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Article: Memorializing tragedy: taking the pathway of the prisoner: "a memorial site exists to document a specific period of history, but it also uses the power of authenticity and location to help its visitors form an emotional connection to that history.".(The World Yesterday)
- Article from:
- USA TODAY
- Article date:
- March 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Society for the Advancement of Education. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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ALMOST 61 YEARS AGO, at 5:28 p.m. on April 29, 1945, the main gate of the Nazi concentration camp Dachau--with the haunting German phrase scripted in wrought iron: Arbeit macht frei (Work sets you free)--opened slowly. Cautious American G.I.s entered the grounds that were packed with thousands of gaunt, ragged, and starving forms. One G.I. called out to the prisoners, "Hello boys, here we are!"
Dachau, named after the German city in which it was located, was the Nazi regime's first concentration camp. It was the model for others such as Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Crimes against prisoners there earned Dachau the name "school of violence." In its 12 years of ...