I find it extremely difficult to fully comprehend the events that happened during WWII. Despite the years of learning about the Holocaust in history classes, visiting the museum here in Berlin, and touring the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, I still struggle to understand how people could do such horrible things to others. However, being here in Germany has helped me digest the war and its effects.
The effects of the war can be picked out all over Berlin. WWII had a huge impact on Germany’s culture and war evidence has been purposely preserved so it can be seen today. I’ve viewed buildings that have been left in their destroyed state, pieces of the Wall still standing, museums dedicated to the Jewish victims, and various other pieces of evidence scattered around the city. In many ways, I can tell that the country is still trying to recover from the damage of the war that divided its people, destroyed its infrastructure, and darkened its history.
I’m thankful we had the opportunity to visit Sachsenhausen. I have never been to a concentration camp before, so it was an extremely educational and interesting experience. The first thing I noticed upon entering the camp was how large it was. I had always imagined camps like this one to be much smaller and compact, but the fenced in area was absolutely massive. There were plenty of disturbing things to see there, but I’m glad I got see them firsthand and learn the truth about what happened at that location.
Going to Sachsenhausen and learning more about the war has reminded me about how much sin is in this world. No matter how hard we try, we will always have problems because of the evil that’s deep inside every human. I’m thankful we have a savior who gave His life to save us from this and that someday the horrors like those in WWII will no longer be an issue for us.