Looking back. Looking ahead. 2020-2025

INSTITUTIONS | SPEECHES   217 Institutions ©Dachau Memorial / G. Hassel Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to the premiere of The Dachau Concentration Camp. We have gathered here on the former camp road – partly due to the pandemic, but mainly because the film we are about to see repeatedly brings us back to this very place. French survivor Edmond Michelet called it the “Road to Freedom”, emphasising the solidarity among the prisoners. I would like to extend a heartfelt welcome to the film’s   creators: Prof. Clemens vonWedemeyer, Maya Schweizer and Prof. Benjamin Meyer-Krahmer. I am delighted that you will   be joining us after the screening to share your insights and experiences from the film-making process. Ladies and Gentlemen, The production of The Dachau Concentration Camp marks the beginning of a comprehensive, long-term reconceptualisation of the Dachau Memorial. Newly designed exhibition areas and the integration of historically significant buildings will shed further light on the history of this site, broadening our perspective on a place that is not only a cemetery, but also an international place of learning and a museum of contempo- rary history. The Dachau Concentration Camp – produced by film-makers Maya Schweizer, Prof. Benjamin Meyer-Krahmer and Prof. Clemens vonWedemeyer – is intended to offer an introduction to the camp’s history, topography and post-war legacy. It could be watched by anyone who is planning to visit the memorial, or it could be used to round off the reflection following a guided tour. The film’s development was guided by an international and interdisciplinary group of experts. The Dachau concentration camp, established on 22 March 1933 on the grounds of a disused gunpowder and munitions factory, was the only camp to remain in operation throughout the entire twelve years of Nazi rule. It lasted longer than any other concentration camp and served as a model for those that Dr Gabriele Hammermann Director of the Dachau Memorial Premiere of the documentary  The Dachau Concentration Camp at the Dachau Memorial  20 July 2021 followed. In the film, the historical development and geo- graphical expansion of the Dachau concentration camp and the present-day memorial site are situated within broader his- torical contexts. On an experiential level, it draws on excerpts from interviews with contemporary witnesses to foreground the perspectives of the prisoners and honour them as actors in their own history. “How can we form an idea of what happened here?”. This guiding question, accompanied by calm and deliberate camera movements, invites viewers into a process of engagement and reflection. Despite the passing of time and the widening gap between generations, the film raises questions that are socially relevant today. Employing a restrained cinematic language, it presents sources from more than 40 archives – revealing mul- tiple perspectives, historical contexts and inherent complexi- ties. It conveys the process of research and the limits of what can be fully comprehended, ultimately leaving viewers with questions. In this way, the film avoids any form of emotional overpowering and instead creates a space for reflection. What are the defining features of this film? Its thoughtful treatment of a wide range of sources – testimonies of contem- porary witnesses, photographs and film sequences, artifacts, plans, graphics and documents – and its intensive engagement with the visual legacy of concentration camp history and its lasting impact. This also includes a respectful approach to pho- tographs of survivors whose bodies bear the traces of forced labour, hunger and abuse – people on the threshold between life and death. In some scenes, a gloved curator’s hand brings objects and historical images gently into the frame. This allows viewers to grasp the size, characteristics and materiality of the artifacts and illustrates the process of reconstructing histori- cal events. Various computer animations help to situate these materials within the complex structure of the camp. The film also reveals the gaps in the historical record, openly acknowl- edging where the fates of individuals could not be fully clar- ified despite extensive research. In doing so, it addresses the