Today, January 27, 2012, is International Holocaust Remembrance Day designated by the United Nations in 2005. It marks the 67th anniversary of the liberation of the largest World War II Nazi Death Camps at Auschwitz - Birkeneau in Poland on January 27, 1945 by the Allied Forces.. It was marked by solemn ceremonies all over Europe. Despite the -15 Celsius weather many people especially the aged Holocaust survivors once again passed under the wrought iron arch entrance to the Auschwitz camp with its " Arbeit Macht Frei " inscription which translates to "Work Sets You Free."
The word. "Holocaust" comes from Greek "halos" meaning "whole" and "kaustos" meaning "burnt." True enough, the main aspect that characterized Auschwitz and Birkeneau, concentration camps both located in Poland, was the "crematorium" in which thousands, nay, millions of human beings were led to gas chambers and later burned in incinerators. It gives me the creeps to think that many companies competed to get the contract from Adolf Hitler for the construction of such death devices. Never in the history of the world had there been camps with the expressed purpose to systematically exterminate a people en masse! Historians record that 11 to 12 million people met death at Auschwitz and Birkeneau and six (6) million of them were Jews. Leon Greeman, an Englishman, Auschwitz survivor wrote, "Young and old must learn about the Holocaust as a warning against the dangers of racism. We must never forget!"
I cannot help but remember my visit to Auschwitz- Birkeneau Concentration Camps in 2000. It was an experience I can never forget throughout my life! Walking on the very grounds that claimed millions of lives because of the despotic, insatiable hatred of a people that burned within the heart of one dictator, Hitler, made my heart "bleed."
My heart bled for the soldiers, men and women, priests and religious and ordinary civilians - whose dreams for success in their unique field of endeavor never found the time and space to blossom and flourish. What happened to the planned wedding of a dashing young man and his soon-to-be blushing young bride? Who will take care of the "flock" in a remote village in the hills whose Lord's Day is spent in studying the Word of God? How will a young mother of two little ones live the lonely life of a widow and eke out a living to nourish, clothe and educate the children?When can an elderly once again enjoy the quiet afternoon bliss the sunset brings to a couple sitting leisurely in their cottage porch?
My heart was crestfallen for the thousands, nay, tens of thousands of people, especially babies and children who lost their innocent lives in the modern-day barbaric gas chambers of Auschwitz. I walked almost in a daze across the huge rooms with showerheads lined against the walls. I imagined the victims stark naked having been duped into believing that they were to take a shower. Based on TV documentaries and the book, "Night" by Elie Weizel which earned him a Nobel Peace Prize, I recalled that the Jews and other prisoners of war were brought in to Auschwitz by train. They were questioned, inspected and made to go either to the Right or Left. People assigned to the Right were given the right to live - to work in the multifarious activities in camp. Those directed to the Left were the ones destined to the gas chambers for their "bath." Stark naked, they had their "shower" of gas which led to their eventual death. The mental image of naked bodies exhibiting different expressions of anguish in their faces and human anatomy heaped one over the other in various configurations made me take giant strides towards the exit doors. I took several deep breaths outside. The fresh air was a big relief! - I felt relieved from the stiff suffocation I felt inside the chambers- caused more by the memory of what happened there than the physical attributes of the place.
Auschwitz is now a museum to preserve the memory of the Holocaust so that future generations may see it, remember "man's inhumanity to man" and resolve never to let it happen again.
The museum has one original "crematorium" open for the public. A fewwheelbarrows used to dump dead bodies in, lined the walls while railroad -like tracks from the outside ran its course towards the incinerator which was not so huge as I thought. One wheelbarrow stood poised as if dumping its contents in the not-so-big almost square, rectangular opening. I looked at it and the hair at the back of my neck stood up while a cold shiver ran down my spine! I felt goose bumps creep through my arms. While I somehow succeeded in holding back most of my tears at the gas chamber, I could not restrain them from falling unabashedly before the incinerator. I thought of man as the image and likeness of God - the Supreme Being- and then, here in this steel contraption being shoved off unceremoniously like a pile of dry, discarded leaves from the streets. It was a heart-rending moment! Just then, I thought of Mother Teresa who made it her mission to gather the destitute, very sick and dying people in the streets of Calcutta. She cared for them and tried avery means to give them a decent death. What a chasm of a contrast there is between Adolf Hitler and Mother Teresa!
