Infamous, ironic sign translated to "Work is Liberty".....Obviously, the Nazis never intended for the Jews to be free.
When people hear the word Holocaust, Auschwitz becomes symbolic of the concentration camp experience. Every camp was designed for a different, unique purpose. This largest one was a labor and death camp. This complex, divided into three main areas (Auschwitz I, (prisoners of war) Auschwitz-Birkenau, (mass extermination) and Buna (work camp) was established in 1940. This camp was built next to the train tracks to facilitate the movement of materials and people. This camp was not in the "middle of nowhere". The Nazis evicted locals, so the zone of the camp could be made by Jewish slaves. The Auschwitz of 1940 looked very different from the Auschwitz of 1945.
At first, this camp held Polish teachers, doctors, and intellectual and spiritual leaders....basically anyone who opposed Nazism.
In 1942, the Jews arrived. Auschwitz began to function in a different way than its original intent. Himmler had ordered the "Final Solution," and this camp became the center of the mass destruction of the European Jews. Before beginning Jewish extermination, the Nazis used Zyklon B on the Soviet POWs to test a way to kill many people at once. It worked, and five gas chambers were created with crematoriums attached to them. When the ovens weren't efficient enough, the corpses were burned in pits and the ashes used as fertilizer. Those selected to die were taken immediately to the gas chambers. These people were not entered in the camp records and received no serial numbers. This is why is it is only possible to ESTIMATE the total number of victims at Auschwitz. Of approx. 2.5 million people deported here, 405,000 were given prisoner status. Once they died, the Sonderkommandos (strong prisoners) searched the bodies for valuables (gold fillings). The Sonderkommandos also had a horrible fate. While they ate better and had more comforts such as a bed and regular clothes, they were the ones to retrieve the dead bodies and actually cremate them. There were many times that they recognized their own family..now dead. All units of the Sonderkommandos needed to die within four months because they "knew" too much.
Those deemed fit enough for slave labor were immediately tattooed, undressed, deloused, shaven, and showered while their clothes were disinfected with Zyklon-B gas. At first, there were no dogs, no guns, and no violence. The Jews were tricked into believing they were safe and just "resettling". The children who were not selected to die had to get tattooed on their legs because their arms were not big enough. The Nazis made sure they went with their mothers as not to cause a panic, and their mothers always went first to show the children it was okay. Only 10% of Jewish transports were registered, meaning the rest were sent to die immediately.
When all the other death camps had been abandoned, Auschwitz-Birkenau became the place the Jews were transferred to, and the place surpassed all previous records for mass killing.
New arrivals. Veteran prisoners in striped pajamas are warning the newcomers of their destiny. They are begging them to lie about their ages..."Don't be too young or too old" and their occupations, "Make sure you are useful to them."
Jewish children marching to their deaths unaware.
This picture was secretly taken by a Jewish prisoner. This is Nazis burning the corpses of Jews since the crematories couldn't do it quickly enough. They needed to hide their evidence once they knew they were losing the war. Before then, most photographs were documented by the Nazis and their collaborators since they were so proud of what they were doing.
Hundreds of cans of Zyklon B used in the gas chambers. In Sept 1941, 850 men from the hospitals were crowded into 28 cells. The Nazis needed to test the new poison. After 24 hours, the Nazis opened the doors and noticed not all of them were dead. So they realized they needed to add more pellets to the room. Even more ironic....the Zyklon B cans were delivered by fake International Red Cross vehicles.
Pellets of Zyklon B thrown into the gas chamber. It was so deadly, the killers had to wear masks for protection.
Collected glasses from prisoners. They didn't need them anymore once they were murdered.
The Jews were told to put their names, addresses, and other pertinent information on their luggage. The Nazis reassured them that they were going to be safe and just "relocated". Obviously a hoax....The owners never saw their possessions again. When the Jews entered the camp, they were told to remember where they left their belongings....all a ploy to reassure them. The Nazis sifted through and stole everything of value.
More proof that the Jews thought they were secure. Look at the baby doll! A Jewish little girl actually thought she would get her back.
Millions of shoes were collected for redistribution for the German citizens. Interesting how the shoes represent people from ALL walks of life. The Nazis didn't discriminate with that one. A Jew is a Jew......The bride in her white dress and white shoes had no idea where she just landed.
Only pure EVIL could do this to children. I don't care what their justification or reasons are. They are not human. What the hell happened to them to turn them into animals? ...No, I'm giving them too much credit. Animals' instincts are to protect their young. Animals have a soul....I don't understand this and never will....no matter how much I study it.
This is Eva Kor and her twin sister. I had the pleasure of meeting her in May 2014 when she spoke at Temple Israel of her torturous experimentation under Josef Mengele. Surprisingly, she forgave him and all the Nazis....not for them, but for herself. That was the only way she could move on.
Just like cattle, the Jews slept on the hay if they didn't have a barrack.
This is famous Block 11 where the prisoners were executed.
True that!
Vladka is the reason this trip happened. She founded the Holocaust and Jewish Resistance Teachers' Program and always wanted us to focus on LIFE!
When words can't express......art says it all.
At Auschwitz there is a HUGE book of names of those who perished during the Holocaust. I can't believe I found the same names as my parents. It could have been them.
The gallows
Menacing entrance...I don't think it was a coincidence that it was raining the entire day.
At every concentration camp, I was wrapped in comfort.
Cattle car for transporting Jews. Look at the lock on the door! Each cart held 80-90 people. Once locked, it didn't open for 10 days!
Barracks. Three Levels.....No mattress, no padding, nothing but hard stone and wood. Look at the bottom layer....Having a top bunk was a treat. If you were on the bottom, you got defecated on.
The Nazis tried to destroy the gas chambers once they were losing the war...These are the remnants.
It was at this picture that I burst into tears. These steps led to the gas chamber. Mothers and fathers, scared of out of their minds, put their fears aside to comfort and reassure their children that all would be fine.
Don't forget to click the pictures to read the descriptions.
The Jews saw big chimneys and thought it was a factory with bathrooms....In 1944, a father told his son..."I told you the Germans were civilized....We will be working in a factory." Who could imagine they were entering a death chamber? The blackened chimneys shows they were working 24 hrs a day.
