Listening to the news on the radio this morning on my way to work, I realised that it was Holocaust Memorial Day. It brought back memories of a trip to Krakow with friends a few years ago. We went in December to visit the Christmas market, which turned out to be quite disappointing in the end. However, we decided that as we would probably never return to Poland, we should visit Auschwitz. I really felt unsure about this as it felt wrong to be a 'tourist' in a place with such a terrible history.
It turned out to be one of the most moving and memorable experiences of my life ..... and the visit was conducted with such dignity it didn't feel 'wrong' to be there at all. Words cannot express the emotions that are felt during the visit, and we were left speechless as we walked around the camp unable to comprehend the horrors that had taken place.
We also visited Birkenau where the trains arrived with their awful cargo, and we walked along the tracks to the woods where the chambers had been. There was such an eerie stillness about the place, as though the trees and birds were still holding their breath in sorrow. There wasn't a sound as hundreds of people walked around the site in silent pilgrimage.
I believe that if all world leaders and heads of state were made to visit this place, the world would be a safer place. They could not fail to be moved by this memorial to man's inhumanity on an industrial scale and they would ensure such deeds could never happen again.
If only ......
What a moving visit it must have been - your words reflect how you felt - 'as though the trees and birds were still holding their breath in sorrow' - I could feel the quiet stillness of the place and the respect of the visitors just reading them:)
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