We recently toured the Dachau concentration camp. It was known as the S.S. “school for violence.” The facility is now a memorial to those who suffered and died at Dachau.
After seeing a few of the images in the memorial; I had to turn away. That is when I noticed that the immense suffering that was inflicted upon innocent people inside the walls of Dachau is not only told in the photos; it penetrated and lives in the structures of Dachau. The walls are scarred with the suffering. In every wall I saw the faces of pain, misery and stories that can not be ignored. Below are a few words That the images in the walls inspired.
Dachau
In the walls of Dachau
the sunken eyes of starvation still cry.
Through it’s cracks,
faces of fear still hold their breath.
In the walls of Dachau
the contorted faces of torture still moan.
Through it’s scars,
calls for tolerance plea to be heard.
In the walls of Dachau
the stripes of prisoners are held in respect.
Through it’s survivors,
stories are preserved and true heros are honored.
In the walls of Dachau.
Below are are some photos of the images I saw in the walls when I turned away.
sunken eyes of starvation
The fear seen in eyes of those confronted with the evils of humanity watch helplessly through cracks in the cement walls.
contorted face of torture
an emaciated body
face contorted in pain
human figures bent over in pain and suffering.
After you walk through the tortuous halls of the Dachau maintenance building and walk around to the front of the building there is a magnificent sculpture. It is an abstract figurative piece that beautifully expresses in monumental style the bodily harm endured by those who threatened the ideals supported by the S.S. .
In front of the sculpture is an additional memorial: The foundations of the 30 barracks that housed the prisoners of Dachau are each marked with a tombstone style market and numbered.