Anyway that's today's rant done with.
I've been here in Augsburg for several days now. Came Sunday and it's now Thursday. I'm off the Austria tomorrow - Linz.
And I take on board my wide readership that wants less detail....... But I do want you to read this lot:
I decided to have a less hectic time here in Augsburg. The weather has been really brilliant so that encouraged me to relax a lot. I did go into Augsburg on Monday and had a good look around. Augsburg is interesting for many things but one in particular which is worth noting. It has the oldest public housing scheme in Europe – probably anywhere in the world. Basically a catholic philanthropist, one Mr Fugger, back in 1400+ set up a housing scheme for poor Catholics (this is a very catholic area, it seems). They didn’t have to pay rent, but did have to say a ‘Hail Mary, Glory be... and an Our Father’ for the well being of Mr Fugger and his heirs. It’s still there – the Fuggerei – and you can visit it. The deal is still the same - Hail Mary, Glory be... and an Our Father plus the electricity. Seems like a good deal really. Pite they can't do a bit of negotiating and knock the prayers down to two of the three. They are basically small flats including a bedroom, kitchen, lounge, and bathroom. The deal is that you have to be a catholic and have no money! It was quite heavily damaged during the war and there is a ‘museum’ there in what was an underground bunker built to protect various citizens during the war. It's actually a lovely protected area a bit like the very expensive retirement villages in the UK, but cheaper by far.
The other thing worth mentioning about Augsburg is the ‘Golden Room’ in the Town Hall. Fantastic. Magnificent gold walls and decorations with ceiling paintings etc. Again it has been reconstructed because of being badly damaged during the War.
And there was much more..............................
One of the important things on my list was to go to Dachau. The first thing to say is that Dachau is a rather nice, typical German town. It has all the things that typical German towns have in their ‘old town’ – Schloss (castle), Church, Town Hall. Dachau is no exception though the Schloss only has one wing left of what was a much bigger building. In the old town in Dachau you could be almost anywhere in Germany.
'Arbeit macht frei' - Dachau entrance gate
‘Dachau’ though is infamous. The word sends shivers down the spine of anyone who has the remotest idea of what concentration camps were.. Before I came here I really couldn’t understand why they hadn’t changed the name of the town in order to rehabilitate itself. What they have done is to set up a memorial/museum/education centre to the victims who dies there. Fine.
I decided to look around the old town then walk from the station along the same road that thousands had been forced to do from 1933 when it was set up. It takes about half an hour to get to what was the outer limit of the camp. This outer limit now is called John F Kennedy Platz. During the war this was an SS parade ground. Dachau was not just a concentration camp it was a big training centre for the SS. Along the road on the left there are magnificent large, white houses. They are now behind a fence. It turns out that these were the houses of the SS who were working in the camp. It’s now the headquarters of the riot police, but they are lovely houses and presumably look the same now as they did then.
Houses of the SS, Dachau
Along the road of the right are ordinary suburban houses, and flats etc with children skating on the path, or cycling, or little children on little tricycles going around in little circles as they do. In the contemporary descriptions it describes houses on either side of the road. It seems curious that people could live in these houses that were once occupied by such infamous people. However perhaps they have been built more recently.......
There is now a modern building which includes cafe, bookshop, toilets and information centre at the end of this road. I picked up the audio guide and set off.
The entrance to the camp is opposite the end of the railway line the remains of which are still visible. It was built during the war to transport people directly to the camp instead of having to walk. The entrance itself is quite small; you cross the bridge over the small stream go under the arch and through the iron gate with the words ‘Arbeit macht frei.’ (Work sets you free.) In front is the Appelplatz (parade ground) with the foundations of the huts on the left. The fences and ditches and watchtowers are still there, as is the crematorium.
I’m glad I went there. And I’m looking forward in an odd way to going to Mauthausen near Linz, which was worse in many ways. The educational side of the camp is the museum which is housed in what were administrative buildings and where newly arriving prisoners were processed. I found I started off reading all the panels carefully and taking it all in. But there was too much of it to take in.
I gave up and just watched other people reading it. It was interesting that they were mostly youngish Germans who hadn’t really appreciated what it was all about, it seemed to me. There were frequent sharp intakes of breath as they managed to control themselves and not rush off howling. There were others – not Germans – whom I would have thrown out. They had no idea of how to behave in such a place.
I’ve spent the last two days relaxing, doing admin and reading about the camp. It’s good that the camp has been preserved. It was never set up as an extermination camp but as a work camp where tens of thousands were worked to death. The real exterminating happened in the satellite camps which were fed by Dachau and there is little or nothing left of these. There were three apparently here in Augsburg somewhere, but where? It would be wrong to pretend that it never happened.
So it’s good that the camp exists, and that Dachau has not changed its name.
And finally:
This is me relaxing in Augsburg on the campsite. It's been great! Hardly anyone here, sun shining and I can do precisely what I like - even if that's nothing at all.
Tomorrow: Linz in Austria. About 220 miles drive tomorrow around Munich, up towards Nurenburg, turn right somewhere after an hour or so and into Austria. Piece of cake really. Helga will keep me on the right road. (Giles christened TomTom as Helga; I won't hear a word said against her.)
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