Auschwitz or Dachau
 

I am planning a trip to Munich, Germany in July. In college I learned a lot about the terrible things that occured in Dachau and Auschwitz, and I would like to plan a trip to one or both of these sites to pay my respects to those who suffered in these camps. Dachau is very close to Munich, and going to Auschwitz would require an overnight trip. I am wondering if anyone has been to both of these sites and would recommend visiting one site over the other?

I have been to both Auschwitz and Dachau -- and other camps. One cannot compare one with the other. Auschwitz is evidence of murder on a vast, industrial scale. It covers square miles. Some of the original buildings stand, others are ruins stretching for as far as the eye can see. The exhibits are blood-chilling -- mounds of human hair, dentures, children's toys, huge piles of luggage, clothing, artificial limbs by the thousand.

Dachau is largely re-constructed, sanitized, fake-looking. I would estimate that it is no larger than 10 city blocks. A motion picture shown inside the main building tells its story. There are no gruesome exhibits, if memory serves.

Auschwitz-Birkenau was several camps tied together to serve the gas chambers and ovens as well as an industrial complex. Inmates who were not gassed and cremated immediately were worked, beaten, and starved.

Auschwitz lies just outside a village near Krakow, Poland and a long distance from Munich -- it would take days to get there, see the camp, and return. Auschwitz is for those who have a strong stomach. It is a pilgrimage, not an entertainment venue.

Hello!

I've been to both sites. Dachau is smaller than Auschwitz.
Here are your options...

If you choose Munich:
- breakfast at the Marienplatz, afternoon in Dachau
- morning in Dachau, afternoon shopping in the Marienplatz

In Munich I took the New Munich Tour. http://www.newmunich.com/nm/
They have morning excursions to Dachau as well as other interesting events such as a Beer Garden tour.

One of the pluses of Munich is the food and BEER of course.
Everything is within walking distance, and the people are lively and friendly. When I was in Munich last May, the weather was pleasant -- not too hot, not too cold. Many people in Munich speak English. There are many museums that you might be interested in:
http://www.stadtmuseum-online.de/
http://www.bayerisches-nationalmuseum.de/
http://www.stadtmuseum-online.de/filmmu.htm
http://www.juedisches-museum-muenchen.de/cms/?L=1
http://www.bier-und-oktoberfestmuseu...sh/dahoam.html
http://www.deutsches-museum.de/


If you choose Krakow:
- morning trip to the Wieliczka salt mine
http://www.kopalnia-wieliczka.pl/home.php and then an afternoon tour at Auschwitz

In Krakow I used this tour guide:
http://www.seekrakow.com/
They have reasonable prices and the shuttle leaves from a central location. Shuttles leave ON TIME so don't be late.


Both cities are wonderful. If you have at least 10 days...you could do BOTH. But if I must compare the two...I would say I liked Krakow better (although doing both the salt mine and Auschwitz in one day was a little exhausting given that I took the night train from Prague the night prior and didn't sleep too well). Another reason why I would pick Krakow is because of Kazimierz, which is the old Jewish quarter of the city. http://www.jewishkrakow.net/en/
It's really interesting and you could see the memorial to Oskar Schindler http://www.scrapbookpages.com/Poland...zimierz01.html.
Poland is a wonderful place to visit and you will find Krakow to be very unique.

I highly recommend both of them...I wouldn't be able to make up my mind!


Have fun :-)

I agree with USNR's characterization of the two camps. If your trip is only, say, 10 days I would not swing over to Poland from Munich only for Auschwitz. Dachau, "sanitized" though it is, is depressing enough and Krakow needs more than an overnight, imnvho.

Dachau is mainly aimed at killing enemies of the regime, Auschwitz is aimed at killing. I don't know why you'd want to visit any of those places.
I'd recommend to visit the towns.

hi chik,

we recently visited Krakow, and were there for 4 nights/3 days. Having heard and read a lot about it [i suspect we're older than you] we decided not to visit Auschwitz, but we did go to the ghetto which was difficult enough.

the group of college students who were staying in the same place as us DID go, and came back very moved and impressed [in the correct sense of the word].

IMO a trip to Krakov is worthwhile in itself; it's a personal decision whether to go to Auschwitz.

regards, ann

USNR sums up the physical differences of the camps. I have been to both and found them both sobering. The quiet at Dachau was palbable. I went on my own and heard no one speaking above a whisper, and the whispers were very brief.

At Auschwitz, I was part of a tour group. Again, not much conversation, too overwhelming.

If you go to Dachau, you needn't go with a group. Public transportation makes it an easy run. Things are well explained. Being on my own made it easier to appreciate the awfulness of it, at least for me. However, there was no one with whom to process the visit afterwards as there was when I went to Auschwitz-Birkenau.

I've been to both and would suggest the trip to Poland to Auschwitz. It is largely still in tact and could take you a full day, if not two, to see it all. I had been to Dachau 20 years before and as USNR stated, there is not a lot at Dachau. If memory serves me (from the 70s!) it was pretty small and Auschwitz had much more impact on me in 1991. Well worth the trip to Auschwitz!

Hi Mad,

In addition to Dachau, you might also be interested in a visit to Flossenburg
http://www.thirdreichruins.com/flossenburg.htm

((I))

Mad has long gone and is back home now. I always wonder why people top 1 1/2 year old threads in their fist post and give basically no (new) info.
Anyway.

Same reason they post information the OP didn't ask for. They don't bother taking the time to read and/or understand the original post