Munich Third Reich locations and Dachau

Yesterday and today, Phillip and I visited several Hitler-related locations in and near Munich and took a Third Reich walking tour. Munich is considered the birthplace of the Nazi movement as many of Hitler's early actions occurred here. Our first stop yesterday was at the Dokumentation Center, a museum similar to the one we visited in Nuremburg last year.

The Dokumentation Center is free to visit, with free audioguides. We took over three hours, listening at each historical exhibit. This Center doesn't have things, like clothes or armaments, but pictures and explanations. It was a history lesson presented in a captivating format. Phillip stayed with it the entire time, so that tells the family how well-done it was.

Yesterday afternoon, we went on the Third Reich tour, quite reasonably priced at about $16 per person. Jake, our tour guide (a former teacher from Chicago), was entertaining, yet serious when he needed to be. Hitler came to Munich in 1913, possibly to avoid military service in his native Austria. He did serve in WWI for Germany, later using his military service during his speeches. Most of the locations we visited had either been rebuilt as something else or had very little signage about their role in the Nazi movement. For example, this hall is still in use, today as a dance venue. It was the hall wherein Hitler made the speech to create the Nazi Party, taking over a small (54 member) political party, renaming it the National Socialist German Workers Party (although there was nothing socialist about his policies, it was just a popular poitical word to use).

Jake describing the Nazi use of this hall

Some locations are forbidden to be used, for example this one, the Feldherrnhalle. According to Jake, one day a year, the symphony plays from here, otherwise, no one may speak from it or use it. This is where Hitler would stand to review annual parades of his SS troops on the huge plaza out front of it. His "Beer Hall Putsch" of 1923 had ended just to the left of the stage, so Hitler memorialized this site.

Feldherrnhalle

Today, Phillip and I took the train out of town to Dachau. Dachau concentration camp was the first one created, in 1933, by Hitler. It was liberated by the US Army in 1945. This was a site with partial original building, partial reconstructions. Entrance to this area was free, although we did rent the audioguide.

map of Dachau concentration camp

The sign at the gate translates to "Work makes you free." This is the same phrase we saw at the gate of Terrezin, the Czech camp we toured last year near Prague.

Several of the concentration camp buildings had been rebuit as the museum. Visitors could walk around alot of the grounds. The 32 prisoner barracks had been demolished, but one was rebuilt for historical illustration. Each building had been built to house 200. By the time of liberation, each one housed 2000.

reconstructed barracks, empty lots where others had been

The Dachau prisoners were used a laborers for the German munitions industry, but were barely fed and given negligible medical care. Dachau had a gas chamber late in the war, but according to records, it was not used except on a few prisoners. Most of the prisoners who died here, just like at Terrezin, died of starvation, beatings, and disease. A lot who came thru here were also taken to Auschwitz or one of the other death camps that made no pretense of being work camps. Enough died, 32,000, that Dachau commanders had to build a second crematorium.

crematorium

We finished our Dachau visit and returned to Munich this afternoon. Another two days here, possibly a visit to the Olympic Park. My next post should have some more upbeat information.