As I gazed out the window of one of the barracks, I was afraid to turn around for fear that the nightmare would be real and my happy life the illusion. Finally I force myself to turn around and see the interior of the barracks; reality was a relief to see.
I shall never forget that nightmare.
No one should.
I have also been to Dachau. Sickeningly, it was not the worst of the camps, it was not a death factory like Auschwitz or Treblinka.
Interesting story connected to that. I visited it on my way back from my first visit to Israel. One of my good friends was in the Army and based nearby, and he and his wife had just had their first child, so it was a good chance to see them. He had been caught in traffic and was a bit late picking me up, and while waiting I observed the locals picking up their family or friends bringing dog after dog after dog into the airport. I asked my friend about it, and he merely said that the Germans are very attached to their dogs. OK, fine, I filed it in the memory banks. The next evening we went out for dinner, and at one point a family walked in and sat down - with their dog. I mentioned health codes to my friend (he is a doctor), and he said, “Remember, I told you that they’re attached to their dogs.” Ok, fine, it’s a different country, a different culture, etc. - but I am glad that we don’t let animals into our restaurants (some of the humans are bad enough). 2 days later I was leaving, but we left early to tour Dachau. What really got me , and still does, after seeing what was there is how German culture could be so kind to their animals that they can bring them into restaurants with them, but OTOH can torture and murder millions of their fellow human beings. My friend, whose father was Austrian by birth and who lived in Germany for 2 years, also cannot understand this aspect of German culture at all.
I would be gratified if anyone could enlighten me on this issue.