What was it like in the Concentration Camp at Dachau?

A friend lent me two books about the concentration camps that were in use leading up to and during World War II. I have only read one of them so far. The first book is titled, "What was it like in the Concentration Camp at Dachau?", and was written by Dr. Johannes Neuhausler. He was an Auxiliary Bishop of Munich, lived from 1888-1973, and started writing down his thoughts as soon as he was liberated on April 29, 1945. Neuhausler was arrested by the Gestapo in 1941 and held in a Gestapo prison in Berlin for several weeks, then transferred to a concentration camp at Sachsenhausen before he was taken to Dachau, where he was kept until the liberation.

Neuhausler wrote in his book that he wanted to get the story out as to what he and many others went through so the people could not forget. Many of us have read, watched documentaries or have heard stories first hand about what some of these camps were like. It is unbelievable what these poor people had to endure. It is unbelievable that humans could treat other humans in such a matter. In this book, the author mentions many times how he has forgiven the people that did these horrendous things to him. My mind cannot even comprehend that. The author wrote that the dying request of many of the other prisoners was that these things would be put on paper so that the people could not forget.

Dachau was built in 1933. Between 1933 and the end of the war, 1945, it is estimated that 200,000 men, women and children were imprisoned there. Of the 200,000, about 30,000 died; they died of contagious diseases, hunger, exhaustion or were murdered.

Dachau still stands today. There is a chapel on the grounds and a convent was built there in the '60's. The chapel still stands, I do not know if the convent is still being used. I finished the book last night and have not looked into the convent to see if it still remains. Maybe later today, if I have time, I will poke around on the internet and see what I can find.

Here is the prayer, taken from the book, that was prayed when the chapel was opened.

"Let us pray

for all who were maltreated and tortured here,

for all who are unjustly imprisoned and tortured today,

for all who do injustice rather than suffer it.

Let us pray also that we ourselves are not unjust in our thoughts, words and

deeds.

O God, Thy Son once stood guiltless but scourged and crowned with thorns

before His enemies. For the sake of His humiliations and sufferings have

mercy on all that are deprived of their rights and are maltreated.

have mercy on us, too, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those

who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from

evil. Amen."

And another prayer read:

"Let us pray

for all who were murdered in concentration camps, for their murderers,

for all in this world whose blood cries to heaven.

Let us pray also for ourselves that we never become guilty of the life of

another person.

Lord Jesus Christ, grant eternal life to all that were robbed of their life

here. For the sake of Thy holy death help us in our dying agony and let us

never forget that 'a man cannot hate his brother without being a murderer'

(John III, 15). Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen."

I copied these two prayers word for word from the book, and don't know what the John III, 15 is. Is this a typo? Do the Germans write the references differently than we do? It is not John 3:15 nor John 15:3, it is actually 1John 3:15.

I want to read the other book that was lent to me, but I think I am going to wait a few days. I need some lighter, more upbeat reading for a time! This book was informational, but it was also heart wrenching knowing what thousands of people went through.