So many rows of barracks lie within the concentration camp of Auschwitz. In between two barracks lay a wider space where the "Death Wall "stood. Hundreds of prisoners were brutally murdered as they stood against the infamous wall. At the time of my visit, there were a few flickering votive candles and a sprinkle of bouquets of flowers in line. I was completely overwhelmed with sadness and pity for the victims whose blood inundated the ground - the " hallowed ground. " It was impossible for anyone who had some compassion in their hearts not to shed tears. I think there was no eye that was dry among the visitors with me. More uncontrollable tears fell as we visited the huge glass-walled rooms with all sorts of baby things, layettes, blankets, booties, rattle, tiny spoons, forks, etc. With them were toddlers' garments and toys, coloring books, shoes and many more. They belonged to the babies who were roughly wrenched from their mothers' arms, children and elderly people who were assigned to the "Left" when they arrived in the camp. There were rooms designated for men's clothing shoes and the like and rooms for women's clothes and other paraphernalia including cosmetics and lotions. One room was a depository of suitcases, duffel bags and everything associated with travel. I learned that all the things were periodically sent to Germany to be reused or recycled. The pile in each room was so immense that only about two feet from the ceiling was air space. The flow of visitors with tear-filled eyes and solemn mien was nerve-wrecking to behold! Truly, the Holocaust should be remembered by the international community so as to instill in every generation that such cataclysmic horror brought about by hatred and greed should never be allowed to happen again!
Like many of the visitors, I walked inside the barrcks where inmates stayed mostly for the night since during the day they were off to different assignments including that of digging common graves for the hundreds of dead bodies which the incinerators could not accomodate. I imagined the detainees lining up for their usual daily ration of a piece of often stale bread and a bowl of plain soup in the evening. I remembered the words of Viktor Frankel, Auschwitz survivor, who said that even in the most horrible of situations as in those of Auschwitz, man had still the capacity to exercise one' s free will ( the free will given by God to everyone ) whether to give their sole ration to a dying person or not. He added that at their direst need, he witnessed some men do the highest form of charity to their fellowmen. How true are the words of a sage, "There is nothing so evil that something good cannot come out from it."
Viktor Frankl recorded his experiences in Auschwitz in his book, "Man's Search for Meaning," which according to the Library of Congress is to this day listed as one of the ten most influential books in America. At the time of the author's death in 1997, 10 million copies had been sold in 24 languages. He said,"The meaning of life is found in every moment of life. Life never ceases to have meaning even in the face of severe suffering - torture, hunger, abandonment, etc.- and death." He related so vividly the many instances in the camp which led him to say," I saw the truth as it is set into song by many poets and the wisdom of many thinkers which is that LOVE is the ultimate and highest goal to which man can aspire. The salvation of man is "through" Love and "in" Love!" He concluded the sparks of wisdom Auschwitz experience taught him by,"As time passed on, the prisoner's experience in the concentration camp finally becomes nothing but a remembered nightmare. what is more, he knows he has nothing to fear anymore, except his GOD!"
The saga of Fr. Maximillian Kolbe, a Polish Catholic priest, imprisoned and who offered to take the place of a condemned family man , illustrated so clearly his great love as to die for the sake of a friend. Since a man from his barracks was found missing at roll call, ten (10) men were chosen to die. A man who had children pleaded for his life and when his appeal was denied, Fr. Kolbe offered to take his place. So the ten were taken to a small underground "starvation bunker." After the end of the third week, only four (4) were still alive including the priest. Since the Nazis needed the room, they injected them with carbolic acid. Fr. Maximillan Kolbe exemplified the penultimate level of love as proclaimed in the Word of God, "...to die for the sake of a friend." Since he also worked tremendously for the propagation of the faith and founded the "Militae Immaculatae" (Knights of the Immaculata), Fr. Maximillian Kolbe was canonized on October 10, 1982 and is now called the " Martyr of Charity" or "Saint of Auschwitz." Seeing the starvation bunker where Fr. Kolbe died indeed gave me the awesome veneration of an Apostle of Christ!
