On Monday we moved to Germany to follow our must see points of interest. We had 3 concentration camps on our list: Dora-Mittelbau, Zwickau and Dachau.
First steps went through country roads to Nordhausen, near to which is Dora-Mittelbau. It was sad that 90% of site was demolished by Germans couple years after 1945. We can only assume that the reason was a big shame.
After first night in a campsite we all of a sudden followed road signs to the Bunkermuseum in Rennsteighoehe. This bunker was built in 1970s and used as an emergency shelter during cold war. From there we wanted to continue to Zwickau, but found out it wasn’t open to public. So as an alternative plan we decided to go South towards Munich where is the best preserved concentration camp in Germany, Dachau. This was really heartbreaking visit, because of many souls and life stories engraved to ground, barracks, crematorium, etc. The worst for us was to see dressing room, “showers” and actual crematorium room. In Dressing room prisoners must undress their clothes and continue all naked to “showers”. Gas chambers or “showers” were rooms where prisoners were told to be washed after hard days spent working and starving. But in reality there were no showers, only fake imitation in ceiling to help SS guards squeeze them easily inside the room. After the doors closed, it took 15-20 minutes to kill around 150 human beings at one time with poisonous gas Zyklon B (pesticide invented by Germans in 1920′). The next room were for storing corpses to be burned in close cremation ovens (4 installed in small room with capacity 3-4 bodies at the same time/each). Horrific and incredible experience ever! Still cannot believe this happened only 70 years ago!
The last stop near to Austrian borders was famous Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest or Kehlsteinhaus on 1834m high mountain near Berchtesgaden. Here he planned strategy of the war through the years. Unfortunately, underground tunnels were not opened to public. Continued from there to nearest campsite to wake up to new sunny day in Bockwurst land (Bockwurst is famous German sausage) and pass to Austria, land of Wienerschnitzel and Manner biscuits (Wienerschnitzel is thin deep fried pork fillet in breadcrumbs).