Wow, I can’t imagine the emotions you had entering this camp. When I saw the infamous sign, I too saw the irony in it before I read your comment. I agree, when people think of the Holocaust, the first concentration camp comes to thought is Auschwitz. I’m a little embarrassed to say this myself, but Auschwitz was the only concentration name I could remember in the Holocaust before coming to your class. I’m so glad through the weeks being in this class I have learned so much more. I cannot believe 2.5 million people were estimated to have gone to Auschwitz-Birkenau. That is close to half of the six million Jews who died in the Holocaust. When you talked about the prisoners getting their head shaved and wearing striped clothing, it reminded me of the two books, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and The Devil’s Athematic, which I read in sixth grade. It really made me sad thinking about what parents had to tell their kids when going into the camp or the gas chambers. When I saw your comment on this, I made me think of what my mom would have said to my sister and I, and I started to cry. I can’t eve start to imagine the pain the parents had to go through with lying to their children about death. It really got me thinking about the discussion we had about people who died in the Holocaust is more than just a number. Looking at the drawings on the wall, it made me sick. It reminded me when I was a child; I would draw sweet innocent drawings of flowers and mountains. In contrast, these kids drew about the horrors in humanity and what they dealt with and saw everyday. Seeing you with a flag wrapped around yourself reminded me of our discussion we had today of not being scared of hiding your religion, which is apart of who you are. It’s ironic that we talk about how religion can be a part of us when the Jews in the Holocaust weren’t allowed to even have that represent them. It made me so mad that the Nazis were trying to destroy the gas chambers. They shouldn’t get away with any of the stuff they did to real human beings.
ReplyDeleteI was shocked by the ratio of total deportees to the number of people recorded as prisoners. Since there were 2.5 million people deported and only 405,000 recorded, there must have been over two million people killed the moment they arrived! I didn’t know that they sent that many people to die right away, and it’s very depressing. I found it ironic that the Sonderkommandos still had horrible jobs. They were treated better than the rest of the prisoners, but they still suffered just as much. I also saw the Sonderkommandos as symbolic of the fact that there was no way around the pain and suffering of the camps. I was disturbed by the picture of the Nazis burning the hundreds of corpses out in an open field. I don’t understand how anyone can look at hundreds of dead bodies and not feel disgusted or guilty for what he/she has done. Even though the Nazis viewed the Jews as nonhuman, they still should have felt even the slightest bit of guilt for killing living beings. Seeing the different types of shoes the prisoners had really put into perspective how diverse the prisoners really were. Even though they came from many different statuses and backgrounds, the Nazis still saw all Jews as the same, so they all had the same fate. I can't imagine what it would be like to work really hard in life just to have it taken away from you to receive the same fate as someone who didn't work as hard. What really made me sad was when the father told his son that the Germans were civilized because he thought that the crematorium was a factory. It is upsetting to see that some of the victims failed to recognize the cruelty of their oppressors because if the victims couldn't see it, who would?
ReplyDeleteThese pictures really got to me. The first picture of the entrance genuinely scared me. I felt like I was entering this horrifying place. And what it said made it even worse. “Work is Liberty” hah yeah right. Also, the picture of the prisoners in the striped clothes reminded me of Night because they were telling the new prisoners to say they were younger or older than they actually were. The photo of the children walking unaware made me cringe because that could have been me or anyone. The picture of the glasses really gave me an idea of how many people were killed. And that’s only a tiny portion of the people killed. It makes me sick. When s saw the picture with the doll it made my jaw drop. They really did think they were going to be safe. Also, i think it’s ironic that even the doll’s head is broken off; the dolls dead like so many people are. It’s crazy to me how only 10% were sent to work, and the other 90% were sent to die. I’m glad the “veterans” of the camp told them to lie about their age and occupation because this increases their chances of survival. I’m sickened that the Nazis actually were proud of what they did, so much that they wanted to photograph it, and keep it documented. I can’t imagine the suffering they must have endured from testing the new Zykon B poison. Seeing the valuables was so sad. I can’t imagine having everything i own being taken away from me. Seeing the cattle car also really hit me. I’m quite claustrophobic and, I can’t imagine being stuffed in there.
ReplyDeleteWow. I remember seeing something about the sign in Night. It’s depressing that Jews thought they were actually going to place to help them when actually they were at the exact opposite. Like I said previously, I thought this was the only concentration camp before I took your class, and now I realize I didn't even know half of what was said in the blog. It intrigues me that the Nazis did things in a certain way. They didn't put these camps anywhere, everything was for a reason. How could they throw people in prison because they didn't support the Nazis? That’s like arresting someone because they don’t support abortions. I don’t believe you should arrest someone because of their opinion. What made me think was when you said “When the ovens weren't efficient enough, the corpses were burned in pits and the ashes used as fertilizer.” Did the sit and watch them until they turned into ashes? How could another human being watch another one be burned, dead or alive? I felt bad for the Sonderkommandos too. I understand why they chose that job, but at the same time I know they had to hide their feelings while looking at their family members who died. It’s a lose-lose situation. If you’re strong, you become a Sonderkommando, if not you’re a worker or sent to the gas chamber. Either way, it would be hard to survive. It’s also wrong how their identity was stolen from them and how they weren't acknowledge by name. It showed how the Nazis treated them inhumanly. The pictures struck me, especially the one with your parents’ last name. It showed how this kind of discrimination can happen to anyone and how we should try our best to make sure it doesn't happen again.
ReplyDeleteI don’t get the purpose of killings MILLIONS simply because of their religion. It’s like rioting because someone killed a loved one. Just like killing the Jews isn't going to change them, rioting isn't going to bring that person back to life. All I can do is look at this and shake my head. One picture looked as if the Nazi was kicking the dead bodies around. A ll I could do was wonder why. How could you be that brainwashed? Do you not having ANY sense of humanity, sympathy, or emotion in you? It disturbs me how the Nazi’s took the Jews belongings, lied to them, and then killed them. How could you do that! Just lie to someone like that! I HATE LIARS!! These people have not killed your people, they haven't stolen from you, they haven't taken your children away and throw them in the air as shooting targets. The Nazi’s where so horrible that is the the Jews wanted to do something worse, it wouldn't be possible. Nazi’s are corrupt inside and out. The only people who are crazier, if not just as crazy, than the Nazi’s are the dummies that married them, lived with them, and had their children. How could you hug, kiss, hold, and tell a killer that you love them daily? How could you ask a man who burned people without remorse how their day was? And i bet they would say good or terrific. Those monsters! Mrs.Stone, you're right; you cannot call them animals because even animals cared for their young. The Nazi’s could care less about the innocent children they killed daily.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things that I find most appalling about this is the fact that the camp was built by Jewish slaves. I wonder if they knew what they were creating and what it would it would end up doing to other innocent people like them. Talk about irony. The other crazy thing about this was the sheer amount of people they murdered. I can't believe that they immediately made five gas chambers and crematoriums when they found a quick and easy way to kill people. I can only fathom mindless zombies doing something like that, but these were actual people. It astounds me that anyone could think about killing almost two million people in terms of "efficiency." It really makes me lose my faith in humanity. One other thing that stood out to me was the luggage picture. When it said the Nazis went through the bags and stole anything of value, it reminded me of Oskar Groening because that was probably part of his job. Also, at the part where veteran prisoners warned the newcomers, I could not help but think about the part in Night when Elie arrived at the camp with his father. Realizing that all of this stuff really happened gives me chills.
