The city of Dachau is, unfortunately, most known for its concentration camp. It was the first and longest continually operating camp and it 'set the standard' for all the brutality and tortures carried out at subsequent camps.
The entrance at Dachau: you can still see the train tracks (on left) visible from where prisoners were brought in.
The barracks (reconstructed). Also, a guard tower and electric fence along the western side of the camp.
The crematorium: This building was located just outside of the main compound and housed the ovens for decomposing bodies, several rooms for dead bodies awaiting cremation, and a gas chamber labeled "shower room."
Below: the gas chamber, which was not actually used at Dachau, though no one knows why. The shafts in the ceiling held shower spigots so that prisoners would truly believe they were going in to wash and wouldn't cause a fuss. The black squares on the wall are metal chutes that poison gas pellets could be deposited into.
Below: The electric barbed-wire fence between the crematorium and the camp. 
Below, left: The cement blocks were the foundations of all the barracks at Dachau. There were 30 in total and each was designed to house up to 200 people for a total capacity of 6,000 prisoners. However, when the camp was liberated in April 1945 there were over 36,000 prisoners at Dachau.
This was the main 'road' through the center of the camp. The building on the right was actually the medical building, even though it looks just like the other barracks. It's recorded that there were medical experiments carried out on prisoners at Dachau relating to malaria, hypothermia and altitude.
Inside the old labor building is a museum, memorial, and a film that details the economic and political situation of Germany from the Treaty of Versailles (end of WWI) - all the way to the liberation of the concentration camp by U.S. Forces in April 1945.
This was the main 'road' through the center of the camp. The building on the right was actually the medical building, even though it looks just like the other barracks. It's recorded that there were medical experiments carried out on prisoners at Dachau relating to malaria, hypothermia and altitude.
Inside the labor building, now the museum: part of the original floor showing a drainage tunnel. This was a room used for shaving and washing the new prisoners being admitted.
Inside the old labor building is a museum, memorial, and a film that details the economic and political situation of Germany from the Treaty of Versailles (end of WWI) - all the way to the liberation of the concentration camp by U.S. Forces in April 1945.
Dachau was certainly not a light-hearted, joyful destination but it was indeed a fascinating historical site and memorial. There is a lot to be learned from history, especially recent history. I highly recommend this site to anyone who gets the opportunity to go.
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