Auschwitz

Below is an old piece of writing back from 2007. Written right after my first visit to Auschwitz, it mainly depicts my feelings and reaction towards the place. I had visited the site on the 24th of December 2007, Christmas Eve- not a cheery visit, although it was snowing heavily...which somehow made the day...less dreary. Also, keep in mind that I had written this at the mere age of 18, my naivety at the time might somehow show itself in the writing.


(photo taken by Alex Saliba, Auschwitz Birkenau, September 2012) 

" Although the snow has long washed away the blood, sickness, and murder which prevailed in this camp, the fear, anxiety and terror are still felt to this very day. The snow has made everything white and clean, but history can never be erased. The barbed wire which surrounds the camp is but a tiny fragment of what happened. Apart from this, there are also certain parts of the camp in which these emotions have long been choked down by the touristy feeling and the modern exhibitions constantly present.

But what struck me the most was this feeling, which seeped right through my heart. It made me calm, serene. It was as if the camp, the site- was resting, finally at peace. It had been marked with atrocities, vicious acts which are unforgivable and unforgettable. But now, in the year 2007, it was sleeping a peaceful slumber.

What also overwhelmed me was the feeling of Hope. This could be felt throughout the whole place. The sense of doom and hopelessness mingled with hope. It was such an odd feeling, something which I had no knowledge of. It made my troubles seem so trivial. I did not know whether to smile or cry. I wanted to smile at the happy faces on the photos at the exhibition; the cute gypsy girls, Anne Frank's pictures...And cry, at the dreadful, unimaginable fate they were destined to pass through...the never-ending list of murdered people.

Feeling courageous, I entered the gas chambers, and yet again- was overcome with a sense of ...death. Of course, thousands and millions of people had died in that room- and there I was, alive, breathing, red in the face- from the cold.

I will also never forget the thousands of pots and pens on display. The millions of pairs of shoes, the spectacles, the suitcases. All belonging to these innocent people who have suffered in a way we will never really know. I almost lost my breath at the sight of them. These human beings, treated as animals, were robbed of all possessions, to the last strand of hair on their bodies.

Then again, I ask myself...have we learnt anything at all? Concentration camps may be a thing of the past, but the same atrocities are committed all over the world to this very day. No one is free and no one is equal. This is the world and its harsh reality.    "