ReplyDeleteHearing about the Sonderkommandos is surprising. I can’t imagine seeing dead family members and friends everyday and having to burn them. It was even more shocking when I read about only 10% of Jewish transports being registered into the camps. 90% of the Jews immediately being exterminated is harsh and extreme. Does that mean that all the Jewish weren’t strong enough? Were they too old? Why kill 90% of Jews when they can work?
ReplyDeleteWhen the veterans told the newcomers to lie about their ages warms my heart. It’s wonderful to know that the Jewish community helps each other out in such hard conditions. The picture of the Jewish boys walking to their death sickens me. To see innocent boys, all holding hands, were unknowingly marching to their death is an unbearable sight. How could the Nazis continued on with the program when they see kids nonchalantly walking to their own death?
Seeing the horrific picture of all the gas cans of Zyklon B nauseates me. Hearing about people suffering in the chamber for over 24 hours scares me. I can’t even begin to image the pain and torture one went through by slowing dying in a dark and lonely atmosphere.
It is reassuring to see the picture of young women wearing the Star of David symbol on her back. It gives me comfort knowing that people have changed, and gives me hope that the Holocaust won’t happen again.
The only think I could think about while reading this whole thing was “They tested the gas on hospitalized prisoners.” What kind of people would do this? I don’t know. Work makes liberty is super ironic as we all know, but after the prisoners read that, and the labor camp looking like a factory, they must have thought they were working factory jobs for the war. They were so wrong. The photos that she took make the place look massive, it probably is, so I imagined how I would feel if all of my freedoms were taken away from me and I was held captive. It was probably designed to make people feel like they were small, it was also designed to be a death camp. It unfortunately turned out to be the most fatal death camp ever, so visiting the place would probably make the Holocaust seem like it was still happening. I think it’s fantastic that Mrs. Stone still showed that the Jewish faith was stronger than the Holocaust by wearing the Israeli flag into Auschwitz.
ReplyDeleteIt angers me that the Nazis tried to get away with their crimes by burning their evidence. They tortured innocent people, and it makes no sense why they would think that it was possible to get away with it. The fact that they put dead bodies on the rail road tracks to make them desiccate faster is disgusting and inhumane; I don’t even want to know how they figured that out. The most powerful line for me was the little children in the gas chambers screaming “Mommy, haven’t I been good? It’s dark! It’s dark!” This quote really shocked me. I do not understand how any human being could let this happen to little children. The children are the most innocent out of anyone; they don’t know any better than what their parents taught them and they do not deserve to be that scared. The camps designed specifically to kills Jews are the worst. They give no chance of survival; you arrive and are instantly killed. Belzac was a terrible camp and because there were only one or two known survivors, the harshness of the camp is proven. It is hard to put the frustration that I get from the pictures of these camps in words.
ReplyDeleteI cannot believe that they used the prisoners’ ashes as fertilizer. There are so many things wrong with that sentence, and that is the most inhumane act that I have heard throughout our entire Holocaust study. It shows how little respect the Nazis had for the Jewish people. Burning innocent people is a hard concept to grasp, but using their ashes as fertilizer is absolutely inexcusable. It is awful that of approximately the 2.5 million people deported to Auschwitz, 405,000 were given prisoner status. So many people died without a chance of survival or a chance to fight. It is also unbelievable that the Nazis made the “strong prisoners” cremate and clean up the dead bodies. Some even recognized their family members. I cannot fathom how terrible it would feel to see your family members dead because of what someone has forced you to do.
The first thing that caught my attention was the sign. How could the Nazis really try to make people think the Jews were being treated fairly? And they made some of the buildings look like factories to trick people into thinking nothing bad was happening there; I wonder how many of the German citizens knew what was going on. I was shocked that over 2 million Jews were killed immediately after arriving at the camp. It's awful that the Sonderkommandos had to search and cremate the dead bodies...they had it much worse than the other prisoners because they had to actually see everyone who died, which must have been extremely traumatizing. I can't imagine the children getting tattoos; the Nazis probably didn't do anything to make it a less painful and scary process for them. If some of the kids had to get the tattoo on their leg, they must have been really young. How could they do that to such young children?
ReplyDeleteWhat first grasped my attention was the sign, "Work is liberty," and how you stated it as being ironic, which it is since the work performed never gave them freedom. However, if looked upon from a different perspective, a truthful and non-ironic sign posted at Auschwitz would read "Death is liberty." Here, liberty is not freedom from the camp but freedom from the pain, for if one were to work, they would experience the massive amount of agonizing pain during each extraneous labor than opposed to dying, which relieves all future agony. However, even with previous statement, one should never give up before trying.
ReplyDeleteOut of all the pictures in this section, to me the most intriguing, profound, yet perplexing is the second drawn picture. It is clear that the buildings likely represent a ghetto and their are obviously people drawn in the streets as well, but what are those dots? Could they represent bombs? Fire? Could they illustrate the weather that day like snow or rain? Could it simply be holes in the location they were drawn on? I am not sure, but it is something I wish I could ask the creator because each work of art has one purpose -- yes there may be many interpretations by viewers, but each piece of artwork has one true purpose that only its creator can identify; therefore, it is this purpose that I long to know. Was it to demonstrate what the Nazis were capable of in the hopes that one day it will expose them for who they are? Was it meant to reminisce of days before the camp? Perhaps we will never know what this picture truly is, and only time will tell.
If you do actually know tell me because I cannot decipher the dots' purpose.
This whole thing is just UNABELIEVABLE! Did the Nazis have a mental disorder that made them kill millions without mercy? This is literally the worst thing ever. It’s also very ironic that the camp was built by the Jews. They tricked the Jews to believe that they were safe there? I believe that the Holocaust was planned way back in the day because this is just not something that you can come up with in 15 to 20 years. This had to be planned long before, and Adolf Hitler just accomplished it. The picture with the kids walking to their deaths is very sad because they don’t know what’s going to happen to them. They’re unaware of the situation. They think that I don’t understand is how come the Nazis didn’t get sick from burning those bodies? The smoke of a dead has lot of toxic mix in it, so breathing through those toxics can be very harmful. Why didn’t they get sick from it? The picture of the poor baby is really sad. I can’t even look it twice. Why a human being can be so savage to another? Something had to happen in order for them to become so savage and animal like. The most ironic part is that this didn’t happen in hundreds of years, but it happened in a decade. Thinking about the fact it happened in a decade shows that anything is possible no matter how unrealistic it sounds or seems.
