Favorite Historical Places You’ve Visited

Standing inside the gas chamber at Dachau on a freezing day. You don't understand humanity until you do this. Not good... in order to really understand life, though, you have to do this! I'm not anti-semitic. It is just that it's the only way to get the man-inhumanity-to-man issue.
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The mind boggling thing is that Dachau paled in comparison to the other German death factories further to the East.
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Mauthausen is pretty sobering, too
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Dachau and Mauthausen are notable for being amongst the first camps and the places where the Germans got their reads down. Something like 31,000 were killed and Dachau and 120,000 to 300,000 at Mauthausen. These figures by themselves are horrific. But the final solution really got going at Auschwitz (1,000,000 killed) and Treblinka (900,000 killed).
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Where did you get these numbers? Personally, I would be suspicious since the authorities disclaim the chamber at Dachau was even used. It look used, big time. Anyway, I leave the arguments to the historians.
 
Standing inside the gas chamber at Dachau on a freezing day. You don't understand humanity until you do this. Not good... in order to really understand life, though, you have to do this! I'm not anti-semitic. It is just that it's the only way to get the man-inhumanity-to-man issue.
Click to expand...

The mind boggling thing is that Dachau paled in comparison to the other German death factories further to the East.
Click to expand...

Mauthausen is pretty sobering, too
Click to expand...

Dachau and Mauthausen are notable for being amongst the first camps and the places where the Germans got their reads down. Something like 31,000 were killed and Dachau and 120,000 to 300,000 at Mauthausen. These figures by themselves are horrific. But the final solution really got going at Auschwitz (1,000,000 killed) and Treblinka (900,000 killed).
Click to expand...

Where did you get these numbers? Personally, I would be suspicious since the authorities disclaim the chamber at Dachau was even used. It look used, big time. Anyway, I leave the arguments to the historians.
Click to expand...

Dachau was the first concentration camp, and IIRC it was operational through the 1930's so they had many years pre-Final Solution to kill gypsies, artists, Jews, gays, etc. there. Chambers were used later, when it was deemed cost-ineffective to shoot that many people. I don't recall seeing chambers at Dachau, but I remember the crematoria

Not specifically about Dachau, but Tim Snyder's Bloodlands[/i] gives a good recounting of the Nazis' efforts to figure out industrial-scale killing on the Eastern Front. We think of gas chambers and huge concentration camps, but a couple million people were just shot and buried in mass graves dug near their villages.
 
Standing inside the gas chamber at Dachau on a freezing day. You don't understand humanity until you do this. Not good... in order to really understand life, though, you have to do this! I'm not anti-semitic. It is just that it's the only way to get the man-inhumanity-to-man issue.
Click to expand...

The mind boggling thing is that Dachau paled in comparison to the other German death factories further to the East.
Click to expand...

Mauthausen is pretty sobering, too
Click to expand...

Dachau and Mauthausen are notable for being amongst the first camps and the places where the Germans got their reads down. Something like 31,000 were killed and Dachau and 120,000 to 300,000 at Mauthausen. These figures by themselves are horrific. But the final solution really got going at Auschwitz (1,000,000 killed) and Treblinka (900,000 killed).
Click to expand...

Where did you get these numbers? Personally, I would be suspicious since the authorities disclaim the chamber at Dachau was even used. It look used, big time. Anyway, I leave the arguments to the historians.
Click to expand...

Dachau was the first concentration camp, and IIRC it was operational through the 1930's so they had many years pre-Final Solution to kill gypsies, artists, Jews, gays, etc. there. Chambers were used later, when it was deemed cost-ineffective to shoot that many people. I don't recall seeing chambers at Dachau, but I remember the crematoria

Not specifically about Dachau, but Tim Snyder's Bloodlands[/i] gives a good recounting of the Nazis' efforts to figure out industrial-scale killing on the Eastern Front. We think of gas chambers and huge concentration camps, but a couple million people were just shot and buried in mass graves dug near their villages.
Click to expand...

Bloodlans was a great read. Picked that up about 6 years ago.
 
Standing inside the gas chamber at Dachau on a freezing day. You don't understand humanity until you do this. Not good... in order to really understand life, though, you have to do this! I'm not anti-semitic. It is just that it's the only way to get the man-inhumanity-to-man issue.
Click to expand...

