This morning was a somber one, as we visited the concentration camp at Dachau. It was a humbling, deeply personal experince for the group. The camp was covered in snow and more was falling, giving it a deathly silence.
The biggest thing that struck me about the camp was the terrible living conditions endured by the prisoners. The camp was designed and built to house about 6,000 prisoners, but up to 30,000 were housed there throughout the war. The Nazis forced horrific living conditions on these already extremely overcrowded prisoners. Sickness spread like wildfire, and those terribly sick were separated into unheated barracks where they suffered through winters, robbed of all clothing but their undergarments.
Hearing about the torment others went through really makes you think about how blessed you are. It is still difficult to realise and understand the true scope of the evils that were committed, but this visit was an important step in confronting the problem of evil that resides in all of us. It is only through Jesus’ love and grace that our lives can be changed.