ReplyDeleteAuschwitz is practically synonymous with the Holocaust. The photos are shocking and show just how awful the camp really was. Seeing the skin of the children stretched over their bones in such a way sickens me. Imagining my sister or any other child for that matter getting tattooed or sent to the gas chambers makes my head and stomach spin. I cannot even fathom that someone had the capability to perform such atrocities. 2.5 million were deported to Auschwitz... 2.5 million is a huge number. HUGE! There are 2.719 people living in Chicago, Illinois. Imagine taking the entire city of Chicago to a prison in which so many people were killed mindlessly and tortuously. The photo that hit me the hardest was the glasses. I've always associated glasses with identity; taking those glasses was like disabling and depersonalizing them. It was almost heart-stopping to see the delicate frames and lenses piled on top of one another. The cans of the poisonous gas also shocked me. It just appears so... normal. The appearance of the can is so basic, simple and common looking. How could it raise any suspicion at all? It's ironic that they seem so normal: something that appears ordinary is actually evil. This blog post is my favorite so far (not in an "I like it way", more "this is disturbingly interesting").
ReplyDeleteAt this point in the Holocaust, why did the Nazis even bother with acting like they would someday set the Jewish people free? Many of the Jews being led to the “showers” knew their fate. Also, the idea of the Sonderkommandos disgusts me. I could never burn the bodies of people I once knew, let alone my own family. I know I cannot even begin to imagine the situation they were in, but I think if it were me, I would’ve wanted to die with my family rather than destroy their remains in the fire and watch their bodies burn. I would’ve broken down. It also scares me that the second image looks like a simple street lined with old houses. The crematories look like factory buildings. If I were walking down the street, I would’ve never thought that it was Auschwitz. Such an important piece in history seems like it would look more haunting than just a simple brick building. There was so much death inside of that “factory”.
ReplyDeleteof course this deleted bc i wasn't signed in- But wow I know we've been learning the Holocaust in your class for the past month of so, and we've certainly gone more in depth than previous classes. But this really hit me. Hard. Looking at the pictures of the inside of the camp, like the gallows, and the barracks, really made me put myself in the place of a prisoner there, It helped me imagine the things,(the atrocities more like it), they saw everyday. But my imagination can barely configure the anguish they suffered daily, For those who hadnt been killed upon entry, life at Auschwitz (and any other concentration camp, really) was actually living hell. The pictures of the malnourished, dying children made my stomach turn.No child, or any person, should have to feel that type of pain in their lives. And no REAL human being should be able to allow, or even contribute, to that unethical treatment of someone so innocent. It's terrifying what humans are capable of when they abandon their morals. Some other pictures that stood out to me were of the glasses, suitcases, shoes, and dolls. the suitcases especially had an affect on me. They symbolize the futures the murdered Jews will never be able to have. They truely belived the NAzi's when they told them they were coming back.
ReplyDeleteIt is shocking to hear that 2.5 million people were deported there, and only 405,000 were given prisoner status. This just shows how fast they were planning on killing the Jews. It’s horrible how they lied to them and told them they were "resettling,” but they were really going to die. They told them to gather their belongings as if they were moving, but instead they just stole from them. The picture with the veteran prisoners made me sad. They were trying to help the new Jews survive and warning them it shows how they all looked out for each other. How could you kill such kind, caring people? I can’t believe they killed the Sonderkommandos within four months. They had to do all those horrible things only to end up dying in four months. I imagine they must have had the worst jobs. Although they got better food, beds, and other things, that does not make up for the jobs they were forced to do. I can’t imagine having to see anyone from my family dead then having to burn them. When I saw the cattle car, I was so shocked by how small it was. I don’t even want to imagine being stuffed in there with 80-90 people. Thinking about myself ever having to experience these kinds of thing makes me realize how brave the Jews were. They were strong and courageous people.
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ReplyDeleteThese events were so inhumane that sometimes I am too awestruck to continue reading. Just imagine, a 6 yr-old child walking with his hands safely resting in the grasp of his mothers palms. Just imagine that mother visualizing a better future for her child. Now just imagine all that hope and happiness drift away in a glimpse of an eye. To think that a man could actually bare all of his dignity while committing such violent actions to a human being is truly sickening. How can you watch a child whiter away like dust? How can you watch people cry and suffer, but hold no compassion in your heart? How can you live with yourself? To kill somebody with unmoral reasons is wrong. To give somebody a hope for life that does not exist and then take away their life is so dreadful that there is not even a word negative enough to truly describe it. Gassed, shot, burned, tortured..... it's unbelievable but sadly true. No matter how what the Nazis did is described, my question will always remain the same. A simple, yet strong question.... "Why?"
ReplyDeleteThis entire blog, as I've said many times, is an eye opener. It is completely unbelievable, still, that anyone could possibly do all the things that they had done. The fact that the opening sign says “Work is Liberty” angers me deeply. Nothing in this time was fair to the jews, actually just the people who were persecuted in general. The part that got to me the most was when they wouldn’t notice when women were pregnant, or when they would notice and they would immediately send them and their unborn child to their deaths. What also amazed me was that they could pick and choose who died so easily, as if it was an everyday decision like picking out which shoes to wear a certain day. The way they treated these people like animals was absolutely disgusting them. Stripped of valuables, clothes, body hair, and dignity. They completely took away their identities and it honestly brings tears to my eyes(which is very rare). What I was wondering after reading this was how did the Jewish prisoner could possibly take the picture of the Nazis while they were burning the dead corpses. I’d understand it much more in today’s society what with all the technologies we possess, but how on Earth were they able to secretly take the picture. Another thing that just horrified me was how many people they fit into both the gas chambers AND the cattle cars. I am one of those people who hates tight and confined spaces, ESPECIALLY when they’re hot so being packed into the cattle cars for ten days might’ve made me have a panic attack. I cannot even begin to imagine the fear these people felt. Something that deeply saddened me was the picture of the suitcases and the doll. These people truly believed that they’d eventually get out of the hell hole named Auschwitz or that the camp wouldn’t actually be all that bad, and when the little boy’s father told him they were just going to work in the factories when in reality they’d be going to the crematorium. How could the Nazis do this? What kind of human being can be so blind? And what kind of human being could actually commit the horrid crimes committed against the "prisoners"?
