Which concentration camp to visit?

Kirsten,

I agree with the others. Given the cities you'll be visiting, Dachau would be a good choice as it's only about half an hour outside the city of Munich. While it's perhaps not as "intense" as other locations such as Auschwitz, Dachau was one of the first and was used to establish the methods used in all the camps.

You can visit the site either on your own or take a guided tour. As I recall, the S-Bahn goes to the town of Dachau, and then transfer to a Bus to get to the camp. I took a tour with Radius Tours (check their web site for details) and I would certainly recommend them. The Guide provided a lot of background information before we even set foot in the camp, and I felt it provided a much more interesting visit than if I had gone on my own.

Cheers!

Agreed on Dachau. It seems to be the most easily accessible site from the cities you are visiting, and also the most "historically significant" (though that is, of course, subjective).

Sachsenhausen Camp from Berlin is easy to get to. We found it very moving, with an outstanding museum. An added site to see is Ravensbruck Camp very near by. This was the Womens Camp. Both have very good exhibits as well as some of the original barracks and buildings at Sachsenhausen.

Sachsenhausen Website
http://www.stiftung-bg.de/gums/en/index.htm

Ravensbruck Website
http://www.ravensbrueck.de/mgr/neu/english/index.htm

Terezin is accessible from Prague, but I think Dachau is probably the better in terms of information relayed to visitors.

If you are already staying in Munich, a Munich XXL Tageskarte (day ticket, €7 Single, €12,30 Partner - up to 5 people) will cover all of your transportation (S-Bahn and bus) to the Dachau Memorial. Take the S2, richtung (direction) Petershausen, to the Dachau station. It takes 11 min from the Hbf. The bus (#726) from there to the Memorial leaves 10 minutes later. The bus stop, in front of the Bahnhof, is very well marked, in English, and the bus takes 7 minutes.

English tours start at 11:00 and 13:00, take 2½ hours, and cost €3. If you want to go at your own pace, you can rent an audio guide for €3,50. The tour I took was very thorough and the guide was knowledgeable. No one has ever been able to prove to me that a €21 "cost added" tour is any better.

We visited Dachau just outside of Munich.

We also took the Radius tour of Dachau and would highly recommend them.

Dachau is a great choice. The previous poster said it will, and should, take a lot out of you as it is emotional. I recommend you follow it up with something beautifully moving and peaceful. We went to a cathedral in Austria and a choral group was practicing. The entire day was one I will never forget.

Another option between Vienna and Munich is Mathausen, which is easy by car…not sure of the logistics using rail. At any rate, it's not crowded at all and is set in a beautiful piece of real estate, which is sort of creepy when one considers what occurred there. Regardless of which site you visit, be prepared for an emotionally draining experience. A must-do for sure, but it can take a lot out of you (and it should).

I have been only to Dachau. I bawled my eyes out after watching the movie they show. But I am glad that I experienced it. It's important to know what went down in those camps.

Kirsten, my wife and I took our 11 year old granddtr to Paris, Germany and Austria for three weeks and visited Dachau last week. Chloe (granddtr) was very attentive to the english speaking guide and said she was glad she went. Dorsey

Mauthausen (in Austria, near the village of Enns), is amazing, the film had me grabbing for a Kleenex. I will be in Munich longer this September and will visit Dachau then. I can't wait to jet!

I went to Buchenwald and Dachau several time in 40 years
Dachau is the choice

OK, you aren't planning to go there, but I enjoyed Krakow much more than Prague and you've got a month, so...

I vote for the one that makes the others pale by comparison;

Auschwitz/Birkenau