Today we went to the site of Dachau's concentration camp. We started the tour learning why the camp was built in Dachau: of the old factory which was abandoned there, the houses build in the 20s that were emptied after the factory was shut down, and the train station there. It became the first concentration camp, to serve as a model for the others and had a morbid and important history.
I also learned of the different colored patches and shapes sewed onto prisoner's uniforms which I did not know existed prior to going and of the division of those in the camps due to political reasons versus those there for.
It was strange walking through the camp, how easily disconnected you can feel. of course, it is eerie and I felt the weight of a lot of horrible information on my shoulders. But at the same time, a lot felt disconnected being there. It was easier than I thought to separate all the information I was hearing from the physical space around me.
Admittedly, there was even a point leaving the camp, I was quite happy. It gave me a nice feeling to know that people of all races, religions, and sexualities visit the camp everyday freely. Although prejudice is definitely not fully in the past, it is a very nice feeling to know here, in this particular place the catastrophe is only a thing to remember, a point of gathering for all types of people.
After we went to the camp, we visited Herr Ernst Grube, a holocaust survivor. His father was a communist and his mother was a jew and he was one of three children. He stressed to us how when the nazi party came to power, it at first was a very slow process. First, they were concerned with eliminating all political enemies, not as much concerned about the Jews. Instead, they aimed to push Jews out of society by reaffirming prejudices and antisemitism of the past and trying to create a sense of superiority amongst non Jewish Germans. Synagogues, he explained became very important as it was a place to feel safe and come together.
His family was liberal and non religious but lived in the apartments behind the synagogue. He thought he was first and foremost a German, not a Jew. In early 1938, they took down the synagogue, and told the Jewish families they needed to leave the apartments.Because his father was not Jewish, he tried to negotiate staying but it did not work. They stayed at the apartment until gas, electricity and water were turned off and it seemed impossible to live there.
His parents brought him and his siblings to a Jewish orphanage later that year when he was 6 years old. There is where he learned about Jewish life: the holidays and created a family bond with the other 45 children at the orphanage, a mutual respect and friendship. When they would leave the orphanage to play, they would be spat at or cursed at, they could not go to school or be a part of any sport or organization and felt outside of society.
In 1941, he had to start wearing the yellow Jewish star as a further point of humiliation and removing from society. He told us that up to this point, the goal was not to place Jews into concentration camps. However, after the attack of the soviet union, everything changed very much, very quickly. Signs were put up with the yellow star that said "Whoever sees this sign, this person is our enemy" which he showed us. Another law was passed that stated Jews were not allowed to live under the roof as non Jews and slowly but surely, Jews lost all human rights.
By the end of 1941, Jews were moved into ghettos where they started to be transported. 23 out of 46 of the children in the orphanage recieved a letter that they were to be brought to the train station. After three years of being together, friends have to say goodbye and wonder where they will be going and if they would ever see each other again. He found out later these trains were brought to Luthania where after a 5 day trip they were shot an killed.
He described going to the place where they were brought and the reasoning to be on one hand to learn and teach, but the other to in a way, go in search for his lost family.
His immediate family was lucky. Because his dad was not jewish, they were not amongst the first to be called. His father was urged to divorce his Jewish mother, but he refused which is what kept the family safe and alive. While his mother's side of the family, unfortunately, was not so fortunate.
He did not receive a letter for his mother and siblings to be separated until 3 months before liberation and so, his immediate family remained alive. However, when the war ended he said he had the feeling he had lost his youth. I could not imagine such circumstances: you do not have friends, you have not gone to school, you must start a new life because you have lost so much of your old one.
I asked him if he had experiences any anti-Semitism after the war or if it all seemed to disappear overnight and his answer really, really saddened me. He told us he did experience any more discrimination but that there was no Jews left to discriminate against.
I wanted to write as much of his story as I could so I could remember it. It was an amazing day to learn about history and also to put life in perspective.
His family was liberal and non religious but lived in the apartments behind the synagogue. He thought he was first and foremost a German, not a Jew. In early 1938, they took down the synagogue, and told the Jewish families they needed to leave the apartments.Because his father was not Jewish, he tried to negotiate staying but it did not work. They stayed at the apartment until gas, electricity and water were turned off and it seemed impossible to live there.
His parents brought him and his siblings to a Jewish orphanage later that year when he was 6 years old. There is where he learned about Jewish life: the holidays and created a family bond with the other 45 children at the orphanage, a mutual respect and friendship. When they would leave the orphanage to play, they would be spat at or cursed at, they could not go to school or be a part of any sport or organization and felt outside of society.
In 1941, he had to start wearing the yellow Jewish star as a further point of humiliation and removing from society. He told us that up to this point, the goal was not to place Jews into concentration camps. However, after the attack of the soviet union, everything changed very much, very quickly. Signs were put up with the yellow star that said "Whoever sees this sign, this person is our enemy" which he showed us. Another law was passed that stated Jews were not allowed to live under the roof as non Jews and slowly but surely, Jews lost all human rights.
By the end of 1941, Jews were moved into ghettos where they started to be transported. 23 out of 46 of the children in the orphanage recieved a letter that they were to be brought to the train station. After three years of being together, friends have to say goodbye and wonder where they will be going and if they would ever see each other again. He found out later these trains were brought to Luthania where after a 5 day trip they were shot an killed.
He described going to the place where they were brought and the reasoning to be on one hand to learn and teach, but the other to in a way, go in search for his lost family.
His immediate family was lucky. Because his dad was not jewish, they were not amongst the first to be called. His father was urged to divorce his Jewish mother, but he refused which is what kept the family safe and alive. While his mother's side of the family, unfortunately, was not so fortunate.
He did not receive a letter for his mother and siblings to be separated until 3 months before liberation and so, his immediate family remained alive. However, when the war ended he said he had the feeling he had lost his youth. I could not imagine such circumstances: you do not have friends, you have not gone to school, you must start a new life because you have lost so much of your old one.
I asked him if he had experiences any anti-Semitism after the war or if it all seemed to disappear overnight and his answer really, really saddened me. He told us he did experience any more discrimination but that there was no Jews left to discriminate against.
I wanted to write as much of his story as I could so I could remember it. It was an amazing day to learn about history and also to put life in perspective.
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