Today, 66 years ago, on January 27, 1945, Auschwitz, the largest German labor/concentration/extermination camp was Liberated!
View of the entrance to Auschwitz-Birkenau from inside the camp after May 1945. —USHMM #08909 / Bildarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz
VOICES FROM AUSCHWITZ
The train arrived in the middle of the night, so we were greeted by very bright lights shining down on us. We were greeted by soldiers, SS men, as well as women. We were greeted by dogs and whips, by shouting and screaming, orders to try to empty the train, by confusion… There is no way to describe your first coming to Auschwitz.
—Fritzie Weiss Fritzshall
Chief Blonde Remarks: I have personally been to Auschwitz. It was a cold rainy day with a temperature around 40 Degrees. I was wearing a coat and gloves. I was freezing. As I tramped around the now long abandoned site, I realized that I was beyond fortunate. The inhabitants of Auschwitz-Birkenau and many others like it often had nothing to wear but thin striped pajama like outfits, very little food, and very little hope.
I will never regret going to see the camps. Many people, when I told them that I visited, will ask me “Why would you want to go there?”
My answer is simple–SO I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER. SO I WILL NEVER FORGET. SO THOSE THAT PERISHED WILL NOT HAVE DIED IN VAIN. Yes, it was difficult to confront..but not only must we face our fears but we must look evil in the face, recognize it, and vow that as long as we inhabit this earth we must not contribute to such atrocities ever ever again.
Stand with me today and declare: WE WILL NEVER FORGET!
For more information, visit: The United States International Holocaust Museum site. For more information on Auschwitz liberation, visit the Liberation of Auschwitz page.
What’s very frightening to me is all the unrest in Islamic countries like Egypt. Is a new hatred for
Israel and the Jewish people emerging.
I will never forget and pray for the Peace of Israel.
Laura, Thanks for standing with me and the millions of others who will not forget!
The Chief Blonde!
I will never forget! There are some amazing videos, focusing on different aspects of the Holocaust on Netflix, that I’ve watched lately…
~Forgiving Dr. Mengle
~Hiding and Seeking
~Steal a Pencil for Me
~Bonhoeffer
~The Richie Boys
and I’m sure there are lots more!
Melanie, Thank-you for commenting and remembering.
Thanks so much for posting this…I am planning to do a post on this as well. Very moving…and I would very much like to visit Auschwitz as well. As a history major, Nazi Germany and the Holocaust were one of the periods I focused on. Not out of fascination, but more out of disbelief and horror. Sadly, people can never really grasp the true significance of what happened there without reading some first-hand accounts. You hear about “atrocities” and “six million” and “gas chambers,” and the actual suffering that took place gets lost in the words and the cliches, if you know what I mean.
Kristin, I quite agree that one cannot comprehend what those people went through. I think you just have to lose one person in your life to an atrocity or know someone who has, multiply by 1000s and then maybe you might get it..Thanks for replying!
The Chief Blonde
Linda Grant discusses this in her excellent book, The Thoughtful Dresser. The book explains why one survivor of the camps grew up to give such emphasis to stylish clothing.
That’s phenomenal that you visited there. Wow. Thank you so much for sharing that.
Hallee
Hallee, You simply must go sometimes. You can still feel the demons in the air. Such such evil
I will never forget.
I don’t think I’d have your strength to go to a concentration camp, but I’ve been to the Yad-Vashem Holocaust museum in Israel and it’s an unforgettable experience. I wish everyone could visit it.
Jen, If you have the opportunity, you must go. What’s the most amazing is how close it is to the “Old Town”