ReplyDeleteEach time I read another one of your post its a real eye opener, I learn so many more awful facts. I know I've said it a million times but I'm still shocked that people would do this to another person. The fact they knew that it was wrong before but still did it! Plus all the facts and pictures in this certain blog really threw me off. I was also disappointed with myself because I knew nothing about this camp and probably couldn't say any other names of concentration camps. The real question I asked myself in the beginning was how did the people not see this camp? They obviously knew something was up when they were told to move out. Plus the place was big as hell, and it fit 2.5 million people in it at one time! in addition, the pictures shown of objects really freaked me out. As I was scrolling I just saw faces of people whose shoes or shirts they could have belonged to. The fact they thought they could get their security or valuables back before they were sent to certain death also freaks me out. But the biggest thing that creeped me out was the little girls doll. They took that priceless thing from her, her only comfort on scary journey there and before torture or maybe even death. I think that might be the worst thing to do to a child. Talking about children, the drawings from children in the camps truly scared me...the fact that they are not drawing unicorns but instead death is very concerning. Another aspect I was shocked was finding your parents name in that book. The fact the Nazis killed so many people some of the dead have the same names. What made me proud almost was you wearing the Israel flag around you. its almost like honoring the dead but also honoring the faith in such a place of hatred. Furthermore, the idea you could fit lots of Jews in a rail car and keep them in there for 10 hours was insane. I would have a panic attack. The one thing that really confused me was why did the Nazis burn and destroy their own camps? Were they not proud of the work they had done? Did they tear it down because they had a remote sense of what they were doing was wrong or that society does not agree with it? Were they afraid of the allies seeing what they had done and tore it down with a sense of consequence coming? I also see the side of "get rid of the evidence." This camp from picture seems like a normal place, it was not run down or extra scary but the things told that had happened here is very terrifying. After being in your class, I really want to go on one of these trips, Maybe one day I can be as great of a English teacher as you and go on one...
ReplyDelete- Nicholas Wartham
Over the course of writing reactions to the blog entries, the amount of examples of irony shocks me. Especially in this blog entry, I found two examples that stood out to me the most. The picture of the sign that is ironically translated to “Work is Liberty,” is yet another example of the Nazis’ deceitfulness because they obviously never wanted/were going to allow the Jews to be free. This “brainwashing” mechanism is even present in the camps because of the lies that are told to the Jews every day. The number of times that the Nazis purposely lied to the Jews’ faces is still amazing to me. How could you do that every day…promising a future that was far from existent? Obviously, as you mentioned in your blog, this people are far from humane and even animalistic. The Nazis told so many people that they were just “resettling.” I couldn’t imagine having my hopes of survival crushed repetitively every day. Psychologically, I don’t know and don’t really want to know how that would affect my everyday thoughts/actions. I would have to live in a constant battle between what was being told to me and what my gut told me. That emotional rollercoaster that had the “all too common” potential of resulting in death would be so hard for me to endure. The picture of the Jewish children, ignorant to the fact that they are marching towards their deaths, really affected me emotionally. They were so innocent, and they had no idea what was about to happen to them. How could the Nazis tell the children that they were going to “safety” when in reality, they were going to a place that was far from safe? I don’t know why, but this picture has really affected me. I just am so confused. How could you do that to children? The questions continue to linger in my thoughts. Another example of irony that I thought was very compelling was that the gas (Zyklon B) cans were delivered in fake Red Cross vehicles. Going back to my first point, the Nazis were tampering so much with the victims’ emotions/thoughts that it got to the point where they didn’t know what to trust anymore. I couldn’t live like that…not being able to trust anyone or anything that comes out of the Nazis’ mouths for multiple years (if you stayed in the camp that long). This might sound morbid, but for me, I would rather die sooner and not have to endure all of that psychological pain. Again...the poor children who were told they were going to be safe or get their belongings back. Hearing about children being tortured has affected me more because they haven’t even gotten the opportunity to explore or live life. That part is the saddest for me to ponder about. Lastly, I couldn’t imagine how you felt when you walked through and saw a recognizable name in your family. That is just crazy to think about. I don’t know if I could go through and have the mentality that “It could have been my immediate family, or it could have affected me.” All the “What If” questions continue to swarm in my thoughts. Overall, this entry has affected me the most because I finally see everything in perspective. The entire thing is so gruesome to think about. I don’t think I can think about it anymore without getting really upset.
ReplyDeleteThis entry aggressively grabbed my attention. I couldn't believe some of the things that were listed. To have read that only a few people that arrived at this camp were given prison status seems unreal. The thought of how many Jews were sent straight to death the minute they stepped into the camp is so terrible that it's almost unexplainable. I couldn't imagine the agony the Sonderkommandos faced in this camp. It's ridiculous what the Nazis made these people do. Not only did these people recognize their dead family members as their job but, they had to be killed after four months since they gained knowledge about the camp. There's no reason for this at all. The photo of the young boys with their belongings entering the camp is very upsetting. The fact these boys had no clue what they were walking into is hard to comprehend. I can't fathom walking into a place where I'm likely to immediately be killed. I was disgusted when I read that the Zyklon B cans were delivered by fake Red Cross vehicles. This is so ironic because a Red Cross vehicle is supposed to be full of hope and resources to help people. Instead, these vehicles carried many Jews deaths which is terrible. The places the Jews were expected to sleep were awful. There's no humanity in making someone sleep on hay or a bare piece of wood. These photographs really help explain and further my knowledge about the Holocaust.
ReplyDeleteWow, what an experience that must have been. By just looking at the pictures and reading the descriptions of actual people, it made it more personal and emotional. I am very surprised Eva Kor was able to forgive Mengele and the other Nazis. After experiencing the horrors of the experiments and gassings firsthand, it would be extremely hard to forgive the people responsible. It must have been remarkable to hear her different stories when she spoke. Also, it is crazy to think that over 1.5 million people were murdered in one camp. This is just insane. That is like Charlotte’s entire population being wiped out in three or four years. One thing I found interesting was that the Nazis started to destroy the evidence of what they did. I remember you saying that the Nazis thought that what they were doing was good, but if they thought that, why would they have such an urgency to destroy what they did.
ReplyDeleteAuschwitz has by far been the most interesting one, and I love the picture you took with the train tracks going into the camp with a dark sky above. That picture seems to be everywhere, and it looks like it came out of a movie. I think it is disgraceful that the Nazis would make the Jews sleep on Hay if there were no more bunks. It’s as if they weren’t degraded enough with the shaved heads and tattoos. The hay is also similar to all of the animal comparisons in the Sunflower. Auschwitz has been very interesting, and it is one of the most well known camps.
