Vice President Pence in somber Dachau visit

Vice President Mike Pence, his wife Karen, and their daughter Charlotte, visited the site of the Dachau concentration camp in Germany on Sunday morning.

They were greeted by Karl Freller, director of the Foundation of Bavarian Memorial Sites, who read an introduction detailing the camp’s history, and were accompanied by Abba Naor, a survivor of Dachau who now lives in Israel. Pence did not speak publicly during the visit.

Naor described to Pence the work he did at the camp, and a typical meal, which he said was a slice of bread. “If it was a miracle that we survived, I don’t know” what it was, Naor said.

Dachau was established in 1933, and served as the model for all other Nazi camps. Over 200,000 people from across Europe were imprisoned in Dachau and over 41,000 killed. U.S. soldiers liberated Dachau in April 1945.

The Pences visited the International Memorial at the center of camp, where they laid a wreath. They also visited a Jewish memorial and a Catholic memorial on the grounds, and attended a service at the Church of Reconciliation, located on the camp grounds.

They also toured the barracks, a crematorium, and a gas chamber.

Pence was attending the Munich Security Conference, and traveled on to Brussels later in the day for meetings with NATO and European Union officials.