KZ Dachau was the first camp of its kind and its set up became a prototype for all later concentration camps. Also, it served as training facility for the SS guards. Here they learned their "tools of the trade".
Death toll was high. Many people suffered and died during its twelve (!!!) years of operation through forced labour, torture, execution, malnutrition, disease, suicide and medical experiments.
The camp was surrounded by barbed wire fence, a double ditch, a wall and several guard towers which made it impossible to escape. 32 barracks housed ten thousands of prisoners, and two crematories were built to dispose of the countless bodies.
Liberation of the few survivors came with the American allies in 1945.
In 1965 the memorial site was founded through the initiative of former inmates, which got supported and financed by the Bavarian state government.
The crematories left us with a lump in our throats. First, people would have to undress, and get rid of their few belongings, then they were sent into the "showers" (Brausebad), in order to be gassed. Actually in Dachau the gas chambers were never used for mass killings, but the set up had been designed and invented here.
Another way of mass killing was the shooting area, a special area with a "blood ditch".
Why could this happen, and how? We never got a satisfying answer out of our grandparents to these burning questions. "We didn't know." or "It wasn't us." were the stereotype responses.
How could this happen? A famous Psychology experiment done by Zimbardo in the 70's showed that there is the potential for this kind of thing in all of us. We must always be on guard.
ReplyDeleteI agree, David. The Stanford Prison Experiment or The Third Wave show that with the right means of manipulation anybody can become a delinquent and a supporter of the wrong cause.
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