Auschwitz - these are the images that are etched in my mind. Auschwitz - a place where it smells like burning flesh. The rain is only black ashes and terror. Stranded in the middle of nowhere, impossible to escape; all life hangs by a thread. But yet people still hold their heads up high and pray for hope.
When the Jewish people arrived at Auschwitz on the trains, they were nearly starved to death. They were put on a selection platform where the Nazis would select people who could work. The people who couldn't, most of them would unfortunately be sent straight to the gassing chambers. The ones that were forced to work were put under intensive labour and many died.
Now I'd like to share a little more of what I learned at Auschwitz.
Yes, Auschwitz is all of those things I mentioned before. But despite all of the death, some pople did survive and many others sacrificed themselves to save others in trouble (like St. Maximilian Kolbe). I learned in school that there were underground schools and activities. They did everything they could to maintain their humanity and identity. Everyone helped each other out when they were in need. The underground schools were a great source of educating Jewish children to learn about the world they used to live in peacefully. If they were lucky, they were taught by Jewish teachers or volunteers who were sent to Auschwitz earlier. This was the first sign of hope for this precious race to survive. These little things such as teaching and making new friends boosted their confidence and gave them hope. Any little bit of happiness was used to drive them to move on. Many poems found in Auschwitz hardly talk about how their best friend died that day or that they were whipped, or even assaulted. They wanted to keep the good memories so they could refer to them when they felt down and out. It's like the Beatles' song, "Hey Jude ... take a sad song and make it better."
In Auschwitz there were places called death walls, and it doesn't take much to know what that means - but it is a wall where Jews were lined up against and shot. Now I couldn't imagine what the people in line were thinking.
The Nazis were very cruel to the Jews. They tortured them everyday they were in the camps. The Nazis even thought of games that they thought were funny, like when the Jewish people were told to go pick weeds beside the electrical fence. They were supposed to turn off the fence but sometimes for amusement, they would turn it back on and watch them get electrocuted JUST FOR ENTERTAINMENT. It shows how crucial it is to never let this happen again.
There is a spot at Auschwitz that we visited earlier and it was probably one of the most disturbing things I have ever seen in my life. It was and still is a pool of human ashes. For the rest of the day, I couldn't stop thinking about it.
The main way the Germans killed the Jewish people was by gas chambers. They stuffed people in this cramped, air-tight room and poured toxic gas on top of them. I though this was probably one of the most horrific ways to die (choking to death). And yet, the Germans got the protection of wearing a gas mask. The bodies were burned in a large crematorium. They killed thousands of Jews this way everyday.
Before the war was over and Germany was about to fall, Hitler ordered his men to get rid of any evidence of what was going on in the death camps. All must be destroyed so all the crematoria and gas chambers were taken out. The only gas chamber that survived was used as a military bunker for the Germans.
Now when I hear Jewish jokes coming out of my friends' and random peoples' mouths, I just don't get why and what is so funny about them. Is it because you just don't like them or is it that you're afraid THAT THEY ARE PEOPLE JUST LIKE US?! They deserve to be treated equally and not unjusly. Think about the things you hear today before you try to be funny. Never say or do anything against another person.
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