dachau, situated approx. 40km away from munich, is a small town with a history: temporary domain of one of the well renowned bavarian writers, ludwig thoma, 1867-1921 (who unfortunately enough had a mostly pushed aside renommee as anti-semite) and site of the first nazi concentration camp in germany. the concentration camp is now a memorial place, and a majority of bavarian pupils have their first real exposure to 3rd-reich cruelty there.
the memories of ludwig thoma are conserved at least for economic reasons, and even 100 years later some houses there seem to have retained a bit of the look-and-feel of those days.
in a sense this is an attempted conservation of an aura that has lost its life and importance since a long time, but reading thoma’s (non-political) books can fire one’s imagination where his characters might come to life in an environment like these old houses.
It is sobering to think that such a charming looking place was once at the heart of and still holds such reminders of probably the biggest horrors to ever confront human history.