Facing History 2007

Nuremberg Stadium was a very important place to the Nazis during the Holocaust in Germany. This is where many families would line up in advance to get great seats to hear party leaders speak. After the bleachers filled up they would even sit people in the field right in the middle of the stadium. Hitler wasn’t the only person who spoke there; many others spoke there and were almost as famous. We saw the exact door that Hilter would enter through to give speeches and the balcony where he made many promises to his people. This is also the stadium where the Nazis formed a moving swastika, where every little piece was formed by moving men. The men held torches and formed the shape of a swastika as it rotated to the German national anthem. The stadium is a very beautiful place that people still go to today, although it is currently being used as a park.

The Zeppelin Field and stadium was a place where people gathered to celebrate the Nazis. While we were sitting down in the stadium Mr. Malanga asked us how could something like this happen in a place where people were so good. There is good and evil in everyone. Most of the Nazis volunteered for what they did. When you put someone in certain situations they will react and become violent. No matter how good people are when they are consistently being fed negative thoughts about a certain group of people they will start to believe them. I’m not trying to justify what the Nazis did, however they were able to take advantage of the difficult situation the Germans were in. The German people were in search of hope. Unfortunately this hope came from Hitler who promised to turn Germany back into the beautiful rich country that they once were. It’s amazing what a group of people is capable of doing once they put their mind to it. Too bad in this situation it had to be something tragic instead of positive.

Today we went to The Nuremberg Parade Grounds, the place where Hitler held his rallies and delivered speeches to his Nazi followers. Prior to this visit, we’ve only seen this place in the movies we viewed in class. These grounds are where millions of German people gathered to hear what Hitler had to say and what he promised for Germany’s future. The size of the place is significant because it shows how many people listened and cared about what Hitler had to say. It proves that people in Germany would have done anything to get themselves out of poverty. When I walked to the exact location where Hitler spoke, I found writing on the wall proving that the people of today are well aware of this location’s history. For example, I saw the phrase “NO MORE!!” with a swastika crossed out and words like “PEACE.” While standing on the grounds, I tried to imagine how this place might have looked with all of the people and how it might have sounded with all of the cheering. Everyone was yelling for the leader who was willing to help them as long as they were willing to do something for him in return. It was an amazing experience to be there because this was the start of the Holocaust and the actions that led to World War II. Visiting Nuremberg was a powerful way to end our trip and sitting in the stands of the stadium gave us a chance to reflect on all that we have learned.

Today we went on a tour around Berlin. There were so many interesting things that I learned about, but one of the things that caught my attention was the Jewish Holocaust Memorial. The memorial structure is made up of different sized blocks which are made out of a smooth cement. The blocks are of different heights and are staggered in what looks like endless rows and columns. The memorial is in the center of Berlin. We were told they were placed there because everyone goes through that part of the city, so there’s no way anyone can miss it! When I first saw the memorial, I thought that it looked like some sort of maze. I thought that the placement of the large blocks looked the way buildings are arranged in a city with their many different sizes. We discussed the possible meanings of the memorial, which helped me to have a deeper understanding of the cement blocks. I felt that this was one of the ways that people could celebrate the lives of the Jewish people lost in the Holocaust, since there was little else, other than piles of ashes, to represent who they once were.

An additional highlight of the tour for me was visiting a memorial dedicated to the Nazi book burning. Buried deep in the ground, covered by only a a window set into the pavement, was a library room. Inside, on each of the walls, were empty bookshelves from floor to ceiling. Those empty bookshelves show the public how much space the books burned by the Nazis could have filled. It was so simple: just a white room lined with bookshelves with no signs or explanations as to what it was. Its simplicity was so effective because it made me think in a different way about a memorial. It made me realize how the way things can be remembered doesn’t always have to be a big flashy monument in the middle of a city square. Across from that same memorial, they were having a book sale. It’s an ironic turn of events because those same things that they tried to burn, those very same words, were being sold right across the street almost 70 years later.

After touring Berlin, it is clear that Hitler left an awful legacy behind for the city of Berlin. First, the fighting that happened during World War II destroyed ninety percent of the city. After the war, the city was split in half, with half given to the Russian communists. Under the communist regime, not enough profits were made to rebuild the city. To this day, Germany’s capitol is still rebuilding itself from the aftermath of the war. The communist government tried to erase Hitler’s memory by destroying most of the buildings built by the Nazis. All that remains today is Hitler’s bunker that still exists below the city but has been sealed to visitors, showing the German people’s discomfort with Hitler’s legacy. Hitler himself realized the anger the world might feel towards him after the war by taking his own life and having his body burned so Allied forces could not desecrate his remains. Though Hitler’s actions left a trail of devastation across other nations and his own country, the state of Berlin today - as it rebuilds itself as an unified, free city - shows that hope can survive, even in the darkest of times.