Wow. I’m speechless. This really, really bothers me. As you said, the sign “Work is liberty,” is ironic. The Nazis would have never let the Jews free. The Nazis knew that they were losing the war, and the American soldiers were on their way. Even then, they took the Jews on a death march to make sure that they wouldn’t get away. The picture of the “prisoners” warning the other Jews to lie about their age reminded me of my grandma’s sister. She was taken by the Nazis when she was about 13 years old, so she could work for the .They found out she was too young and let her come back to her family. She was very lucky to return home unlike a lot of other people. The Nazis kept a lot of the Jewish people’s possessions. I don’t understand why though. How does that benefit them? I’m glad that they did though, because it’s just more evidence for the world to see that the Holocaust did actually happen. It really breaks my heart that all of this happened. I think about it and try to imagine what it was like for the Jews, but I know that I nor anybody else who hasn’t been in the concentration camps will never really know what it was like. It’s so mind blowing that I can’t even rap my head around it. I absolutely loved that you wrapped the Jewish flag around you. You are proud of your religion, and you don’t care what others think, and I applaud you for that because some people are embarrassed of their religion. I know that must have been really hard for you, but at the same time a life changing experience. I think I’m going to add that to my bucket list! Learning about the Holocaust in your class is amazing. You teach it in a way that touches the students personally and it really opens up a person’s eyes.
ReplyDeleteThis was by far the most disturbing camp that I have read in your blog. I still don't understand why the Nazis forced the Jews to work when they wanted to kill them? But, when they did kill them, and cremate their body then use ashes u as fertilizer. The Nazis were sick! The pictures of the stairs made me nauseous. Just thinking as a parent that their child will die slowly and painfully. I can't even imagine what the parents would do inside the gas chambers when the Nazis would release the gas. I have three baby sisters, and I would try so hard to try to hide them, or let them escape from the camp. What could the Nazis possibly be thinking? They thought killing babies was the right thing to do. What monsters they were. This reminded me of Night when they would kill the babies, and it literally made me mad the rest of the day. Now thinking about The Sunflower, I too would not forgive that dying demon that lied on the bed. I personally think every Nazi deserves to be punished, even they never killed a Jew or anyone. They all had the same mind set. Brainwashed. It's important you teach this Mrs. Stone.. Not to let it happen again, but so we can always remember that these were normal people, intelligent, and even some religious; and they ended up doing these horrific crimes.
ReplyDeleteI find the whole camp disgustingly deceiving. The “Work is Liberty” sign, having all the Jewish people thinking they were simply relocated, and how there was no guns, violence, and dogs at first infuriates me. It’s hard to understand how a camp of that massive size didn’t draw more attention to the hellish situation. It’s also hard for me to comprehend how evidence of this was not enough to initiate action in order to free the Jewish people. I never knew Auschwitz’s first inhabitants were anyone who opposed Nazism and that the Jewish people did not arrive until two years after the camp had already been established. It’s a shame the camp was even established at all.
ReplyDeleteWhat I also find alarming is how quickly the camp expanded. Out of the 2.5 million Jewish people deported there, it hurts to learn that only 405,000 were given prisoner status. Only ten percent were recorded! I wish no one ever had to be given prisoner status, but I find it very upsetting that so many people weren’t even acknowledged in the horrors as they were sent to their immediate deaths. It also sickens me every time I read about the Sonderkommandos and their “duties”. I would never find the bed, extra food, and extra clothes worth cremating my own loved ones.
Whenever I read about the children in the camps, I envision all of the little kids I babysit. I can’t imagine them getting tattooed on their legs because their arms weren’t big enough. I can’t believe people could even think up these kinds of plans. How desperate must one be to send children obliviously walking to their deaths? Whenever I see the pictures, I have to remind myself it was your camera that took them. I can’t imagine what you must have felt going through all of these camps. The gas cans, the shoes, the luggage, along with everything else you witnessed disgusts and enrages me. How can people obtain the mindset that they have the power to decide who is human and who isn’t? How is it that the people making those decisions are the most inhumane people I will ever learn? I don’t think I’ll ever be able to understand it.
It is startling to think about how much Auschwitz is like a slaughter house, and even worse to play out the Jews’ situation in my head. The “cattle” are locked in disgusting railroad cars for transportation lasting up to ten days. The car is cramped, dark, nasty, and filled with human waste. The “cattle” are close to starved by the time they reach their destination, but as soon as they get out of that hellhole, over 90 percent of the “cattle” are immediately sent to slaughter alongside their family and friends. The other 10 percent are tattooed, stripped of their valuables, and put to work in a terrifying environment.
ReplyDeleteThis very situation was faced by approximately 2.5 million Jews. That is a horrible fate for anyone, but the Jews had done nothing wrong. It truly disgusts me to know that the United States, the country I view as the greatest country in the world, knew about but did nothing to stop this horrible tragedy. It is shameful to the German people that a society as civilized as theirs could simply sit back and watch the horrors being committed at Auschwitz. I believe that it takes an extreme level of evil to commit such acts, but unlike you, I believe humans are capable of such terrible things. It is this belief that scares me so much. If we could differentiate between the monsters and the average person, the world would be a much better place. It is the lack of difference between people who are evil and people who are not that makes the world such a dangerous place. To assume that all people are bad is cynical, but to assume all people are good is foolish and dangerous.
Like many other posts, this post emphasizes the Nazis duplicitousness and there adroit manipulation skills. It was truly abhorrent how the Nazis presented the Jews with false sense of hope and promises. After reading your post, I came the conclusion that the Nazis weren’t monsters, but they were much worse! They not only annihilated 11 million innocent people, but they psychotically tortured and manipulated them; giving the impression of hope, when really they were being led to their excruciating death. Psychological torture seems to have a significant reocurrence in each blog, the Nazis simply didn’t want all Jews to be murdered, they wanted them to suffer; hence the Ravensbruck camp being surrounded by beautiful landscapes, the Sachsenhausen camp being in the center of town (and being portrayed as a zoo, where the prisoners can hear the laughs of men, women, and children who did not care to help them), and the Auschwitz camp, where the notion of “work is liberty” was being used to manipulate the Jews. I just don’t understand what makes not one man, but multiple men to become so corrupt. It made me sick when I saw the image of the children being led to their death. After reading your post and reading “Night”, I can’t even begin to understand the pain and the horror that their parents must have endured; having to reassure their kids that everything would be fine and giving their kids hope that they did not possess themselves, it takes a unquestionable amount of strength to tell your child to close his/her eyes, just so they don’t suffer anymore than they have too. Although, the thing that really infuriated me was the fact that the Nazis looted the belongings of the murdered innocent men, women, and children, and used it for their own personal gain. The Jews had fought so hard to survive, traveled hundreds of miles with their hefty bags, carrying the only thing on earth that they truly owned, and in the end it was all stripped from them. I don’t know how some parents retained hope, knowing that anytime they could die (they wouldn’t even see it coming), and if they died, their children would be left in a world consumed with hatred and blindness. They must have had an abundant amount of faith, because I don’t know how else one would be able to have hope; especially the Sonderkommandos, they lived to die; I can’t imagine knowing that I would die in the next three months, but all that i could do about it is work for those who will murder me, and hope that it buys me more time. It abhors me that men can be so evil, I just can’t understand what causes not one man, but multiple men to become consumed with hate and blood lust.
