American Cemetery at Luxemburg

 

The burial grounds for our soldiers is considered American soil so when we visited their graves, we were actually in America!

Mass Burial Sites near Dachau

Here are some views of the two mass burial sites mentioned in a previous posting. You can see the wall with the bullet holes where the Russians were murdered. It is a very shady, quiet area with a great sense of peace.

Too much truth in the humor . . .

"Ethics are so annoying. I avoid them on principle."
       -- Darby Conley

 

"If you're not scared or angry at the thought of a human brain being controlled remotely, then it could be this prototype of mine is finally starting to work."
       -- John Alejandro King

 

"The scientific name for an animal that doesn't either run from or fight its enemies is lunch."
       -- Michael Friedman

 

"When ideas fail, words come in very handy."
       -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Scenes from Dachau, Germany

Interesting history regarding the concentration camp at Dachau. It didn't start out as a Jewish camp but one for political prisoners. It was eventually used for financial gains and needed cheap labor which led in great part to the use of the Jews for that with little thought to anything but working them to death. Actually, Dachau didn't have a majority of Jews 'in residence' from what I understand. Needless to say, however, it was a sobering experience to walk through the halls with the tortue rooms, stand in the gas chambers, and view where they burned the bodies.

We had an excellent British guide for Dachau. He was good at his subject, sensitive to the subject, but seemed matter of fact. However, he took our group to two other places near Dachau that seldom has visitors and many people do not even know exists. One place is a mass grave for 4,000 Russians murdered towards the end of the war. Believe me, you get a whole new perspective on war and its byproducts when you stand in front of the wall where the Russians were systematically shot down and see the bullet holes. There is a memorial set up there and it is a quiet, peaceful place. The beautiful meadows certainly don't recall the horror that took place there one time. Our guide was visibly moved and just seemed to want us to understand. The next off the beaten path visit was to another mass grave of Italians. I believe there are something like 7,000 buried there. Another memorial is on the property which is maintained by the Italian government. Again, you don't want to make an unnecessary sound in respect of what you are feeling here. Everyone sees Dachau but few get a chance to visit these places.

Scenes from World War II

 

The amazing part about many of the museums we visited during our World War II tours were the life-sized sets they had put together showing various scenes from the war in detail. You could almost smell the gun powder and hear the explosions as some of them were so realistic. You almost expected one of the soldiers to blink or look your way.

Oh, oh!

Ancient Rome declined because it had a Senate; now what's going to happen to us with both a Senate and a House?  Will Rogers