Walking into the Warszawskiego Museum and examining the different displays, one is forced to go back in time and try to relive the atrocities brought on through World War II. Serving as a witness to the pictures, videos, letters and documents helps to make us more aware of the impact the war had on everyone involved. For instance, during the war the people in Warsaw were trying their hardest to remain resistant; some were successful while others were not. Hitler, however, managed to capture those who were in the printing press secretly printing and distributing instructions for resistance. The handling of the bodies of the resistance fighters and the way the people were treated was similar to the way the people were handled in the concentration camps. The diseases, famine and the lack of a proper burial along with the careless ways of treating someone in their last moments of their life were all part of their actions. The way the bodies were piled seemed so unreal because it is preposterous to think that a human being is capable of doing this to his own kind. Seeing these bodies and connecting them to the belongings seen in Dachau, Auschwitz and Majdanek really makes this set in our minds that ignorance is a serious matter that can turn into crimes against humanity. The piles of hair, ashes, and other things are a part of the reality we saw. To think that there are still people who feel the way the Nazis did is shameful. All I have to say and feel is sympathy for they carry a simple and ignorant mind.

In this museum we were learning about the Warsaw Uprising. The museum was designed to truly engage visitors and make them feel like they’ve traveled back in time. It had many vivid displays and artifacts from when the people in Warsaw began to fight back against the Germans. One aspect of the museum that I found most interesting was the information on the women and their roles in Warsaw. Many of the women were nurses who risked their lives to help the Polish resistance. In just one day 40,000 people were killed. Many of the victims were women that worked in Hospitals and clinics. This was called the Bombing of Wola. When you hear about war you never really think of women dying in the line of fighting. This shows how dangerous the uprising was for the Poles and devastating the war was for everyone.

The museum was filled with cool looking exhibits with videos, pictures, models, and original documents of the time period. While there were many positive displays, the thing that stuck with me the most is a negative thing. We learned that the Russians were prepared outside of Warsaw by the water in hope that just their presence alone would make the Germans back down. Their plan was to make the Germans and the Polish go against each other since they wanted to make Poland a communist country. In reality, Stalin did this for a chance to say at least they tried to do something. As a result, the stronger German army crushed the resistance fighters. I really thought the exhibits were cool and I like the way they set them up.

Today we went on a scavenger hunt around the town of Lublin. Our objective was to seek out signs of Jewish life. Many Jewish people used to live in the city prior to the war. Once the SS Guards moved the Jewish people out, they didn’t have any existence in the city anymore. Only a synagogue was left after the war. A Jewish heritage trail was formed to explain that there was once Jewish life in this small town. There were plaques that explained what some of the buildings were, and what life was like here. There was a plaque that explained how a building was a shelter for the aged and the disabled. Another was a school for Jewish children during the Nazi takeover. The castle was used as a storage facility by the Nazis for the Jews who were waiting to be sent to concentration camps. It was hard for us to find evidence of any Jewish life. It made us understand that Lublin was at least trying preserve the Jewish heritage after the negative effects of the war, even though there was almost nothing left today.

After our scavenger hunt, we visited the concentration camp in Lublin called Majdanek. Even though it´s the second biggest concentration camp built it looked like the biggest. I think it only looked big becasue it had a lot of open space. This camp was all in one; execution, P.O.W, and labor. We walked around as usual at our own pace and explored the camp. The building that caught my attention the most was where all the shoes of the prisoners were stored. That caught my eye because it was rows and rows of cages full of shoes. These shoes all once belonged to people, yet for 65 years they’ve done nothing but gather dust. To imagine that people were brought to an unknown place and stripped of everything; rights, clothes, jewelry, and family, is a very difficult thing to do.

As you complete the terrible trail of Majdanek you see the ashes of all the victims of the concentration camp. They are contained in a giant concrete dome at the back of the camp. The ashes were a turning point for me, I came face to face with the people who suffered and died. Seeing the ashes of people who never did anything to the Nazis was horrible. It made me think of the camp in a deeper way, because what if I was one of them? It could have happened to any people or race. 78,000 people died at Majdanek because of hate, and while the hate is always with us we can show love by going to a camp and knowing that we can prevent it from happening again. As difficult as it was to see the camp, I know that it is important and I am glad that I was able to be here today.

