The day after the opening of Oktoberfest, we headed off to see something completely different at Dachau Concentration Camp. The camp is now a memorial site and although it isn't complete, you get the general idea of what the layout would've been. The sign at entrance of the grounds (which would've been the entrance used by the prisoners) translates to 'work makes free', giving those admitted a false hope for the future.

It was set up in 1933, only a few weeks after Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor as a camp for political prisoners, and all later camps were modelled from this one. The photos and video footage in the museum showed horrific images of over-crowding, starvation and death. The overcrowding of the barracks (which are completely gone, with only the foundations remaining) are a strong example of the terrible conditions, originally designed to accomodate 200 prisoners in each of the 30 buildings, up to 2000 prisoners resided in each. The sick bays also housed death chambers and areas for medical experiments.

The most sobering parts for me were the crematorium and gas chambers. The crematorium had to be built as the number of deaths was to high to send the victims to other camps to be cremated, however the photos of bodies outside show that these onsite furnaces could not deal with demand either. The room immediately before the crematorium was the gas chamber which was built for mass extermination, however for some reason (that no-one seems to know) it was never used. The sign above the door translates to 'shower-bath' and the room houses drains in the floor and shower nozzles in the ceiling.

The prisoners were liberated in 1943 by American troops, but many did not make it through the last few days under SS men command. Records show that over 200,000 people were held prisoners and over 43,000 died, however it is thought that the numbers were much greater as not all prisoners were recorded.