Reply #18: Slightly O/T

[McKenzie]

a former soldier was interviewed on Radio Scotland this morning. His unit was one of the first into Belsen. He described how the atmosphere changed as they approached the camp, into a "greasy" smell. They had to stop themselves dishing out their rations in case the immediate consumption by the malnourished resulted in their deaths.

This soldier talked quietly, and calmly, about how he realised why they were involved in a war in the first place.

We cannot grasp what happened in that era. Human beings were being systematically exterminated. Ever seen "The Piano"? Can you recall the scene where a young girl is waiting to be herded into a cattle truck and screams "Why are they doing this, why are they doing this?"? Can you imagine how you would feel if it was your wife, your mother or your sister screaming out? Picture that and think...

I thought of this lying in my warm bed this morning. I realised it was only 60 years ago. I am not ashamed to say I turned off the radio. Otherwise, I'd have ended up crying.

Never, ever, forget what happened to those people. And never smile at the sight of a monument to man's inhumanity to his fellow human beings.