Travel date: May 1, 2024
Today is May Day in Europe. Basically, Europe is closed. I think we are celebrating summer equinox and worker’s rights. All the towns put up a huge maypole, and then there is dancing and day drinking.
We had a different May Day experience – spent the day at the Mauthausen Concentration Camp Memorial.
Given the opportunity, everyone should visit a concentration camp once in their lifetime. It’s important. “For the dead and the living, we must bear witness.” ~ Elie Wiesel.
But once you’ve seen a concentration camp, you don’t ever need to see another one. This is my third concentration camp visit, which is two too many.
We came to pay our respects to Haydee’s grandfather, Max, who was interned here from 1943 to 1945. These priceless family photos (posted w permission) were taken on May 5, 1945 – the day the camp was liberated by the US Army. Haydee believes the photos were taken by American soldiers.
Standing in the same spot on which Haydee’s grandfather stood on liberation day was surreal. Words fail me. Just, chills.
Tried to find the crematorium where the other photo was taken, but we believe it must have been destroyed. The ovens in that photo are in the Holocaust Museum in DC.
I don’t believe in ghosts, but I do believe in the weight of a place. And this is the heaviest of places. It’s extremely loud, emotionally. You can’t find the words to speak – you can only absorb the weight of it all.
Felt like we all did a lot of heavy sighing today.
Took a walk to the infamous Stairs of Death. You are not allowed to climb the stairs today (I was secretly relieved). There are 186 steps, up which groups of prisoners were forced to carry heavy, granite stones. If you made it to the top, you got to do it again. If you didn’t make it, you got shot.
Also saw the particularly sadistic Parachutists Wall. The Nazis would force prisoners to stand in a line at the edge of the cliff. And then they were told to push their neighbor off, or be shot.
One of the prisoner quotes I read today: “If there is a God, he will have to beg for my forgiveness.”
It’s been a difficult, emotional day. We all need dinner and a drink. Or seven.
yep. We’ve been there, too, with the same teenagers. They were quiet. One concentration camp is definitely enough for me. Although I went to the holocaust museum. No words.
They are heavy, heavy places. We live outside of DC, so I’ve also been to the Holocaust Museum. Once.
It’s always difficult to visit these memorials and yet, it’s so important to do so. Maggie
I was a small child in the Black Forest region of Germany during the last year of WWII – an Estonian refugee from Communism waiting for the war to end. Totally honestly – when the stories of concentration camps emerged after the war the average German knew absolutely nothing about them – could not believe what had happened. I have not been myself but seen all the films and read all the horror stories . . . ones now repeated elsewhere in the world. No, one should not forget . . .
That’s fascinating. I have often wondered what the real numbers were on Germans who knew or suspected, and those who didn’t know at all.
We lived in an apartment above an ‘everyday’ Mom with four small kids and the husband a sergeant in the army – when he was demobilized and ‘stories’ began emerging, there were a lot of whispers with friends in the garden, shaking of heads and tears. To be honest, Jewish folk were oft not particularly ‘liked’ but no one wanted such ‘national shame’. Later on, living in SW Germany another three years in US refugee camps my parents had a lot of local German friends ALL of whom felt ‘uncomfortable’ talking about emerging matters – ‘man’s inhumanity to man’ kind’of’thing! How sincere I cannot say – was too little . . . !!!
That is fascinating! Thank you for sharing. I’ve heard similar stories, especially about the difficulty talking about events in hindsight.
I’ve visited the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC but not any of the actual camps. I’m not sure I could. Pure evil. Sadly, human cruelty is still part of our world.
The Holocaust Museum is a difficult visit. I’ve been once – don’t need/want to go again. And I’m glad I’ve seen the camp(s), but it’s such a heavy experience. A necessary one, but heavy.
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