Today we visited Dachau- the first Nazi concentration camp in Germany. Needless to say, it was an unforgettable experience.

We arrived at the gate where our tour guide translated the phrase on the door, " work will set you free." This is the first thing the prisoners would see as they approached the camp convincing them that the harder they worked, the sooner they would be free.

We were taken through the roll call yard which resembled a vast space of emptiness- can't imagine how the prisoners must have felt. Then we saw the poor excuse for living quarters where they were forced to squeeze into tiny spaces divided by wooden beams or "beds."

We walked though the interrogation building and finally the crematorium and the gas chamber- "showers". Each room served a different purpose and took the prisoners 1 step closer to their death.

We also had the privilege of visiting the memorial sites built by different religious groups and the museum with old photos and memorabilia of the prisoners. It was crazy to learn about all of the history behind the Holocaust and the realistic lives and experiences of each prisoner. I can't imagine to live in such conditions for 12 years...