The mind boggling thing is that Dachau paled in comparison to the other German death factories further to the East.
Click to expand...

Mauthausen is pretty sobering, too
Click to expand...

Dachau and Mauthausen are notable for being amongst the first camps and the places where the Germans got their reads down. Something like 31,000 were killed and Dachau and 120,000 to 300,000 at Mauthausen. These figures by themselves are horrific. But the final solution really got going at Auschwitz (1,000,000 killed) and Treblinka (900,000 killed).
Click to expand...

Where did you get these numbers? Personally, I would be suspicious since the authorities disclaim the chamber at Dachau was even used. It look used, big time. Anyway, I leave the arguments to the historians.
Click to expand...

The definitive book on the subject.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloodlands
 
the memorable ones:
  • Arlington National Cemetery and the tomb of the Unknown Soldier changing of the guard. (Mrs. Lebam called me a wuss for crying)
  • Punchbowl and USS Arizona in Hawaii
  • Fort McHenry + the National Museum with the Flag
  • Mt. Rushmore
  • Gettysburg and I have been to numerous Civil War reenactments
  • Monticello - Jefferson be my favorite
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Standing inside the gas chamber at Dachau on a freezing day. You don't understand humanity until you do this. Not good... in order to really understand life, though, you have to do this! I'm not anti-semitic. It is just that it's the only way to get the man-inhumanity-to-man issue.
Click to expand...

The mind boggling thing is that Dachau paled in comparison to the other German death factories further to the East.
Click to expand...

Mauthausen is pretty sobering, too
Click to expand...

Dachau and Mauthausen are notable for being amongst the first camps and the places where the Germans got their reads down. Something like 31,000 were killed and Dachau and 120,000 to 300,000 at Mauthausen. These figures by themselves are horrific. But the final solution really got going at Auschwitz (1,000,000 killed) and Treblinka (900,000 killed).
Click to expand...

Where did you get these numbers? Personally, I would be suspicious since the authorities disclaim the chamber at Dachau was even used. It look used, big time. Anyway, I leave the arguments to the historians.
Click to expand...

Dachau was the first concentration camp, and IIRC it was operational through the 1930's so they had many years pre-Final Solution to kill gypsies, artists, Jews, gays, etc. there. Chambers were used later, when it was deemed cost-ineffective to shoot that many people. I don't recall seeing chambers at Dachau, but I remember the crematoria

Not specifically about Dachau, but Tim Snyder's Bloodlands[/i] gives a good recounting of the Nazis' efforts to figure out industrial-scale killing on the Eastern Front. We think of gas chambers and huge concentration camps, but a couple million people were just shot and buried in mass graves dug near their villages.
Click to expand...

I remember the part of Dachau which looked like gutters in a field, and the signs indicated that they just mowed down prisoners here. This is dark shit, man!
 
Most impactful for me without question is Auschwitz. Both Auschwitz 1 and Birkenau. It is really indescribable.

I've been to Antietam, Gettysburg, Bull Run, all the DC monuments including the Vietnam Wall, the Plaszow concentration camp in Krakow (which is a different type of sadness) and the last remaining piece of the wall of the Warsaw Ghetto but there is nothing that approaches the level of Auschwitz.

Nairobi National Park in Kenya was pretty impactful from the perspective of how incredible those creatures are in the wild and how we're in the process of destroying their planet and habitat.

The Great Pyramids of Giza. How the fuck did humans build those things with the technology at the time?

The Acropolis & Parthenon in Athens.

The Wieliczka Salt Mine in Krakow is amazing as well.

The Great Wall of China is pretty amazing but I wish I had more of a chance to explore it.

Tiannamen Square was interesting from the perspective of the tour "rebranding" the history there.

Krakow Wawel Castle and old square are awesome.
Similarly Plaza Mayor in Madrid, along with the Prado.

I liked the Musee du Orsay in Paris more than the Louvre, but the Louvre is still pretty special.
The Amsterdam Rijksmuseum is a great museum.

The Auckland Maritime Museum was a really cool display of the history of ocean travel and navigation.