Auschwitz has impacted me for the rest of my life and it has made me appreciate everything that I have back home much more. Seeing what the people in this camp went through is powerful and it is something that should never be forgotten. As I was walking through the camp one of the first things that caught my attention was all of the belongings of the prisoners that were kept by the SS. Any belongings that the prisoners would bring with them would be taken away as they were getting off the trains. They would take the prisoners’ possessions and later look through them for any valuable things. The prisoners were not allowed to keep anything, not even their hair. As I walked through one of the exhibits they had a display window with human hair covering the floor and stretching back at least ten feet. Within all of this mass of old gray hair was one strand of red hair that stood out to me. This hair was meant to be used to create rugs, clothes, and wigs. Hair was not the only thing collected as they also collected the shoes, pots, hair brushes, and combs. These belongings were taken away regardless of whether or not the Nazis had a particular use for them.

The people in the camps were killed for what they believed in and who they were. Families were separated right after they got off the train never to see each other again. The SS punished people who didn’t do anything wrong by sometimes sentencing them to death. They issued 200 to 300 needless death sentences in an average three minute time period. One of the most devastating moments during my visit was seeing the ash lake of the thousands of men, women and children whose bodies were burned in the crematorium. The ashes were dumped into a lake next to the crematorium only because the Nazis needed somewhere to put them. Even though they are dead, their spirits are still alive in that lake. Yesterday, family and friends of victims and survivors reunited at Auschwitz to preserve the memorial at this camp that includes the lake of ashes. Through this celebration the spirit and memory of the victims lives on.

When I walked through the gates of Auschwitz I got a chill up my spine knowing that I was walking through the same gates that many victims of the Holocaust once passed through. They saw the same sign that said “Arbeit Macht Frei,” or work makes you free, and they thought that hard work would actually set them free. When I crossed the railroad path I realized that this is where the trains actually stopped and family members were separated. It was upsetting to see pictures of the children and to hear stories about how poorly they were treated. These innocent children had almost no chance of survival and some did not even make it one month because of the horrible conditions in the camp. I will always remember the small monument of a mother and child that stood in Auschwitz because it showed me that even though the mother was beaten and starving she was protecting her child. This proves that even though all those bad things happened in the camp families still had the capacity to put their loved ones first.

Today we went to a Museum which focused on the life of the Jewish people before the Holocaust. A lot of times we tend to only focus on the negative tragic 6 years that the Jews endured during the Holocaust instead of the 800 years of peaceful coexistence they had with non Jews. Before the Holocaust there were many synagogues and shops that the Jews had invested their money in. However during the Holocaust these beautiful businesses were destroyed. Yet some of these were reconstructed after the Holocaust. It was a hard decision for the Polish people to decide what to do with the left over shops and synagogues. Although some were restored others were turned into furniture stores where no sign of Jewish existence was recognized. There happened to be some Jewish people buried on a farmers land so to show his respect each year he grows his crops around the area. It’s good to know that people show remorse and respect because when we do this we will never forget. “Perhaps one cannot, what is more one must not, understand what happened, because to understand is almost to justify.” This is a quote from a man named Primo Levi. We understand what happened during the Holocaust but many people don’t understand or tend to focus on the rich life that Jewish people had before the Holocaust. These people lived good lives and after the Holocaust, even though many people lost their lives, the surviving Jewish people began to put their lives back together and not let the generation to come forget what happened to them and their ancestors.

We went on a tour of Krakow today and found out about a couple of things around the city. We learned about these towers that were in the middle of the square, that while they were being built, the two brothers building it had a competition. The oldest brother was building slower than the youngest, which got him really mad and insane enough to kill him. The youngest brother’s tower was not finished, so the oldest brother made his tower higher, which was used as a watch tower, and finished his brother’s as the smallest tower. That tower now has bells, and it is known that years ago at every hour, there used to be a music player outside, but someone had killed him as well, so now they ring the bell at every hour of the day. We also learned about King Kazimierz and the Jewish side of Krakow which is now named after him. Before he came to power, the Jews were not allowed to live in the city. Thanks to him, the Jewish people got equal rights and protections, if only for a few centuries.

Stephen Spielberg created Shindler’s List to open many eyes to the horrors of the Holocaust. Some people don’t realize that the Jewish ghetto that is seen in the movies is not accurate. The place shown in the film is actually the Jewish quarter, Kazimierz. He felt that the actual Jewish ghetto wouldn’t fit into the movie so he chose the Jewish quarter instead. This inaccuracy has its advantages and disadvantages. An advantage is that there are a lot of tourists that visit the Jewish quarters today. This brings lots of businesses, allowing locals to take better care of the area; before this area was occupied by homeless people and prostitutes. This betters the community of Krakow as well as the Jewish community. The disadvantage is that this part of the movies scenery is false and misleads watchers to believe that area was the Jewish ghetto. Watchers need to envision how it happened and not have distorted images. This makes some in the Jewish community angry because people have the right to know the truth.

