“We must never forget what happened in Dachau and in many similar places. Forgetting would be cowardice on the part of the people in whose name all these crimes were committed. Yet we must forgive. We must forgive while remaining conscious of the full horror of what occurred …
nothing constructive can be built on a foundation of hatred – neither a new Europe nor a new world...”
-- Bernard Jean, a Dachau survivor

     Our pilgrimage to the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial located near Munich, Germany was a profound and sobering experience for our entire travel group.  As our group walked through the gates for the tour of the camp, I headed in another direction. I knew we had a time constraint of only an hour or so, I needed to spend time at the different faith memorial sites on the grounds rather than take a tour through the physical buildings of the camp. I needed some time for remembrance of the tragedy of so many lost souls.
      Years ago, I had a special client that was a survivor of Auschwitz. She was a dear strong woman. Upon her passing, her son gave me a beautiful pin to remember her. I wore the pin as I walked the grounds of Dachau. Also, in recent years, I have done some nonprofit service with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum: Chicago. It was important that I spend time in remembrance at the faith sites.

The Jewish Memorial is a testament and in memory of the Jewish prisoners who died at Dachau and other Holocaust locations. It is an unusual shape with a ramp that leads down to represent the death ramp at Auschwitz. Once inside, there is a single strip of light coming from above, when one looks up, you see a small circle of sky, representing “a sign of deliverance.” Along the floor, Jewish visitation stones are scattered around casting the strong feeling of remembrance.

During Dachau’s existence, there were over 3,000 clergymen who were camp prisoners. On the northern edge of the Dachau site, is Catholic Mortal Agony of Christ Chapel. This was the first religious memorial to be erected in the former concentration camp. Designed by architect J. Wiedemann. The stones are from the River Isar. Inscribed on the altar, “to the honorable memory of the victims, for the atonement of the crimes, as a lesson for all visitors to the camp, for the peace of all nations.”

Before our trip, I had read Priestblock 25487: A Memoir of Dachau, by Bernard Jean. I spent a great deal of time in the Carmelite Convent courtyard and small church, where there is a special memorial for the Priestblock of Dachau. A solemn place of calming peace.

The Protestant Church of Reconciliation is situated on the route to the former crematorium. Like the Jewish Memorial, the entrance is a descent into the memorial. One has a sense of simple exquisite art as you walk through this church. A replica of the Coventry Cross of Nails is located on one of the walls, “heal the wounds of history and to work together in finding new paths for a peaceful future.”

                                      We must never forget, yet we must forgive.

Heartprints