I did the other big Paris sites when I was there, Arc, Eiffle Tower, etc, and while they're amazing they don't crack the top 5. Same with London; Buckingham palace and Big Ben are cool but not top 5.

An amazing museum and I take it for granted for being right down the street is the Udvar-Hazy center near Dulles Airport. The fucking Enola Gay is there! Plus a space shuttle, a Concorde, an SR-71 blackbird and Gemini space capsule.
 
Most impactful for me without question is Auschwitz. Both Auschwitz 1 and Birkenau. It is really indescribable.

I've been to Antietam, Gettysburg, Bull Run, all the DC monuments including the Vietnam Wall, the Plaszow concentration camp in Krakow (which is a different type of sadness) and the last remaining piece of the wall of the Warsaw Ghetto but there is nothing that approaches the level of Auschwitz.

Nairobi National Park in Kenya was pretty impactful from the perspective of how incredible those creatures are in the wild and how we're in the process of destroying their planet and habitat.

The Great Pyramids of Giza. How the fuck did humans build those things with the technology at the time?

The Acropolis & Parthenon in Athens.

The Wieliczka Salt Mine in Krakow is amazing as well.

The Great Wall of China is pretty amazing but I wish I had more of a chance to explore it.

Tiannamen Square was interesting from the perspective of the tour "rebranding" the history there.

Krakow Wawel Castle and old square are awesome.
Similarly Plaza Mayor in Madrid, along with the Prado.

I liked the Musee du Orsay in Paris more than the Louvre, but the Louvre is still pretty special.
The Amsterdam Rijksmuseum is a great museum.

The Auckland Maritime Museum was a really cool display of the history of ocean travel and navigation.

I did the other big Paris sites when I was there, Arc, Eiffle Tower, etc, and while they're amazing they don't crack the top 5. Same with London; Buckingham palace and Big Ben are cool but not top 5.

An amazing museum and I take it for granted for being right down the street is the Udvar-Hazy center near Dulles Airport. The fucking Enola Gay is there! Plus a space shuttle, a Concorde, an SR-71 blackbird and Gemini space capsule.
Click to expand...

Humans didn’t build the pyramids. Aliens did. HTH.

Agree on Orsay being better than Louvre.

I really need to see Gettysburg soon. Really want to look down from Little Round Top to see where Chamberlain ordered the bayonet charge and saved the Republic.
 
Fuck me, I forgot Appamattox and Williamsburg/Jamestown. Clearly not my favorites since they didn’t register sooner (but also recency bias) but they’re kinda important.

Most impactful for me without question is Auschwitz. Both Auschwitz 1 and Birkenau. It is really indescribable.

I've been to Antietam, Gettysburg, Bull Run, all the DC monuments including the Vietnam Wall, the Plaszow concentration camp in Krakow (which is a different type of sadness) and the last remaining piece of the wall of the Warsaw Ghetto but there is nothing that approaches the level of Auschwitz.

Nairobi National Park in Kenya was pretty impactful from the perspective of how incredible those creatures are in the wild and how we're in the process of destroying their planet and habitat.

The Great Pyramids of Giza. How the fuck did humans build those things with the technology at the time?

The Acropolis & Parthenon in Athens.

The Wieliczka Salt Mine in Krakow is amazing as well.

The Great Wall of China is pretty amazing but I wish I had more of a chance to explore it.

Tiannamen Square was interesting from the perspective of the tour "rebranding" the history there.

Krakow Wawel Castle and old square are awesome.
Similarly Plaza Mayor in Madrid, along with the Prado.

I liked the Musee du Orsay in Paris more than the Louvre, but the Louvre is still pretty special.
The Amsterdam Rijksmuseum is a great museum.

The Auckland Maritime Museum was a really cool display of the history of ocean travel and navigation.

I did the other big Paris sites when I was there, Arc, Eiffle Tower, etc, and while they're amazing they don't crack the top 5. Same with London; Buckingham palace and Big Ben are cool but not top 5.

An amazing museum and I take it for granted for being right down the street is the Udvar-Hazy center near Dulles Airport. The fucking Enola Gay is there! Plus a space shuttle, a Concorde, an SR-71 blackbird and Gemini space capsule.
Click to expand...

Humans didn’t build the pyramids. Aliens did. HTH.

Agree on Orsay being better than Louvre.