I must confess that I had wanted to write about my visit to Auschwitz many years back. But I felt I would not be able to adequately articulate my feelings there. Words to clearly depict the things I witnessed were and still are, not within my grasp. Moreover, the emotions that overwhelmed me then would come rushing back as to haunt me like the shock of witnessing the tragedy of "man's inhumanity to man!"
.
The word. "Holocaust" comes from Greek "halos" meaning "whole" and "kaustos" meaning "burnt." True enough, the main aspect that characterized Auschwitz and Birkeneau, concentration camps both located in Poland, was the "crematorium" in which thousands, nay, millions of human beings were led to gas chambers and later burned in incinerators. It gives me the creeps to think that many companies competed to get the contract from Adolf Hitler for the construction of such death devices. Never in the history of the world had there been camps with the expressed purpose to systematically exterminate a people en masse! Historians record that 11 to 12 million people met death at Auschwitz and Birkeneau and six (6) million of them were Jews. Leon Greeman, an Englishman, Auschwitz survivor wrote, "Young and old must learn about the Holocaust as a warning against the dangers of racism. We must never forget!"
I cannot help but remember my visit to Auschwitz- Birkeneau Concentration Camps in 2000. It was an experience I can never forget throughout my life! Walking on the very grounds that claimed millions of lives because of the despotic, insatiable hatred of a people that burned within the heart of one dictator, Hitler, made my heart "bleed."
My heart bled for the soldiers, men and women, priests and religious and ordinary civilians - whose dreams for success in their unique field of endeavor never found the time and space to blossom and flourish. What happened to the planned wedding of a dashing young man and his soon-to-be blushing young bride? Who will take care of the "flock" in a remote village in the hills whose Lord's Day is spent in studying the Word of God? How will a young mother of two little ones live the lonely life of a widow and eke out a living to nourish, clothe and educate the children?When can an elderly once again enjoy the quiet afternoon bliss the sunset brings to a couple sitting leisurely in their cottage porch?
My heart was crestfallen for the thousands, nay, tens of thousands of people, especially babies and children who lost their innocent lives in the modern-day barbaric gas chambers of Auschwitz. I walked almost in a daze across the huge rooms with showerheads lined against the walls. I imagined the victims stark naked having been duped into believing that they were to take a shower. Based on TV documentaries and the book, "Night" by Elie Weizel which earned him a Nobel Peace Prize, I recalled that the Jews and other prisoners of war were brought in to Auschwitz by train. They were questioned, inspected and made to go either to the Right or Left. People assigned to the Right were given the right to live - to work in the multifarious activities in camp. Those directed to the Left were the ones destined to the gas chambers for their "bath." Stark naked, they had their "shower" of gas which led to their eventual death. The mental image of naked bodies exhibiting different expressions of anguish in their faces and human anatomy heaped one over the other in various configurations made me take giant strides towards the exit doors. I took several deep breaths outside. The fresh air was a big relief! - I felt relieved from the stiff suffocation I felt inside the chambers- caused more by the memory of what happened there than the physical attributes of the place.
Auschwitz is now a museum to preserve the memory of the Holocaust so that future generations may see it, remember "man's inhumanity to man" and resolve never to let it happen again.
The museum has one original "crematorium" open for the public. A fewwheelbarrows used to dump dead bodies in, lined the walls while railroad -like tracks from the outside ran its course towards the incinerator which was not so huge as I thought. One wheelbarrow stood poised as if dumping its contents in the not-so-big almost square, rectangular opening. I looked at it and the hair at the back of my neck stood up while a cold shiver ran down my spine! I felt goose bumps creep through my arms. While I somehow succeeded in holding back most of my tears at the gas chamber, I could not restrain them from falling unabashedly before the incinerator. I thought of man as the image and likeness of God - the Supreme Being- and then, here in this steel contraption being shoved off unceremoniously like a pile of dry, discarded leaves from the streets. It was a heart-rending moment! Just then, I thought of Mother Teresa who made it her mission to gather the destitute, very sick and dying people in the streets of Calcutta. She cared for them and tried avery means to give them a decent death. What a chasm of a contrast there is between Adolf Hitler and Mother Teresa!