ReplyDelete-Chris.M
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ReplyDeleteSince it was the biggest, Auschwitz is the only concentration camp I had ever heard of. How could someone use someone else’s own ashes as fertilizer? It’s saddening that someone’s ashes would be used for that. Did people only want to be Sonderkommandos for somewhat better living conditions? If they knew they would have to die within four months, then why become one? It pleasing to know that the old prisoners would tell the new arrivals what they have to come. I’m glad they helped one another out to help them live as long as they could. It was really sneaky of the Nazis to have the Zyklon B delivered by fake Red Cross vehicles. It seems like they had tricks for everything imaginable to hide their evidence. Those kids are beyond brave to be facing those harsh conditions. It’s sickening that people could even treat young innocent children in those horrible ways. How could a group of people just decide to exterminate an entire population group? It’s sickening that humans were able to treat other humans like animals by making them sleep on hay. How could people be so deceiving and tell such lies to defenseless, vulnerable people? It’s devastating to see all of their most prized possessions be taken away from them, but it is even more upsetting that they would never be reunited with those items ever again. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be marching with other young kids to our deaths. Those pictures show the true, harsh reality of the Holocaust. It is interesting to see a picture of the a set of twins that were experimented on by Mengele. I’m glad she was able to forgive in order for herself to move forward. The cattle cars appear to be fairly small to fit 80-90 people for 10 days. I cannot even begin to imagine the suffocation and the conditions inside those cars. It’s interesting that the Nazis only began to panic and quickly got rid of their evidence once they began to lose the war. I continue to be fascinated by all of the interesting facts that I’m learning through these blog posts.
ReplyDeleteThe worst part of Auschwitz, is that it was built by Jewish slaves. These Jews were forced to basically build their own death trap and there was nothing they could about it. Also, the sign that says “work is liberty” has SO much irony in it because like you says, the Nazis CLEARLY never intended for the Jews to be free. The Jews had absolutely no idea what was really happening when they walked into those camps. They were told to write their names and addresses on their luggage which made them feel safe and that they might actually be getting their things back. It’s all just so awful. They would take all their things and just turn it right around to the Germans. At the time, the Germans took EVERYTHING away from them - Their families, their friends, their belongings, and their lives. I can’t imagine what it must’ve been like to be a German when this was all over. The Germans de-personalized the entire Holocaust simply by cutting their hair off and naming them when numbers. I find that horrifying. That must’ve been how they slept at night. Knowing that they were just numbers - nothing important, right? Children… I also CAN”T POSSIBLY imagine how the Germans went to sleep knowing that they were murdering CHILDREN. They are the next generation, the key to the future, the people who are supposed to invent, and the people with the greatest ideas. That’s 1.5 million ideas gone. We lost 1.5 million of what could've been attributes to the new world. But that’s not all. We lost 11 million of the greatest minds that COULD’VE done so much for this world. lost. gone. I always imagine when people die what could've been of their future. What would they have done with their lives if they hadn't died. What else could they have done. And the idea that the Nazi’s destroyed 11 million futures makes me cringe. No, the FACT that the Nazi’s destroyed 11 million futures makes me cringe. All these pictures, these faces, these readings, it’s just horrible. I can’t believe the Germans were proud of what they were doing. Did it give them a rush? Spark their adrenaline? What? I’ll never understand why. I can’t believe that being desperate led to this.
ReplyDeleteThis entry is definitely by far the most deep. Even the sign that says work is liberty just makes me want to throw something. Even worse, they made the people around the camp evacuate the area so that they could go forward with their concentration camp. Also, it seems like Jews were imprisoned before the camp was finally built because they were treated as slaves. Again, this is sick… Even for the Sonderkommandos, it was bad because they had to put their family and friends in a cremation system. And, they only had a four month life span in the camp… Next, I find it horrifying how they treated the children and babies. How could they tattoo their legs and then send them of with their mothers, or worse, to the gas chambers. Also, the gas chambers are a tough subject. I remember you mentioning that you saw scratch marks from were the Jews were trying to get out. That scene put into my head makes me want to puke. How could someone physically put lethal gas into a chamber and watch as other human beings tried so desperately to escape? And they chose to do it which was the worst part about the killings. Finally, the pictures really brought to life what it was like to be in there. The pictures that really got me the most was the one with all the cans of Zyklon B and the picture of the stairs leading to the gas chambers. The mountain of cans visually brought to life how many people were killed. The stair picture really makes me feel bad knowing that millions of Jews walked that same path to their death.
ReplyDeleteAuschwitz is defiantly the worst place I have read about on your blog I had no idea that only so few of the Jews that came to the camp were ever actually prisoners. I didn’t realize so many were immediately sent to the death chambers. The Sonderkommandos had some of the worst jobs in the concentration camp at least psychologically. Even though they ate better and were better off from the others physically but having to carry the dead bodies of other Jews and even their family must have been crippling mentally, and then they were just killed off after a couple of months. In your blog post you said that these Nazis were not human, but these Nazis were people. They were just as human as we are and we must admit that as hard as it is to do that. We are just as capable to do that as they were. You said only pure evil can do what they did but that is what humans are capable of humans can be terrible, awful creatures. There is no excuse for what they did and their actions should be condemned completely, but we must also remember that if we were put in their situation there is a good chance we would do the exact same thing no matter how hard it is to except that we would; we must except that we are capable of doing what they did. Most people would say they wouldn’t and that they could never do that but they can they just don’t realize they can become something they could never imagine. We are beyond capable of what they did.
ReplyDeleteThat’s so ironic that the front sign would be “work is liberty.” I wonder if the Jews ever thought if they worked hard enough they would be set free. Obviously it’s what the Nazis wanted them to think. I couldn’t even imagine being one of those strong Nazi soldiers. Retrieving bodies of people that could have once been my neighbor is just terrifying. I would want to kill myself at that point. There isn’t much reason for life when u are picking up your dead friends. That’s a crazy fact that 90% of Jews went straight to die. You would think they would keep like 20-30% for all of the work but I guess not. I never thought of the camps to look like that. The camps pretty much looked like miniature cities. I thought it was one big building with a big yard and the Jews had almost hut like houses. I thought the Nazis lived in the buildings while the Jews stayed outside. It’s so sad that they would make the Jewish kids walk into their death. It would be a lot better if they just didn’t kill the kids at all. I understand that was their plan and all but how could you live with yourself knowing you just murdered hundreds of little kids. I couldn’t even talk to my parents ever again. I would have to live by myself staring at a wall if I did something that harsh.
