Dachau Reflection

It’s been a day since I’ve arrived back in the United States, which has given me time to reflect upon the most emotional experience while traveling in Deutschland. On Sunday, May 19 the group of us boarded the train 10 miles northwest of Munich to visit the infamous concentration camp, Dachau.

I had been preparing for this visit from the moment it was announced during orientation in January, but nothing can prepare one to look on at crematoriums and gas chambers were a staggering 31,000 Jews and other victims were killed and terrorized. The group was very respectful and reverent of the site, but I feel as though it impacted me more personally. One of my team members asked why I was so quiet on the train ride back, and after much reflection I believe you can still sense some of the agony and terror occurred at the site. Dachau is one of the most spiritual places I’ve ever encountered, you can feel and sense the eerie feeling that thousands of people have died there. Before leaving the site, I packed some Dachau soil into a plastic bag I had brought along for the journey. Now home, I have placed the soil in my room, as hopefully a constant reminder, to cherish the moments I have and to explore every opportunity given to me, because for so many of these victims they were not given that chance.