Either one will chill you to the bone about man's inhumanity. "Never Again"

I agree with Ira that Terezin and the Jewish museum are gripping and a very worthwhile trip from Prague. I wouldn't say though that it is a better choice than Dachau - they are so different in their history and purpose although the end result was the same. Dachau a straightforward deathcamp - Terezin, a place created to fool the world, a place of death masquerading as a happy community. Both are moving in their own way.

For those who may be interested, here is a link that has moved me and everyone around me hearing it to tears.
http://www.israelreporter.com/files/...senHatikva.mp3

I haven't been to Dachau or Mathausen but I have been to Terezin with my husband and daughter when she was 13 years old. My daughter has always been interested in the Shoah since a small child (reading Ann Frank in 3rd grade sparked her interest). I wanted to say first that I feel it is so important for kids to have an opportunity to visit actual concentration camps (or the holocaust museum) because many of the kids my child's age will be the last generation to actually know survivors. My daughter has had the opportunity to meet survivors but the next generation of children will not.

As for Prague- it has a rich Jewish History and I think that both Prague and Terezin really touch the hearts and minds of young children. The Spanish Synagogue in Prague was suppose to be turned into the Museum of the "extinct race" by the Nazi's. The Pinkas synagague is amazing listing the names of those who perished from the czech republic and the artwork of the children of Terezin. Terezin is very interesting to kids because it was a "model" camp and had children involved in performances for propaganda. We were alll facinated with the Terezin prison and the story of how the Red Cross ignored the blatant signs of camp when they visited. My daughter was very moved by this experience. We did a tour of Terezin with Wittman tours in Prague. I highly recommend this excursion.

Dukey, thanks for the clarification. I didn't realize that, although frankly I am not surprised, given the times. We spent a lot of time in the room that had individual displays about many of the nationalities, religious groups, political activists, and homosexuals who were imprisoned at Dachau. Jews were a large percentage of the prisoners, but it was astonishing to see how many different groups were imprisoned there over its 12-year history. Every country in Europe was represented - and far more.

PRLCH, I think it is obvious that all of these places are worth seeing, so you need to do your research and decide for yourself which would be most appropriate for your family. I am sure your daughters will find whatever you do to be moving and informative.

Many years ago I took the time to read a couple books on the concentration camps and tried (and failed) to come to some understanding of how the holocaust could have ever happened. It perhaps made more sense to me as I travel through Germany for 6 years and continually found instances where Jewish communities were expelled from cities from the time of the middle ages (& before?) forward. Anti-Semitism is a recurring theme in German and European history.

Still, having said that, I do sometimes wonder if we focus on the evils of the Third Reich to detriment of understanding the rest of German culture and history.

In understanding American History we can see how evil slavery and subsequent "Jim Crow" laws were but still keep them in some sense of proportion to the rest of American History.

If you go to a bookstore and in look in the German History section, a disproportionate number of books IMHO are dedicated to the Third Reich.

If we take our children to concentration camps, I hope that we also find a way to balance these visits with a recognition that what went on in the camps was the result of a long sad history of Anti-Semitism and yet not reflective of all German peoples for all time.

Regards, Gary

We were in Dachau in 2005. What struck me most was how nice and normal the town looked, you'd not expect a concentration camp there. And they had photos of people from the town coming in, and seeing what was going on (after the liberation).

It was a very moving experience, we did see the movie as well. I don't know anything about Mathausen, but Dachau was easy to get to, you do need to get a bus once into town.

Hi Gary,

I think that the reason for wanting our children to see what happened during the Shoah is less to blame the Germans for it than to teach the youngsters that it could happen to anyone, anywhere.

((I))

Anytime anywhere. Scary, ain't it?

Just consider the places in the world like Darfur where it is happening right now.

Well-said, basingstroke.

I was at Dachau 20 years ago and had a heck of a time finding it. Nobody wanted to help us find it and we didn't have accurate directions. You could tell they are not "proud" of it. It was extremely moving and when we walked out of the first building and into the "yard" some fighter jets flew over and I swear my heart stopped for a minute. I will never forget my experiece there. I would now like to take my son there, could someone help me with where I could find directions?

"If you go to a bookstore and in look in the German History section, a disproportionate number of books IMHO are dedicated to the Third Reich."
Gary_Mc,the Second World War ended just over sixty years ago, there are plenty of people around who still remember the horrors of that conflict and the absolute cruelty and vileness the Nazis inflicted on the world from the day they came to power until their defeat in 1945. The Nazis showed the rest of us just what the ‘human’ race is capable of and just how low and debased it is possible for us to become. For those reasons IMHO, I think there are just about the right amount of books on the Third Reich in the history sections in German bookshops.

Thanks for the link. That was really a dumb question, I guess I got caught up in "the moment". 20 years ago, there wasn't the internet. THanks again. :)