On this trip there were several things that I wanted to experience and one of them was a concentration camp. I did not want to see it because I thought it would be cool or exciting, Good God NO! , but I wanted to see it because I knew I needed to. Does that make sense? I needed to try to sympathize with the horrible plight these innocent individuals suffered. I needed to be in the place that long ago held that horror. I needed to experience that in the form of a memorial.

Dachau was the first concentration camp. It was built by prisoners in 1933 and over the years eventually became a work camp where the Nazi’s sent the Jews, Homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, POW’S and even Catholic Priests. It was built to hold 6,000 people but towards the end of the war was holding over 30,000. It was a place where those that entered never left. (Despite the sign word on the front gate that translated into “Work Brings Freedom”). Being sent to Dachau meant suffering until you died. It meant being starved and beaten and being forced to live and work in horrid disease infested surroundings. It was literally hell on earth.

As if seeing the Barracks, the Maintainence building (where everyone was processed) and the documentary film were not enough, words can’t express the sorrow and rage I felt when standing ouside the Crematorium (Barrack X). It was all very systematic so as to not instill fear. The first room was the undressing room and this then lead to the “Showers/ Brausebad in German” (the gas chamber). The room next to that was where they hauled the dead in preparation for taking them to the nest room which was where the incinerators were. There were four large incinerators and all could burn 2-3 corpses at once. They said that the gas chamber was never used at Dachau, for unknown reasons, and that most individulas were shot or worked to death. The poor individuals that were to be sent to the “showers” were sent to other camps known as extermination camps (i.e. Auschwitz/Birkennau in Poland).

My mood was somber today, and actually a bit bitchy. I did not know that Dachau would move me as much as it did. I wish that we as individuls could learn from our mistakes, try to move on, and do everything we could so this never happened again. But as I write this, I am reminded that these human atrocities of genocide still go on (i.e. Rwanda, Cambodia, etc.), and for that I am truly ashamed.

Tags: Dachau Concentration Camp,Jewish Memorial,Jewish Persecution,World War II
Categories: Becky Blogs, Germany
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When you mention Amsterdam to anyone, you know exactly what they are thinking. Drugs and prostitutes right? Well, there is actually more to see there than that.

Today we decided to experience a little more of the history. It turns out that the Anne Frank house is here in Amsterdam. It was the one where she and seven others hid from the Nazi’s during WWII for almost two years. I have never read her diary, but as no surprise have heard about it. I can not tell you how eerie it was seeing the bookcase that hid the secret annex, walking up the stairs behind the bookcase, and seeing the walls of her room where she had glued up her pictures to make it more “cheery”. I can not imagine living in such a tiny place with so many people and being forced to remain as quite as possible during the day so the workers in the factory below did not hear the noises from above. The mood is very somber towards the end when you realize their fates in the concentration camps. Of the eight, only her father survived. To carry on her memory, and the memory of all those others that suffered under Hitler’s regime, he persevered and got her diary published. All very moving indeed.

To brighten things up a bit, we then went on another bike tour, this time with Mike’s Bike Tour of Amsterdam. We toured the Red Light District (where no photos are allowed), the canals and canal bridges and then biked out into the country into Holland to see windmills and a farm where not only cheese is made but also those painted wooden clogs in more colors that you can imagine. We decided against a pair due to packing dilemmas, but of course we definatley did not pass up on buying some cheese! The weather was beautiful and quite a lovely day. By the end though, my calves felt like they were going to explode as I was missing the first two gears on my bike and always started out in third gear. oh well, c’est la vie! I have decided that I am a fan of bike tours and I would recommend them to anyone as they are a great way to get some exercise and hear a little bit about the town from your bike tour guide, along with getting a good view of the lay of the town so you can then go exploring later on your own!

Tags: Anne Frank House,Holland,Jewish Persecution,Mike's Bike Tour,World War II
Categories: Becky Blogs, The Netherlands
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