So many rows of barracks lie within the concentration camp of Auschwitz. In between two barracks lay a wider space where the "Death Wall "stood. Hundreds of prisoners were brutally murdered as they stood against the infamous wall. At the time of my visit, there were a few flickering votive candles and a sprinkle of bouquets of flowers in line. I was completely overwhelmed with sadness and pity for the victims whose blood inundated the ground - the " hallowed ground. " It was impossible for anyone who had some compassion in their hearts not to shed tears. I think there was no eye that was dry among the visitors with me. More uncontrollable tears fell as we visited the huge glass-walled rooms with all sorts of baby things, layettes, blankets, booties, rattle, tiny spoons, forks, etc. With them were toddlers' garments and toys, coloring books, shoes and many more. They belonged to the babies who were roughly wrenched from their mothers' arms, children and elderly people who were assigned to the "Left" when they arrived in the camp. There were rooms designated for men's clothing shoes and the like and rooms for women's clothes and other paraphernalia including cosmetics and lotions. One room was a depository of suitcases, duffel bags and everything associated with travel. I learned that all the things were periodically sent to Germany to be reused or recycled. The pile in each room was so immense that only about two feet from the ceiling was air space. The flow of visitors with tear-filled eyes and solemn mien was nerve-wrecking to behold! Truly, the Holocaust should be remembered by the international community so as to instill in every generation that such cataclysmic horror brought about by hatred and greed should never be allowed to happen again!
Like many of the visitors, I walked inside the barrcks where inmates stayed mostly for the night since during the day they were off to different assignments including that of digging common graves for the hundreds of dead bodies which the incinerators could not accomodate. I imagined the detainees lining up for their usual daily ration of a piece of often stale bread and a bowl of plain soup in the evening. I remembered the words of Viktor Frankel, Auschwitz survivor, who said that even in the most horrible of situations as in those of Auschwitz, man had still the capacity to exercise one' s free will ( the free will given by God to everyone ) whether to give their sole ration to a dying person or not. He added that at their direst need, he witnessed some men do the highest form of charity to their fellowmen. How true are the words of a sage, "There is nothing so evil that something good cannot come out from it."
Viktor Frankl recorded his experiences in Auschwitz in his book, "Man's Search for Meaning," which according to the Library of Congress is to this day listed as one of the ten most influential books in America. At the time of the author's death in 1997, 10 million copies had been sold in 24 languages. He said,"The meaning of life is found in every moment of life. Life never ceases to have meaning even in the face of severe suffering - torture, hunger, abandonment, etc.- and death." He related so vividly the many instances in the camp which led him to say," I saw the truth as it is set into song by many poets and the wisdom of many thinkers which is that LOVE is the ultimate and highest goal to which man can aspire. The salvation of man is "through" Love and "in" Love!" He concluded the sparks of wisdom Auschwitz experience taught him by,"As time passed on, the prisoner's experience in the concentration camp finally becomes nothing but a remembered nightmare. what is more, he knows he has nothing to fear anymore, except his GOD!"
The saga of Fr. Maximillian Kolbe, a Polish Catholic priest, imprisoned and who offered to take the place of a condemned family man , illustrated so clearly his great love as to die for the sake of a friend. Since a man from his barracks was found missing at roll call, ten (10) men were chosen to die. A man who had children pleaded for his life and when his appeal was denied, Fr. Kolbe offered to take his place. So the ten were taken to a small underground "starvation bunker." After the end of the third week, only four (4) were still alive including the priest. Since the Nazis needed the room, they injected them with carbolic acid. Fr. Maximillan Kolbe exemplified the penultimate level of love as proclaimed in the Word of God, "...to die for the sake of a friend." Since he also worked tremendously for the propagation of the faith and founded the "Militae Immaculatae" (Knights of the Immaculata), Fr. Maximillian Kolbe was canonized on October 10, 1982 and is now called the " Martyr of Charity" or "Saint of Auschwitz." Seeing the starvation bunker where Fr. Kolbe died indeed gave me the awesome veneration of an Apostle of Christ!
I must confess that I had wanted to write about my visit to Auschwitz many years back. But I felt I would not be able to adequately articulate my feelings there. Words to clearly depict the things I witnessed were and still are, not within my grasp. Moreover, the emotions that overwhelmed me then would come rushing back as to haunt me like the shock of witnessing the tragedy of "man's inhumanity to man!"
.
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