I really need to see Gettysburg soon. Really want to look down from Little Round Top to see where Chamberlain ordered the bayonet charge and saved the Republic.
Click to expand...
It’s really bad how numb I am at this point to Gettysburg, Arlington Cemetary and the Vietnam Wall. Drove past Arlington and the Wall every Sunday on the way to church for my entire youth. Drive past Gettysburg 2-5 times per year for the past 15 years to visit in-laws. I guess it’s the same way you get used to seeing Rainier in the distance in Seattle, but it’s still a sight to behold if you’re an east coaster.
 
Fuck me, I forgot Appamattox and Williamsburg/Jamestown. Clearly not my favorites since they didn’t register sooner (but also recency bias) but they’re kinda important.

Most impactful for me without question is Auschwitz. Both Auschwitz 1 and Birkenau. It is really indescribable.

I've been to Antietam, Gettysburg, Bull Run, all the DC monuments including the Vietnam Wall, the Plaszow concentration camp in Krakow (which is a different type of sadness) and the last remaining piece of the wall of the Warsaw Ghetto but there is nothing that approaches the level of Auschwitz.

Nairobi National Park in Kenya was pretty impactful from the perspective of how incredible those creatures are in the wild and how we're in the process of destroying their planet and habitat.

The Great Pyramids of Giza. How the fuck did humans build those things with the technology at the time?

The Acropolis & Parthenon in Athens.

The Wieliczka Salt Mine in Krakow is amazing as well.

The Great Wall of China is pretty amazing but I wish I had more of a chance to explore it.

Tiannamen Square was interesting from the perspective of the tour "rebranding" the history there.

Krakow Wawel Castle and old square are awesome.
Similarly Plaza Mayor in Madrid, along with the Prado.

I liked the Musee du Orsay in Paris more than the Louvre, but the Louvre is still pretty special.
The Amsterdam Rijksmuseum is a great museum.

The Auckland Maritime Museum was a really cool display of the history of ocean travel and navigation.

I did the other big Paris sites when I was there, Arc, Eiffle Tower, etc, and while they're amazing they don't crack the top 5. Same with London; Buckingham palace and Big Ben are cool but not top 5.

An amazing museum and I take it for granted for being right down the street is the Udvar-Hazy center near Dulles Airport. The fucking Enola Gay is there! Plus a space shuttle, a Concorde, an SR-71 blackbird and Gemini space capsule.
Click to expand...

Humans didn’t build the pyramids. Aliens did. HTH.

Agree on Orsay being better than Louvre.

I really need to see Gettysburg soon. Really want to look down from Little Round Top to see where Chamberlain ordered the bayonet charge and saved the Republic.
Click to expand...
It’s really bad how numb I am at this point to Gettysburg, Arlington Cemetary and the Vietnam Wall. Drove past Arlington and the Wall every Sunday on the way to church for my entire youth. Drive past Gettysburg 2-5 times per year for the past 15 years to visit in-laws. I guess it’s the same way you get used to seeing Rainier in the distance in Seattle, but it’s still a sight to behold if you’re an east coaster.
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Had an 10th floor apartment in a Crystal City high rise for three years where we could see the Pentagon and Arlington out the window, with the National Cathedral in the distance
 
I have had my photo taken behind the grassy knoll at Dealey Plaza in Dallas and done the book depository tour

I have been to the Alamo as well. It is about the size of a Taco Bell. I asked if I could see the basement as well
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So true story ...

I’ma big JFK assassination guy and too much stuff doesn’t add up to me but whatever ...

I had an internship in downtown Dallas and would always drive by the Book Depository and the big X in the middle of the road. Everything about it screamed that it looked familiar to me but I couldn’t place it ...

Yeah ...
 
I actually forgot a big one. Not so much a historical landmark - but a historical must-see.

The World War II Museum in New Orleans is fucking incredible. We were there for about 5 hours and still didn't see everything.

Truly amazing place. In depth to the Nth degree.
 
If you drive through Yosemite to Sequoia you go over a 10000 foot pass

395 in California is a beautiful drive

95 in Oregon

The 101 from Crescent City to San Francisco
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Once upon a time, @iDawg talked about riding his motorcycle up the 101 to SF
 
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