Imagining what came to the more than 3,025,000 Jews living in Poland is terrible. Poland had been home to many Jews who fled from other countries. This is not to mean that the Polish people were very kind to the Jews. When the Poles suffered, the Jews suffered more. The Jewish culture goes back 800 years and this long history in Poland would soon be destroyed. In Germany, Hitler came to power in 1933 and hate came to Germany. The hate was to the Jews and others, but Jews were number one on their list to exterminate. On September 1, 1939 Poland was invaded and for six years, 3,000,000 Jews would die. This stays with me because they did not know what was to come. This was death not to a country, but to a race and a culture.

In History class we read the book called I Promised I Would Tell by Sonia Weitz. It told the story of her life during the war and how she survived the concentration camps. Having her family taken away from her was devestating. A chapter in the book that really stood out to me was when she arrived at Auschwitz. She explains how people had to have their heads shaved and numbers tattooed into their skin. However, she managed to escape this phase of the concentration camp. At the time the S.S. were moving closer to Auschwitz and they wanted to move all of the prisoners. Only the strong would be able to survive the march. At one point during the death march she just wanted to give up, but her sister wouldn’t let that happen. She was starving at this point and was only able to eat the snow that was on the ground. She finally arrived to a place where the USA were liberating the camp and she was saved. Many people died during the death march but she was a survivor. Out of 84 family members, only she and her sister survived.

Today on such a beautiful day we visited Sonia’s Tree. It is “her tree” because when she was a little girl her father planted a tree for her and her siblings before they had been brought into the concentration camp. The experience of walking into an area and having goosebumps… was weird. This feeling I had was unbelievable because I could actually see Sonia and her family being pulled out of their homes and walked out into a mist, a mist of mystery. I felt scared, paralyzed, and cold. Scared because I didn’t know where I was, paralyzed because I was standing in the presence of an aged tree, and cold because I was imagining all the mixed emotions that these innocent people felt.

Today was day four of our 12 day excursion through Eastern Europe. We began our day with a four hour walking tour of the amazing city of Prague in the Czech Republic. We saw many different parts of the city and learned a lot about the background of the people. The city has so much to offer - it is easy to see why 6 million people visit this place each year. Prague sits upon seven hills so there is always an opportunity to catch a breathtaking view of the city below. The architecture of Prague is incredible because it has so many different styles. I especially like the gothic and medieval style of the churches. It was interesting to learn that many buildings are covered in a facade that was originally made to look like more expensive materials were used. For example, a facade was used to create a marble appearance and because the paint was chipping off, the layers of paint underneath can be seen. We spent a lot of time learning about the government of Prague and visiting areas where these important people live and work.

One interesting part of the tour was the transition from Castle town to Small town. Both towns are very representative of the government, which makes both towns very safe and reserved. The towns are very unique because they were not bombed during World War II. Unlike Germany, Prague is very well preserved. If one were to compare pictures of Prague two hundred years ago to today, much of it would still look the same. The different parts of the city are unique in their own way. Small Town is very beautiful, with sights that resemble Venice. The architecture of Small Town is very intricate in its details. Most of this architectural detail was manually carved. Walking through the cobblestone streets, looking over the river flowing peacefully below, and breathing in the fresh air, we started to realize so many things about what this world has a lot to offer.

In the Jewish quarter, the Jewish people hated the lifestyle they were forced to live. The way they decided to get out of this way of living was to demolish the quarter themselves. As a result, there are no more Jewish ghettos in Prague. In 1938, at the beginning of the Holocaust, 125,000 Jews were sent to the concentration camps. 80,000 out of the 125,000 died. Because of this, today only 1,200 Jews are now registered in Prague. While there are more Jews in the city, they choose not to register as religious because that is how they were found by the Nazis. The oldest Jewish synagogue in the world is in Prague which was built in the 1300s. Close to the Jewish quarter is the most expensive (in living and cost) street in Prague. A small apartment of about 300 square feet costs half a million dollars! Near this area is the Old Town Square which stands in the middle of Prague. Our tour ended when we got to see the Astronomical Clock in the square entertain thousands of tourists with its golden rooster that has announced the new hour for centuries.

