Is the Flossenburg Concentration Camp well known? Have you heard of it? I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of it before this week. But today, my wife and I spent hours walking around what’s left. There are less than half a dozen buildings still standing, not counting the guard towers. The old laundry and shower building still stands and is now converted into a museum. Wow. Just wow. What a solemn experience.
The crematorium still stands, along with the actual furnace used to dispose of the bodies. This camp supposedly held over 100,000 prisoners throught the 30’s and 40’s from countries all over the world. 7 from the US. I think it was 7.
The museum was very graphic–showing films and pictures of the camp laborers alive and dead. I’m not sure which ones were more pathetic to witness–the living, or the dead. It was depressing, but educational and inspiring.
If you’re ever wandering around Bavaria, I highly recommend stopping by this place.
Where abouts is it? I’m going to be wandering around Bavaria the end of next month. I went to Bergen Belsen a couple of months ago. There are no buildings left but it is nevertheless quite poignant.
Yeah, I’ve been in Germany since the 10th. So far I’ve been to Nuremburg, and Flossenburg. Walked through two castels, checked out several kick-ass medieval churches, walked through the Concentration Camp Museum, checked out a night club in Nuremburg… pretty good for the first two weeks, eh? But I’m still figuring things out and taking things in. I gotta say that the countryside here is absolutely gorgeous. And, damn, you just haven’t driven until you take a 6 Speed BMW 5 Series down some winding roads in the German countryside and then on the autobahn. I like driving here. I like the people here. Cabs are pretty expensive, so I avoid them. I like the trains. I miss ice. I miss cold drinks. I love the huge windows, but damnit could you put a screen on it? The mosquitoes are fierce!
I was gonna start another thread on all that though. I need to decide where to go next weekend. It’s gonna be either Berlin or Prague. I’m leaning more towards Prague though.
I’ll post some pictures of the Camp and Museum later.
Here’s the pictures as promised. Sorry, I didn’t put captions on any of them, so if you’re curious about something, just ask.
Anyway, the Flossenburg album has pictures of us at the castle ruins and at the open air Concentration Camp Museum. There’s a lot more to the museum inside one of the buildings. Lots of video, audio, documents, archived photos and everything. I didn’t take pictures inside, though. This place is a definite must visit.
Just little things, like the pile of shoes in the crematorium, the still standing electric fence posts, the shower room… it’s a very emotional and educational experience!
There’s also a Nurnburg album there if anyone’s interested in those pics.
Thanks for the Prague advice. Yeah, I’m definitely going there next weekend now!!
Those are great pics! And along with several others here, I’ve never heard of the Flossenburg camp- and I’ve read a bit more than most people have on the Holocaust.
I assume you are the fellow in the pics- who’s the cute lady?
That’s what was so suprising to me! When I heard there was a holocaust museum there on the grounds of some concentraion camp, I didn’t expect it to be anything big. I figured it was just some small insignificant camp. But this thing was HUGE. Even had an SS Casino on the grounds. It held over 100,000 undesirables from over a dozen countries. Something like 30,000 people died there. Not to mention the fact that much of it still stands today. Yet, it’s hardly well known at all.
You should be able to zoom in on it and read everything. The red squares are the buildings that still stand. The foundations of many of the others are still left though. They turned the area behind the camp into a memorial cemetary for those buried en masse there. The army had the local town people exhume the bodies and bury them properly. It’s shown on the map as “Valley of Death”.
Never heard of it either. I thought I’d also read more than average on the Holocaust (at one point, I was writing a doctoral dissertation on a writer who was killed at Auschwitz), but I don’t recall ever running across the name (I’m pretty sure I would remember; it’s unusual to see -bürg with an Umlaut).
Yeah. Berlin might be a bit of a dump in places, but it’s probably the most important city in the 20th century in terms of world events - WW1, rise of National Socialism, WW2, frontline of the Cold War etc. Literally everywhere in Berlin is soaked in history.
Glad to see you got your paperwork finalized, Bear. I didn’t know you had moved to Germany either. I think a friend of mine and I will be doing some Poland/Germany/CR vacationing next summer, if you’re still there I’d like to meet up with you again.
Great pictures, Bear, and very moving. A couple of them scared me.
A question for you (and others)- did you ever feel weird taking pictures there? I think my mom felt a bit weird at Birkenau taking pictures. Intellectually, I know it’s no different than me taking pictures in a cemetery, but in a way it’s light-years away from that…
I agree and it is interesting but Prague - for sightseeing - is hands down more spectacular. Being as Berlin had the crap bombed out it and was rebuilt in a very utilitarian style, it’s not much to look at. If you’re going there with a specific itinerary in mind (eg Checkpoint Charlie, etc) it’s cool but if you’re just going to wander, see medieval buildings etc., Prague’s definitely the way to go.
Flossenburg is where Hans Oster and the other men who tried to kill Adolf Hitler were hanged. General Oster is the great grandfather of one of my friends.
We got married in February 2006.
