There are a few travel experiences so impactful on my life, I have to write about them. This is one of those experiences.
The main gate said “Work sets you free.”
Dachau Concentration Camp, based right outside of Munich, was the first concentration camp created in March 1933 for political prisoners, which is the year Hitler became Reich Chancellor.
By 1935, Hitler created racially discriminatory laws to legally marginalize Jewish people, had seized control of the media, and banned all other political parties. He systematically dehumanized an entire population, starting with placing blame on them for Germany’s economic woes, which planted the seed that would lead to the Holocaust.
This history is embarrassing to the locals. One German lady begged me not to go because of the horrors here. She said she gets a headache every time she goes to the town because “you can feel the evil.” She’s right. Nothing prepares you for this…
Americans helped liberate this camp in 1945 and stood for Western Germany and their democracy as Soviets took the East.
Jews were told they were taking showers before being ushered into the gas chambers, so they wouldn’t panic.
The first crematorium was too small for how many people the Nazis needed to burn, so they had to build a second, bigger one.
Many Jews tried to escape their circumstances and were shot or killed on the fence surrounding the camp.
Their bodies were left in the “blood ditch.”
Walking around the camp, I sobbed for hours. Knowing not everyone can (or would) visit a concentration camp, I’m sharing these photos to remind you what happened. This started 92 years ago, which is less than the blink of an eye in our world’s history.
The Nazis committed crimes against humanity, and they were inspired by ONE MAN. LOOK AT THESE PHOTOS. Really look at them. Over 43,000 were killed in Dachau. This was one camp of many. Over 6,000,000 Jews were killed during the Holocaust.
Nazi propaganda blaming the Jews for their economic issues.
It is NEVER ok to sympathize with a Nazi, wear a swastika, or do a Nazi salute. NEVER. If someone thinks you did a Nazi salute, and that was NOT your intention, your only recourse is to apologize immediately. Not joke about it. Elon and Kanye, I’m talking to you.
It is our responsibility as the human race to ensure this never happens again. Democratic governments exist, so one man cannot rise to power like this again. The United States has three branches of government to ensure checks and balances: Executive (President), Judicial (Supreme Court), and Legislative (Congress).
We have the privilege of voting for our leaders who speak on our behalf. If a leader does not speak on our behalf, it is our duty as Americans (and humans) to use our voice against them through elections, protests, our local representatives, etc. Millions of people worldwide have died for this benefit we have today.
International Monument in front of the maintenance building.
The difference from 1933 to 2025 is our voice. So, here’s mine. I will never forget what I saw in Dachau. It will forever remind me what the worst in humanity is capable of when one man has unchecked and unbalanced power. My hope is that you’ll also see these photos, and they’ll speak to your heart so you never forget either. NEVER AGAIN.
“MAY THE EXAMPLE OF THOSE WHO WERE EXTERMINATED HERE BETWEEN 1933 - 1945 BECAUSE THEY RESISTED NAZISM HELP TO UNITE THE LIVING FOR THE DEFENSE OF PEACE AND FREEDOM AND IN RESPECT FOR THEIR FELLOW MAN.”
