Through the meadow fields,
Across the flowered lots,
into a town of Auschwitz.
A town where the ashes fall
from the sky.
The smell of death hangs in the air,
over the people who go --
go about their daily lives;
Across the flowered lots,
into a town of Auschwitz.
A town where the ashes fall
from the sky.
The smell of death hangs in the air,
over the people who go --
go about their daily lives;
not noticing the beheamoth,
the monster only a few miles away.
Excerpt from 'Auschwitz-Birkenau: A Poem
by Patrick Simpson
by Patrick Simpson
On Tuesday, Justyna and I went to Auschwitz.
Auschwitz was the largest of Nazi Germany's concentration camps. It was in operation between 1940 and 1945 and during this time, over 1.1 million Jews, Poles and Gypsies were killed by starvation, over work, and most commonly, by gas chambers.
I think Auschwitz is something that has to be seen to fully understand the atrocities that occurred there. I was sick to my stomach and on the verge of tears for the short time we were there. The displays are incredibly vivid and uncensored. The most intense display was a room full of hair. These horrible monsters would cut the women's hair off and sell it to make materials like rugs and nets. There were also rooms full of shoes, suitcases (with the owner's names and DOB written on them), combs, brushes and toothbrushes, and spectacles.
The people who committed these crimes were the worst kind of human being there is. Monsters with no souls or conscience. As confronting as the day was, I was so thankful that I was able to be there to pay my respects and pray for the poor, innocent people whose lives were so cruely taken from them. I urge everyone to offer up a thought for the victims too.
******
In an aside here, I read in a newspaper yesterday that a high percent of children in Germany think Auschwitz is a type of beer...
Does the lack of education on important historical events bother anyone else?
Auschwitz was the largest of Nazi Germany's concentration camps. It was in operation between 1940 and 1945 and during this time, over 1.1 million Jews, Poles and Gypsies were killed by starvation, over work, and most commonly, by gas chambers.
I think Auschwitz is something that has to be seen to fully understand the atrocities that occurred there. I was sick to my stomach and on the verge of tears for the short time we were there. The displays are incredibly vivid and uncensored. The most intense display was a room full of hair. These horrible monsters would cut the women's hair off and sell it to make materials like rugs and nets. There were also rooms full of shoes, suitcases (with the owner's names and DOB written on them), combs, brushes and toothbrushes, and spectacles.
The people who committed these crimes were the worst kind of human being there is. Monsters with no souls or conscience. As confronting as the day was, I was so thankful that I was able to be there to pay my respects and pray for the poor, innocent people whose lives were so cruely taken from them. I urge everyone to offer up a thought for the victims too.
******
In an aside here, I read in a newspaper yesterday that a high percent of children in Germany think Auschwitz is a type of beer...
Does the lack of education on important historical events bother anyone else?
Dachau was the same - man's inhumanity to man. You see this and wonder why we worry about the little things in life.
ReplyDeleteSafe travels in Denmark and say hello to the sad little mermaid for me.