This was our third day on our amazing journey. We departed from the Wombat Hostel in Munich at 8:00 am and embarked on our road trip through the Bavarian countryside to visit Neuschwanstein Castle, King Ludwig II’s castle. This castle served as the inspiration for Walt Disney’s castle. The scenery on the way to the castle was very beautiful. As we were on the bus, we could see the green Bavarian plains and forests. We also had an amazing view of the Alps. This was something that we have never seen before or experienced. The scenery was so peaceful it made you feel so serene and relaxed. It was also very big and took 17 years to build but it is unfinished due to the King’s death at the young age of 40. Shortly after that it was turned into a museum. When inside, our eyes glistened with awe because of the beauty that stood before us. All the paintings and the floors were beautifully painted in detailed patterns. Decorations were all so elegant and heavenly.

Each room was decorated differently using different materials and colors. His favorite animal was the swan. Each room had swans and different styles. I fell in love with the castle because it was very big and had so many beautiful paintings on the walls. After the castle, we were on our way to Prague in the Czech Republic. When we arrived, we learned a lot about the country’s history dating back to centuries before World War II. It is amazing what the people in this city and country have gone through over the course of their history.

Prague is a city that has gone through much strife dating back right centuries before World War II, which included their allies such as Great Britain betraying them. Adolf Hitler conducted a massive campaign behind the regulations of the Treaty of Versailles by developing Germany into a war machine. In the process of achieving this goal was invading what is now known as the Czech Republic, the country which the city Prague is the capitol. In 1938 Hitler was granted the permission to occupy Czechoslovakia by the Munich Agreement. Great Brittan failed to support Czechoslovakia at that time. Then that backfired when Hitler invaded Poland in 1939, officially starting World War II. From there, Russian forces took Czechoslovakia beating the United States and Great Britain to the punch. Later Czechoslovakia through protest and debates won their independence from the Soviet Union. From this stand point I don’t understand how Czechoslovakia could trust anyone after being treated so poorly by allies in the past. But currently they are allied with the US and that may not be the sweetest of blends, but it could be a positive decision. If the United States learns from previous mistakes of neglecting allies in the past they could forge a strong friendship.

Today we went to a concentration camp at Dachau. It was very interesting because we learned so much about the people that suffered throughout the time they were there. They stayed in small barracks with five people into one bed. Words can’t describe the suffering they went through, you have to see it for yourself. Only the strongest could climb to the top bunk and these people were so cramped up and weak that they stayed in their place and urinated which spread diseases. At the concentration camp about 200,000 people were brought there but the camp was big enough to only fit 30,000. When the SS fled they took 67,000 men before the camp was raided by the Americans and the people were all killed except for 60. This is disappointing to me because the SS men lied to the Red Cross saying that they only took in political prisoners like communists and socialists, but instead they took in political prisoners, gypsies, homosexuals and priests. Every time the Red Cross came by they would hide the torture devices and they would hang up different countries’ flags to play it off. This is sad because no one deserved this and it is disappointing that it took the world so long to do something about it.

I was particularly shocked to learn the reasons behind different punishments given to the prisoners. Showing any form of disrespect to the officers was a major offense. For example, the prisoners could be punished for looking at the SS officers in the eyes. The punishments that they would receive were awful. One form of punishment was being whipped with a wooden trestle bullwhip. The prisoners would have to count out loud how many times they were being hit. If they would pass out from the pain the officers would revive them and start the beating again from the beginning. Another form of punishment was being hung through their hands. They would be tied to the poles and left there for hours. Many of these prisoners died and few survived. What I realized was that the prisoners were being punished for being human. This also makes me realiaze that making eye contact with another human being is within our nature. I also noticed how much I complain, but when I stop and think about everything the prisoners went through it makes me appreciate life more.

When I found out that I would be going to go to Dachau, I thought it would be like another history lesson where the teacher talks and we listen. When I got to the camp, it was completely different. We got the chance to hear our teacher’s words, but we also could walk around on our own and have our own reaction to what we saw, not just what our teacher saw or wanted us to see. Today was an emotional event. In the past, I felt for the prisoners and thought I knew what they went through, but actually I had no idea. The feeling I got when I walked through the halls of Dachau was the worst feeling I could imagine. Although by being there, I was not living the experience, I got this feeling in my heart that I never felt before when reading a book or listening to a lecture. Being there helped me feel a human connection to the prisoners. In a way, we are all somehow bonded together spiritually. You cannot walk those halls and not feel your heart get this deep hole in it when you know the atrocities and suffering that took place there. Visiting Dachau was a life changing experience for me. First, I realized that students should not just learn about history by reading books and sitting in a classroom. After this trip, I would like to keep on learning through more direct experiences like this. In addition, I realized that learning about history should be an active experience, so that we do not repeat the mistakes of history. After this, I would like to share my experiences with others so that I can open their eyes and encourage them to go out and experience history.