Reflections

Being in Germany, learning about WW2 and many of the crimes committed during the war is an interesting experience.

The Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp and the holocaust museum visits were sobering experiences. The concentration camp was full of history that gave a view into life as a prisoner at these camps. The holocaust museum was more personal, as it followed families and people as they were herded, imprisoned, and for many of them, killed.

The concentration camp had a fraction of the buildings than it had when it was operational; however, the visual scale of the camp was not diminished. Many of the types of buildings were still standing, such as barracks, food preparation, and infirmary. The history that was packed into these buildings was immense. The collection of items, paperwork, clothing, and research was interesting to see all in one place. Seeing the ledgers and books that the guards and officers of the camp kept gave a sense of just how many people were in this camp.

The holocaust museum was interesting to walk through because it followed people as they were subject to the oppression that took place. The stories that survivors told and the stories of those who were killed because of who they were struck me. Families separated for no other reason other than some were fit to work, be a slave, and some were not. Stories of people that faced persecution and lost their lives because of it. It was very sobering

Germany today is definitely effected by the war. My german teacher has talked to us about many of the discussions that followed the war. Topics such as how to learn from the past and what to do with buildings that hitler had built. One interesting thing that she tol us was that Hitler built the Olympic Stadium in Berlin and had it built to last for longer that 1000 years. This was so that when his empire fell, which he thought would be 500ish years, the buildings would stand and people would remember them. Some people wanted to demolish these buildings but what was eventually decided was that they would be repurposed. the olympic pool is now a public pool and the field belongs to a local soccer club.

The events of the Holocaust and since are very interesting from a historical standpoint and shocking from a moral and ethical standpoint.

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