Our tour guide mentioned that people in the city really didn't know what was going on as they were forbidden to be anywhere near the camp. But to me there is no way that people wouldn't have any idea what's going on. Even if prisoners were arriving at night I'm sure that they must have been seen by people. Obviously though residents of the town couldn't risk talking with others in the town by what was going on at risk of being told on. Betrayal was one of the reasons the Nazis had so much success. They scared the crap out of everyone - and were so threatening so that people had no choice but to give up someone else to protect their own life. Obviously I'd like to think that I wouldn't be cowardly and stay brave and not throw someone I loved to the Nazis - but I really couldn't say and I feel awful about that. But the main point is that there no reason that people in the town wouldn't be suspicious because there were always people going in but no one ever coming out.
The Nazi's were also known as rigorous record keepers recorded and numbered every prisoner going through their camps, but were burning bodies so that people didn't realize what they were actually doing in the camps. This to me doesn't make sense.
It's just so frightening to hear these stories even once. Becky and I got talking with our tour guide after going through the gas chamber and crematorium and he was sitting inside. We asked why he didn't himself take us through there. He said that most tour guides don't like going in there, especially when they are coming to this site everyday. In fact he said that many tour guides including himself get nightmares from reliving this so much. I never thought about the physical toll that this may take on people and it's so hard for us to imagine it, let alone live through the whole experience. I'd really like to hear the account of a prison guard to see what their mentality was truly like. I think it brings up the whole debate as to weather or not people are born evil or have it trained into them.
Lastly I wanted to say that before coming to Germany everyone has their preconceived notions, and be honest - it makes you think of hitler and nazis. I am the same way. I used to not want to come here because I was so concerned about the fact that this holocaust had been run by this country. I was talking with someone from here at the beginning of the year and she said that when she travels this is how people know her. On the tour I learned that in schools german students are taught at length about the second world war and it is mandatory that they visit a prison camp in order to graduate. I like that they do this, but it obviously is not something that they did. I think they hear a lot about how bad germany was during this situation - but they were not there. These were not decisions made by their generation...or even their parents generation. At the risk of sounding insensitive - I think that this does draw some parallels with what is happening in Canada with many of the indigenous people wanting retribution for things that happened years before my parents were even a twinkle in someone's eye. It feels like it shouldn't be my issue anymore. It wasn't my choice, and for the germans in my generation it wasn't their choice either.
So...I hope that you 'enjoyed' this little 'series' on Dachau. I'm sorry that it took so long to get everything out - but it's not something that I felt right skipping over so much. I really do encourage you to get out and visit a prison camp because as much as I've tried to explain - you cannot write down the feelings that you experience when going. I thought that when going I'd be a little bit more emotional, but that was not the case. I was not emotionless, but I just felt cold inside, and that I couldn't have feelings as deep as I wanted to feel them. As much or as little you know though - please visit, and honour those who didn't receive the honour that was due to them.
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