18 Juni 2012

Today was definitely the most intense day of the trip so far. We visited the old Dachau concentration camp grounds and got a true feel for the terror inflicted by Hitler and the Nazi party. We were able to walk the grounds on our own and see where the prisoners lived, worked, and died. Dachau was the first concentration camp built so it mainly held political prisoners in the beginning. Some 37,000 people were kept at Dachau in 30 small bunkers. It was indescribable to walk through the entrance gates and see what a concentration camp actually looked like. I spent the majority of our time there walking around alone, so I could have a personal experience with what I was seeing around me. My last stop at the camp was to the crematorium, where the corpses were burned and the gas chamber was held. Walking through that building was one of the most memorable moments I'll ever have. I'll never forget what it felt like to walk through the doors and stand in those rooms and think about what those people went through.

After that we headed to BMW Welt for a much lighter afternoon. This building was done by Coop Himmelb(l)au to represent the BMW brand and it accomplishes its task quite well. We spent a good bit of time at this building and got a good impression of everything it advocates.

After leaving BMW Welt we made a quick stop at the Herz Jesu Kirche by ASW Architects, one of my favorites. This church is a simple rectangular glass form with a smaller wooden one enclosed inside. It has screen printed sheets on nails on its facades and giant doors that open up the entire front of the building. The glass box changes from being totally transparent to opaque, while the wooden one opens up more in the opposite direction. I personally really like this building and am so happy to have been able to see it.