who suffered and died there.
As a footnote I will share this with you. Dachau was the only prison name after the local village. To the residents here, Dachau village and Dachau Concentration camp are one and the same. When a traveler from here is asked where he is from, he will say Munich. When a mother is ready to give birth to her child, she will go to Munich, so as to not have Dachau on the birth certificate. A visit here should be made by anyone who visits this area. Take the time.
We went back to Munich, had a great meal at the Haxnbauer Restaurant. A famous restaurant made famous for its roast pig knuckles, As tourist we were obligated to have the roast pig knuckles.... with beer, of course. I will show you a picture.
This trip is rapidly coming to a close. This will be my last entry. I hope you enjoyed the trip...until next time.