We Must Never Forget

“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” ― Elie Wiesel

 Auschwitz. Hearing the name alone can stir up all sorts of emotions inside of people. You learn about the Holocaust and this name becomes embedded inside of your brain and you can never forget it. We have all seen the pictures of the victims, pictures of the camp, and of the Nazis. But, I can now say I have seen more than just pictures of the camp. I have been there. I have walked where those scared, confused Jews walked. But I wasn’t afraid; there was no danger for me. I tried to put myself in their shoes since I was walking their path but no matter how hard I tried it was unfathomable to me. I knew after the three hour tour was over I would get back onto my fancy bus, put in my headphones of my iPhone, maybe have a snack, and try to get comfortable for the ride home. Unlike the Jews. They were told their only way out was through the chimney and that still gives me chills. My ride to Auschwitz was so different from theirs, I was sitting with my water, my food, my blanket, all my necessities were met, and I was not crowded. I had to stop and think about what their ride was like in comparison, and that is where this experience of a lifetime really began.

We arrive to Auschwitz and the first thing I noticed was a snack bar. To me that just seemed horrible. To me that was a complete symbol of the society we live in today. We have snacks and people trying to profit literally within 1,000 feet from where millions of people were murdered. We go inside and we get our headphones so the tour could begin. We make our way through the camps to the first block that we enter. Here we learned about how the Jews and others arrived to the camp, where they were from, how many were from each country, and more about the selection process. This part was sad but I was in no way prepared for what I would see next.

 

We go upstairs and I see a sign that says no pictures, the tour guide explains that it is to respect the dead, I had no idea what I was about to see. Then I walked into a large room and there is hair. Human hair. Actual human hair that was cut from the people as they were brought into the camp. Literally tons of human hair surrounded me. Some of it was still in braids, just like it was when the person arrived. To me, hair is such a personal thing that this is where I first cried. I couldn’t help myself and neither could most of us. I think this is the moment it became so real. You can see pictures, you can hear stories, you can study the Holocaust but you will never be prepared for that sight. After that we walked and saw the mountains of shoes, again this hit me hard. From there we could see prosthetic legs, crutches, and other devices that the handicapped had, along with eye-glasses, suitcases and hair brushes.

The next part of the tour that cut deep for me was when we went into a different block and saw pictures of the children. Some of the pictures were of children used in the experiments and some were just of the other kids arriving to the camp, no idea the fate that was in store for them. To me, kids are a sign of innocent and happiness and to think that someone could kill that just blows my mind. I had a very hard time looking at the children’s pictures and clothes.

From there we headed to see a little more of the camp. We saw the execution sight, the poles, and the cells. The poles in this picture are more than just some random sticks in the ground. This is where they would break the arms of prisoners by tying them behind their backs and let them dangle there until they were dead. The cells included starvation, standing, and dark cells. All were used for punishment and would lead to death. We then went to the gas chambers and crematorium. In one of the pictures you can see a bunch of cans, this was the poison they used in the gas chambers, each can could kill 700 people, so for every can you see pictured that is 700 deaths and that wasn’t even all of the cans.

We then took our bus over to the second part of the tour, Birkenau. This was the killing center. It was huge, and there were just rows and rows of rectangle buildings where they stayed. About half of them had to be torn down due to diseases and infestations but there were still quite a few standing. We walked in the front and followed the path of the train tracks and began a stimulated death march. We walked from where they had the selection process to the end of the camp where the crematoriums were. At the back there is a memorial that a bunch of countries paid for and put as tribute to the killed. After that we went inside some of the barracks and the “bathroom” areas. Again, as I walked I thought about the Jews doing the same walk I was, except it was a million times worse than mine.

When the tour was over we got back onto the bus and headed home. I know this visit was the one that got me thinking the most. I am still thinking about it, as I type this and as I live my life. I wish everyone could go and see the camps and try to imagine how horrible the Holocaust really was. People have asked me if I would go back again. Honestly, I do not think I could do. Once was enough for me emotionally. Maybe someday I will think different, but for right now once was enough for me to handle.