Dachau concentration camp is located just outside of Munich to the north. It was created in 1933 when Hitler first came to power, initially just as a camp for political prisoners. In its time, it housed around 200,000 innocent people, 41,500 of whom were murdered. American soldiers liberated the people in the camps on April 29, 1945. Via the Dachau memorial camp, there are several tours available: audio tours, individual tours and group and school tours. According to the Dachau concentration camp memorial website, aside from exhibiting the grounds and the permanent exhibits, "The goal is to provide a basic knowledge of the history of Dachau concentration camp and the memorial site, as well as to examine the question: What does this history have to do with us today?" Audio tours are available at the front desk, individual tours occur Tuesday to Sunday at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and school and group tours must be arranged in advance.
Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site
KZ-Gedenkstätte Dachau
Alte Römerstraße 75
D - 85221 Dachau
+49 (0) 8131 66 99 70
www.kz-gedenkstaette-dachau.de
Sachsenhausen concentration camp is located to the north of Berlin and was created in 1936. It was the concentration camp that bore the never-forgotten German sign at its gates: "Arbeit Macht Frei" ("Work Makes [You] Free"). Initially, the camp was meant for political prisoners or Soviet prisoners of war, though as time progressed Jews were sent to the camp and were murdered there or died from malnutrition or as a result of barbaric conditions. The company "Berlinwalks" sponsors a tour of this concentration camp; the tour is researched by historian Gabriel Fawcett. During this tour, the guides explain how conditions in the camps became more and more nightmarish, highlighting areas inside the camp such as the "Appellplatz" (the barracks), and the punishment cells.
Sensburger Allee 2
14055 Berlin, Germany
(030) 3019194
www.berlinwalks.com
Buchenwald concentration camp was established in 1937 north of Weimar, Germany. The camp started with approximately 1,000 prisoners, a number that grew to around 80,000 at the end of World War Two. The goal of the camp was to destroy prisoners through work and many did die that way, though others were killed from murder, torture, beatings, malnutrition and starvation. The death toll from Buchenwald is at least around 51,000. Buchenwald has several guided tours daily that walk visitors through the memorial site and the historical site and that reflect upon the work of memorial education.
Buchenwald Memorial
99427 Weimar-Buchenwald
Tel. ++49 (0) 3643 / 430 0
www.buchenwald.de
