A beautiful town square bustling with life - locals and tourists alike. And, oh! The gelato! Delicious! A bit interesting to try and order and get along in different languages, but so wonderful that two people from other sides of the world and different languages can communicate and get along through facial expressions and hand gestures.
It really is a beautiful life, despite what we saw this morning at Majdanek.
I can't classify either camp - from today or Auschwitz - as harder than the other. I can, however, say that both were hard to visit.
Majdanek, which was surprisingly close to the city of Lublin (with houses literally on the other side of the fence), was intended to be larger than Birkneau, although this plan was not carried through.
The monument, a Soviet construct, towered over the site, similar to the one we saw at Plashov yesterday. Although not on the same scale as the Vimy Memorial, it's prominence over the surrounding area was a beautiful and powerful commemoration.
The camp site itself had several barracks open with exhibits. The first, I was not prepared for. A shower area and gas chambers, which was all too fresh as Pinchas had just told us his story and how his experiences at Majdanek and their effects on his life, even today.
Exhibits included the gas chamber viewing, an exhibit of 20,000 pairs of shoes and basic information and displays of belongings. The shoe exhibit was really hard to see. I took comfort, if that be the correct word, in standing at the back of the exhibit in the dark. Taking in the smell of the hot leather and trying to imagine the pile on the train station concrete - the train smells and sounds, the smell of the guns, the shots, and the shoes. Unbelievable. I enjoyed using my other senses in this; being able to touch the shoes. Who did they belong to? Where were they bought? Did they fit properly? Why did you wear those particular shoes?
Jeffrey, program director of the Canadian Centre for Diversity, said the trip will be successful if we come away with more questions. In my case, the trip has been very successful. And I always will have questions.
The hardest part of the trip thus far, however, I think, was going into the crematorium. It loomed over the Majdanek landscape so all "inmates" were aware of their fate, and I can only imagine having that weight on your shoulders and looming so close behind you.
After visiting the crematorium, the tears continued to flow. Visiting the largest monument I've ever seen which holds 70tonnes of victim's ashes in it's centre (which we could see) really made the Holocaust seem so real, become true to me.
Michael, our educator, said one body would make roughly 2 cups of ash. I can't imagine the number of bodies at this site, then, and that's not everyone. By a long shot.
I felt such a presence, such a powerful emotion inside me as we stood here and sang Jewish prayers, read testimonies by those who did not survive and wept together. Lighting candles in memory and holding hands and sharing hugs...I could never have imagined to feel this way. I still haven't eaten my lunch. I feel sick.
The Holocaust was sick.
The world is sick, but I have the cure: love.
Disclaimer: iPod adapter fried from outlet adapter. Will steal from others so I can keep blogging. I hope.
Peace, and love.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone, from Poland.
Location:Lublin/Majdanek, Poland
No comments:
Post a Comment