Things We Forget: Things We Forget #748: you can curse the darkness ...: broadrick road, singapore
Amen.
Showing posts with label hope. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hope. Show all posts
13 December 2011
01 December 2011
Auschwitz
The day began with breakfast. A bowl of corn flakes and two pieces of toast and jam. Next, a walk to the coach bus that was taking a group of tourists to Auschwitz and Auschwitz II - Berkinau for a four hour tour.
During the bus ride a film including original footage shot by Soviet soldiers was shown. The images were, of course, disturbing - but there wasn't any footage that I hadn't seen or any information I hadn't heard.
My earliest memory of learning about the Holocaust and WWII was seeing "The Diary of Anne Frank" when I was very young with my mother. I don't remember really understanding much, other than that the theater was neat because the stage was very rounded. My second memory is from the first or second grade. My mom and I only had public television and I remember one night sitting on the couch with her watching a documentary. I remember being frightened that men were going to come down the hallway and take me. In the eighth grade we preformed "The Diary of Anne Frank," using our church for a theater. Kenny Stevenson chose Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings" to play during the arrest scene.
I learned more about the Holocaust and the many attrocities of the 20th century throughout middle and high school. And always there was Auschwitz - the Germanized name of a Polish town about an hour outside Krakow where, in a series of three camps, about 1.5 million people were methodically abused, tortured, used, and exterminated.
Thanksgiving weekend of 2011 I traveled there for the first time. I am sure it will not be the last - some day I hope to take my children there. But, I hope to put several years between me and my next visit.
It was one of the hardest days of my life, and one of the most important.
I remember...
My actions after returning to Krakow show my great fortune despite any problems I might have. I went to a restaurant, enjoyed the warmth, and ate Borsht soup and pierogies. I had dessert. I had coffee. I went back to my hostel and left the cold behind, sleeping in my warm, clean bed.
During the bus ride a film including original footage shot by Soviet soldiers was shown. The images were, of course, disturbing - but there wasn't any footage that I hadn't seen or any information I hadn't heard.
My earliest memory of learning about the Holocaust and WWII was seeing "The Diary of Anne Frank" when I was very young with my mother. I don't remember really understanding much, other than that the theater was neat because the stage was very rounded. My second memory is from the first or second grade. My mom and I only had public television and I remember one night sitting on the couch with her watching a documentary. I remember being frightened that men were going to come down the hallway and take me. In the eighth grade we preformed "The Diary of Anne Frank," using our church for a theater. Kenny Stevenson chose Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings" to play during the arrest scene.
I learned more about the Holocaust and the many attrocities of the 20th century throughout middle and high school. And always there was Auschwitz - the Germanized name of a Polish town about an hour outside Krakow where, in a series of three camps, about 1.5 million people were methodically abused, tortured, used, and exterminated.
Thanksgiving weekend of 2011 I traveled there for the first time. I am sure it will not be the last - some day I hope to take my children there. But, I hope to put several years between me and my next visit.
It was one of the hardest days of my life, and one of the most important.
I remember...
- the looks on other visitor's faces - universal despite language barriers - the look of horror, disgust, despondency, fear of opening your mouth because you don't know what to say and you don't know if you'll get sick...
- the two tons of human hair, and the roll of material made out of human hair by a German textile factory...
- the image of a triplet baby tortured by Dr. Mengele...
- the 1.5 km walk from one end of Berkinau to the other...
- the cell where Maximillian Kolbe saved another man's life by offering to starve to death in his place (the man was present at Kolbe's beatification)...
- the pond where they disposed of the ashes...and learning that they also used human ashes for fertilizer...
- so much more...
My actions after returning to Krakow show my great fortune despite any problems I might have. I went to a restaurant, enjoyed the warmth, and ate Borsht soup and pierogies. I had dessert. I had coffee. I went back to my hostel and left the cold behind, sleeping in my warm, clean bed.
I am so blessed. Beyond all else, seeing the museum at Auschwitz and seeing Berkinau preserved as it was found helps remind me that above all I am blessed. Because I have choice, I have food, I have warmth, I have medicine...
I'm blessed.
Baci,
Mari
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