TIGblogs TIG | TIGblogs GROUP TIGBLOGS LOGIN SIGNUP
Anna - My Blog
Anna - My Blog
Concentration camps and their implications for today
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

This summer I went to Auschwitz for the third time to show a family member the relics of what I would consider to be a major violation of basic human rights. I have been there twice before, and the first and last experience were similar, both sunny summer days, with flowers blooming, birds chirping and the omnipresent feeling of life in the air. The second time I was there was mid October and was a much different experience than the others.

The day I am about to describe to you was misty and foggy, and a cool humid wind wisped through my hair and brushed my cheeks leaving them with that cool tingle that only the brink of winter brings. It was a cool 6 degrees celcius with an overcast sky and not a hint of sunshine to come. This is the type of day that is best spent by a fire place, drinking white cocoa, and thinking about the nearing winter. Auschwitz, a place where 6 million people died due to harsh conditions was not the normal experience for that time of year. It sent a permanent chill down my spine. The barracks where people just like you and I were housed were buildings meant to keep 52 horses, but rather were home to 400 people, with no insulation, no washrooms, nothing. Trenches surrounded the compound, and were dug by those people who lived in the barracks. Those men were shot in the same trenches they dug by oppressive and sick officers who went to sleep with their pretty wives in a warm home at the end of each day. The weather and the cold were no excuse not to work and visible fatigue equalled certain death.
The train tracks merge about a kilometre before the camp and come to a dead end once inside the compound. After sometimes days of travel cramped in between a hundred people without food or drink, those who survived were herded off the trains like livestock and separated: labour or sanitation; man, woman, or child. Labour meant a prolonged life but ultimately death; sanitation meant instant death; Woman or child also guaranteed fatality.

I will never forget the cold windy day I walked under the gate which read “Arbeit Macht Frei,” literally translated as “Work Brings Freedom.” This was possibly the most atrocious lie told to those who were sent to the camps. This lie is perpetuated by a 1950 Kg of Human hair shaved from the heads of children, women and men upon arrival to the camps, regardless of ultimate fate; a room full of prosthetic limbs taken for parts; another room of suitcases all neatly and ironically marked with return addresses in case of loss; the fillings from teeth taken for gold; a room of shoes: children’s, women’s, men’s, fancy, worn through, expensive and cheap; a room of cloth woven from the hair of women, and soap made with human lard.
I stopped to think about why these people came as some were not forced rather came by free will, and after asking a few people who worked on the premises they informed me that many of these people were told that they were being relocated as they were special and were being sold better land, being given better jobs, and essentially were promised a much better and easier life than that they were currently living. Rather these people were murdered by the masses by cyclone-B gas, injected with lethal poisons, shot, or simply worked and starved to death.
I saw the faces of those who were taken to the camp on the walls of the barracks in Camp 1, some were scared, some defiant, some perplexed, however one thing was common, they were all normal innocent people, like you and I. The photos were marked with the dates they arrived at the camps, and the dates they either disappeared or they date they died.
This cold misty day seemed symbolic of the feeling that one gets in this camp. The feelings are mixed from moment to moment. One is angry that such a thing could occur, is disgusted by the capacity of human cruelty and the extent to which it is expressed; one is relieved that it is over and is grateful for those lives that were liberated; empowered by the resilience of human will; happy to know that there are some who despite hardship fought for the common good and did not give up; sorry for those who did not have the strength, who died broken men and women. Sorry for those who’s last moments were dark and painful, when hope was not apparent and the future escaped through their fingertips as they watched a trigger be pulled, or a skylight close after gas was dropped through the ceiling, the last light they ever saw. The fact that these men fell from hunger in a trench they had dug in hope to be free again, to hold their loved ones, feel a kiss, see a smile, or just eat a meal again. This made me realize how much we take for granted today. How fragile freedom is, how easily it is taken.
This experience left me with questions that I still cannot answer. This experience showed me how cruel and heartless humans can be and how easily influenced we are by ideologies and mass communication. How much greed can influence an individual and how power hungry and barbaric we can be. How can one human inflict this sort of pain upon another, regardless of race, status or religion? How can one person kill another’s child? How can one watch the face of a mother’s life and blood, her child, be taken away and murdered? How can we starve another human to 25 Kg and subject them to invasive experiments? How can a man rape a woman and force her to bare his child against her will? How can a weak man break a strong one because he feels inferior? How can the rest of the world have allowed these atrocities to take place?
This camp is not just a testament to the pain the Jewish community felt, as many who were not Jewish were imprisoned and killed in Auschwitz. This is a symbol for us all to remember the fragility of human life. It is more than a graveyard, more than a world heritage site, more than just a tourist attraction. It is a reminder of what has happened, and is preserved so that we do not forget and repeat the mistakes of our ancestors. It is standing proof, a silent scream that goes on for eternity against racism, discrimination, and hatred. It tells us to know where we stand, and most importantly what we stand for, because who knows when we will have to defend our rights, the rights we take for granted. It asks us if we are willing to die for our beliefs, and to defend the beliefs of others? Would you die so someone else would live? Would you stand up for freedom?

This fight for life and freedom is a reality in parts of the world today. It is a reality being kept silent by oppressive regimes and violent organizations. Hatred continues yet we do not hear about it, maybe because we don‘t want to feel responsible and maybe because they do not want us to know. There is genocide, oppression of all sorts, and the pain and suffering continues in all corners of this world. It is our duty to help stop this and make our world a better more peaceful and free place. It is our duty to teach the children of tomorrow that racism means weakness, violence only achieves more violence, and acceptance will lead to growth. We are all citizens of this world, and participation in certain racial, religious or ethnic groups does not grant us any elitist status. We are all responsible for making this world a good place to live, and a place we should be happy to bring our children into and raise our children in. My hope is that by reading this you will do your part, pay your respects, and remember that to forget is to repeat. We are all responsible, we are capable, we are all human.
Anna



August 12, 2009 | 4:35 PM Comments  1 comments

Tags:
You must be logged in to add tags.


Comments

ChinonsoNdukwe Chinonso Ndukwe
August 12, 2009 | 4:06 PM
RESPLENDENT
This work is vehement
Anna's Profile

Anna's Friends


Latest Posts
Concentration camps...

Monthly Archive
August 2009

Change Language


Filter By Type
Topics

Friends
Charles
CHILD RESCUE MISSION CRM
Chinonso Ndukwe
Emilie O'Herne
GSimon
Lewis Best


3034 views
Important Disclaimer