Vergangenheitsbewältigung: Coming to Terms with the Past

The German word Vergangenheitsbewältigung describes the process of analyzing, digesting, and learning to live with the past, in particular the Holocaust. The closest translation in English is, "struggle to come to terms with the past." As a technical term in English, it specifically relates to the atrocities committed during the Third Reich, when Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist Party were in control in Germany.
I wanted to dedicate an entire post to my visit to Dachau because it had such a profound impact on me. I also think it's important to learn and talk about concentration camps so that we make sure nothing like that ever happens again. One of the things I learned during my stay in Munich is that every child living in Germany knows about the Nazi rule and the concentration camps (and, more importantly, how it came to that) by the time they are 12 or 13. They are also required to visit at least two concentration camps in order to graduate from high school.
Dachau was established in 1933, and was the only camp to have existed throughout the entire 12 years of Nazi rule. In the early years, it was the largest and best-known concentration camp. It was also the "model" camp, which means that every other camp was set up and operated in the same way.
The first thing we saw when we got to the concentration camp was the railroad tracks where the trains carrying to prisoners arrived, and then the road that they had to walk down to get to the actual camp. The train tracks and the road were both uncovered in 2004. When the prisoners first arrived at Dachau, they were forced to hand over all their clothes and the camp leader would give them a speech that went something like, "You have no rights, no honor, and no protection. You're a piece of shit, and will be treated as such."


The next building we saw was the Gate House, through which all prisoners had to pass upon their arrival to Dachau. As we walked through the gates, we immediately saw the roll-call area, which was absolutely huge. The prisoners were required to assemble on the grounds every morning and every evening, regardless of the weather conditions, and wait for each prisoner's name to be called. The process could last for hours.

The Gate House

Prisoners Lined Up for Roll Call

Next, we went to the museum, which is located in the old Commandant Headquarters. The Commandant was the head officer of Dachau, and had almost unrestricted control over the entire camp. We walked past the Maintenance Building, which was actually be built by the prisoners themselves. When the camp was functioning, there was a cynical motto painted in large, white letters across the roof of this building that read, "There is one path to freedom. Its milestones are obedience, honesty, cleanliness, sobriety, hard work, discipline, truthfulness, and love of the fatherland."
In front of the Maintenance Building is a sculpture made as a memorial to the prisoners who lived and died in the camp. It was one of the most powerful memorials I have ever seen - it's made of bronze and it is just massive. It depicts human bodies trapped in barbed wire - limbs and heads are everywhere, and it really captures the horror of Dachau.

Next we went to the Barracks, where the prisoners slept. Today, only two of the buildings are still standing, but at the end of 1938, there were a total of 34. Each Barrack had four rooms, and each room held 52 prisoners. That made for a total of 208 prisoners in each Barrack. The entire camp was planned to house more than 6,000 prisoners.
We walked down the Camp Road, which lies down the middle of where the Barracks used to be. On this road, the prisoners socialized during the few free hours they had. The "spirit of the Camp Road," as expressed by those who lived there, was a symbol of the solidarity that developed amongst the prisoners despite the ever-present violence.


The Camp Road leads to the Crematorium, which was by far the most haunting place in the whole of Dachau. Prisoners entered through one end of the building, and were forced to remove their clothes under the guise that they would be required to take a group shower. They would then be ushered into the "shower room," which was actually a gas chamber. During a period of 15-20 minutes, up to 150 people could be suffocated to death with the use of prussic acid poison gas. The bodies were then put directly into the ovens where they were cremated.

Even though I felt eerie the entire time, I was pretty much able to keep myself together. However, as soon as I stepped into the gas chamber, I felt instantly ill and I had to get out as soon as possible. I can't even fathom how many people were killed in that room. Moreover, I can't imagine how one human being could do that to another.
It definitely wasn't a pleasant visit. I learned some things I wish I didn't know, but I've found that the more I study history, the more I realize how important it is to do so to make sure that it doesn't repeat itself.