I was in Germany this spring. I saw many beautiful and wonderful sites. But the one site I visited left an impact on me far above all the others.
They saw the small wild flowers growing on the ground. The last sense of beauty many would have.
The sky wasn't any less blue nor the clouds any less white than what others would see.
The portal that many would never exit through.
The inscription that would never be read righted again.
The temptation of freedom often ended on the wires carrying the current of death.
Or on the wall pockmarked by the bullets from the pistols of their executioners.
And all that is left of their earthy remains are the remnants of their ashes embedded in the bricks of the ovens.
The day I was there, it was a warm, almost balmy day. But the breeze that blew across the empty compound where once stood the wooden barracks overcrowded with the living dead, had an eerie chill. And the soft sounds of the leaves rustling in that breeze seemed to carry through time, the whispers of the souls that died there repeating over and over, "Never forget. Never again".
For those that would deny it ever happened, or even those that express their disdain by putting a Hitler mustache on the pictures of those they disagree with, they cheapen those that died there. They have never walked the ground at Dachau.
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I know this is depressing. But I just can't explain the profound impact it had on me. The crematorium was bad enough, but to see the bullet holes left in the wall.... Yes you can see the same pictures in a book, but it is something completely different to stand in the compound and see a large gray wall on 3 sides and rusting barbed wire and guard tower on the fourth.
It is depressing but we must never forget what happened there or at any of the other death camps.
Thanks for posting and welcome back Logjam.
What an impact it must have on everyone who views it personally. Chilling is the right word, Logjam.
Welcome back, you have been missed.
I teared up just reading your blog and looking at the pictures. WWII is very real to me because my parents were refugees and I heard so much about it during my childhood. I almost feel like I experienced it.
How can people do such things to other people? I'll never understand...
I have a lump in my throat and chills up and down my arms from your post. I don't think I could go there, personally. I'm with orbs, how can a human do such a thing to another human?
There is a very good movie out there.... "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas", 2008. It is well written.
imdb
What bothers me the most is when I read of the years it happened. All the while the rest of the world was living a life not knowing.
A sad reminder of what atrocities of human beings can commit to one another.
Jam-man, beautiful pictures!
I spent about 3 months in Germany, it’s an amazing country.
When you think of “time”, the United States is 200 years old, Germany has been there forever!!!
We toured a bunch of castle and you can still see where the bombs blow huge holes in them and the bullet holes all over the walls.
I stayed in a B&B and the owner has a photo album she showed to me, it has original photos of Hitler that she took! I was in awe didn’t know what to say.
I went to Dachau and I couldn't even bring myself to take pictures. I have a picture of the front gates, but nothing after that. I didn't plan my trip that way (heck, I had my camera) but it was just the way I reacted when I got inside.
I really like the pictures. It is sad about what we have to remember.
My daughter was out in Germany two years ago with school. It was with the exchange student program. She was out there for a month or two. They took her all over and she has some of the same pictures. I was surprised when I seen them on here. The family she stayed with was really nice. This program was through the college. She said it was fun out there. I was glad that the family she stayed with treated her good. They even want her to come back again.
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