The Jewish Museum: This place disappointed me in some respects. It had three floors of exhibits. The top two floors housed contemporary art that I honestly couldn’t explain if my life depended on it. There was one photograph that did resonate with me on the second floor. I wish I could have snapped a picture of it, but they were guarding the place like hawks (especially since I was the only one in the museum). It was a picture of three sisters in their sixties or seventies. Their gaze faced the viewer, and each had their sleeved rolled up which revealed their tattooed numbers. I spent about ten minutes looking at the photo; it was very powerful. The strength and determination of the three women really came through in the picture.
The bottom floor contained the permanent collection of the museum. One piece made a lasting impression on me. The piece was part of an exhibit in which one could place markers on a map of Munich and a picture would light up on a board that would illustrate the information on the marker. Anyway, the train station across from my hotel was on the board. This is the same train station that I have been going to daily to eat and have Starbucks (and use their free internet).
It turns out that the station was used for two purposes that relate to the Holocaust and WWII. The first use of the station was to transport prisoners en route to Dachau. The station was where they started their journey to the camp. The other important purpose the train station served was that it was one of the sites of the Kinder transport. The Kinder transport was an effort to save Jewish children by sending them to host countries. In most scenarios, parents were putting their kids on these trains not knowing if they would ever see them again. The picture that lit up when I placed the marker on the map was of three small children hanging out the window of a train. Their faces were filled with terror.
Sitting in the train station right now, I can picture families being split. I can imagine parents running down the platform fearing (and perhaps even knowing) that they will never see their children again.
Dachau Concentration Camp: The camp is situated right outside of the city. It is not as massive as Auschwitz, but it is equally powerful. From a learning standpoint, Dachau allows much more access than Auschwitz (which I greatly appreciated). I was able to take some really powerful photos that I will be able to use when I teach Night. A total of 206,206 prisoners passed through the camp while in was in operation; over 42,000 people were killed at the camp. It was the only camp that was open the entire twelve years of the Nazi regime.
This was a difficult experience. I thought that it would be easier walking into the camp after having been to Auschwitz, but it wasn’t. I feel tremendously blessed to have had the opportunity to go to the camps, but I don’t think I ever want to go back in one again. The experience is too overwhelming. Thankfully I was able to document the experience and will be able to share it with students.
Your pictures look very similar to when I was there in '86, although it seems you had more time to visit the various buildings than we did. I couldn't get past the sterile feeling the place has now, compared to the historic pictures of the conditions during wartime.
ReplyDeleteDonna,
ReplyDeleteIt does have a sterile feeling, but having read so much I was able to visualize what it was like. I could only imagine what the Americans who liberated the camp thought when they entered the gate.