General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: They took their rosaries.... [View all]japple
(9,772 posts)converted into a memorial or monument to those who were exterminated. We were the only people there that day. I don't remember all of the details--I was only 10 yrs. old, but I do remember feeling sad, afraid, and sick. My sister said that there were crates full of ashes in the chambers where the ovens were housed. I remember the cremetory and the ovens and the barracks. I also remember that it was a chilly, blustery Spring day with clouds blowing across the sun creating patterns of shadow and light that I imagined were angels of death.
My parents were both WWII veterans. They met and married in Germany after the war. They saw what war did to people of Germany and Europe and did everything they could to educate their children to the damages caused by ignorance, hatred and greed. We travelled all over Europe. There was still a lot of rubble in those days. Hell, the Berlin Wall was built while we lived there.
My sister and I toured the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. We both had strong reactions to many of the exhibits, but none so visceral as the shoes...