ReplyDeleteThis was by far the most influential and powerful entry of your entire blog so far for me. If there were an actual Hell on earth, Auschwitz would’ve been it. There is simply no feasible explanation to why someone would create something that quit literally was the embodiment of evil. It killed an estimated 2.1 MILLION Jews. Not only I that the most horrendous crime ever committed, but also people just wouldn’t believe that someone that sinister, that evil, would run a place like that monstrosity. Either way, I was kind of mystified to why the Nazis had a sign above the entrance of Auschwitz saying, “Work is Liberty”. I know they put it there on purpose but I don’t necessarily understand their reason. Maybe it was supposed to be a cruel joke. Maybe it was for the previous occupants, the Polish doctors, teachers, and spiritual and intellectual leaders. I truly do not know the reason why it was put there. I also thought it was crazy how there were people with your same name in the book! I mean, they could’ve been cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, or just anyone related to you. I can’t possible even begin to fathom what you were feeling reading your possible relatives names in that book, knowing they died in the gas chambers. I was wondering why all of the death camps were abandoned but not Auschwitz. Was it because the other camps were closer to the oncoming U.S. or British troops?
ReplyDeleteWhat I found most intriguing about this post was how the Nazis treated the Jews as lesser than livestock. The fact that a group of Nazis got together and made plans for Auschwitz is hard to believe. These men must have had a true hatred for the Jews to come up with such a plan. The Jews were labeled as livestock, but treated as disposable items that needed to be gotten rid of.
ReplyDeleteThe pictures of Auschwitz and its former inhabitants are what most shocked me. The pictures of surviving Jews looked more like skeletons than living people, and the looks in their eyes showed the death and destruction of their people. The photo that truly disturbed me was the one of the gaunt looking small child. It is one thing for an adult or even a teenager to be starved in this way, but it is a completely different act of evil when committed against a small child. This disregard for even the most helpless of the Jews shows how detached the Nazis were from the fact that the Jews really were people. The pictures of the camp itself and the belongings of the Jews show how they were all normal people torn from their lives and stripped of their things to be exterminated. Its not that I didn't believe the holocaust before, but the pictures really showed how real it was.
The fact that the Nazis tried to destroy the evidence of their despicable deeds is another crime within itself. The Nazis were proud of their "Final Solution" right up until the moment that they started loosing the war. The Nazis showed how two faced and despicable they really were when they tried to destroy all evidence of the holocaust and tried to claim that it never happened. How could one expect to cover up the murder of 2.5 million innocent people? I do not understand.
Two and a half million is just an estimate of how many Jews died in Auschwitz. It’s scary to think that is just an estimation on a number that could be much greater since lots of Jews didn’t have numbers assigned to them. It’s sad that the Sonderkommandos had to pull out their own people’s bodies to look for gold, and they sometimes came across family members. I could not imagine the feeling of me pulling out a body looking for gold teeth, only to see my mom’s hollow eyes staring at me. This must have been psychologically demoralizing for the Sonderkommandos. The quote, “know that in the most difficult moments, when death is ever-present, we try to maintain human dignity,” made a strong impact on me. It shows how brave most Jews were. They wanted to die knowing who they were despite all the degrading events the Nazis put them through. It is very admirable because if I were in that situation, I wonder if I would even consider myself human after being abused for that long. The cattle cars were sometimes locked for 10 days without being re-opened. I could not imagine being inside that small of a car with 80-90 people. I know how it stuffy it gets in our classroom and it disgusts me to think they were even closer for 10 days! I also see the irony in the front gate when the words translate “to work is liberty.” The Nazis never intended for the Jews that stepped into that camp to have liberty again so it’s very ironic they hung that sign.
ReplyDeleteWow. My previous knowledge of Auschwitz was just the tip of the iceberg. Reading this blog put everything together for me. I used to just think "oh man the Holocaust.. so many people died.. Hitler is a terrible man." Now, I understand the Holocaust with a greater depth than before. A few things that stood out to me were the bronze or copper stature of the to prisoners bundled up, and the full picture of the camp that is the last picture. Yes all of there is a TON of irony and deception, but these two pictures stood out the most. It amazes me how all this time after in that statue the mourn and agony is still present. I looked at that picture and immediately stopped scrolling. It's the fact that the crimes committed by the Nazis were so grave that they can still be witnessed through a statue! Secondly, the panoramic view of Auschwitz. At first I looked at it and started thinking all that I saw in the picture. I looked at all the grass and the picture in general and didn't really think That thousands of prisoners were once struggling and suffering to survive. It didn't look so bad at first. Then, I glanced at the fence, and that is where it really hit me. I started to imagine how cramped and how terrible the conditions really were. I could never fully understand how it was. I wasn't a victim of genocide. What I lacked in first hand experience, my imagination took over. I started to place all of the images I've seen over the course of the unit and finally got a grasp of what it must've been like. There is no word horrible enough to describe what the Nazis did. Lastly, I think it is freaking crazy that your name was on that list multiple times! What was your initial reaction? Have you ever deeply thought about it or done some family research to see if you were related to them?
ReplyDeleteWOW!The whole time I was reading this I couldn't imagine such horror! especially when I read about how mothers would tell there kids it's all right even when they knew it wasn't! That's crazy! Also, how the gas chambers and crematorium were basically always running and the Nazis thought the Sonderkommandos and the jews were "going to slow" , so the Nazis stepped in and started burning the bodies in pits!What also made me very disturbed was that they jews were literally treated like animals! They had to sleep on hay or probably just the ground if they didn't have a spot in the baracks which were also bad! To think about it I sometimes complain about my mattress , and to have the top was a treat.I'm Pissed! HOW could PEOPLE DO THIS TO OTHER PEOPLE! THAT's EVIL! I just can't image how they could think that was okay to do. Kill other people. Even though not all Nazis weren't bad I still cannot believe they were apart of such an awful group. I think deep down everyone should know it's not right to MURDER!!!! OVER AND OVER AGAIN, MILLIONS OF PEOPLE AND KIDS!! That is just pure evil. How can someone be that evil. I just don't get it! I was horrified while looking at the photos you posted. To think that every pair of those shoes belonged to someone. Kids, parents, brothers, sisters, grandmothers, NEWLY WEDS! friends, neighbors, grandfathers being torn apart from each other and killed just because either they were Jewish. Lastly, THE TRAIN CARS THEY WERE BROUGHT IN! 10 days or sometimes even longer! HOLY CRAP! being stuck in a small space with 80-90 people! They couldn't even sit in the cart with that many people! I couldn't image going through that! I complain about a trip to the beach in a car... which is about eight hours in my own seat with snacks and entertainment. I feel like a bad person for saying that I complain about that while jews had to go through so much worse. I will never understand how the Nazis could watch all these people get killed. Watching someone get killed would traumatize me forever.
ReplyDeleteYou were not lying when you said this would be tough to read. Every part of this blog entry just made me cringe. Seeing the burning bodies, and the steps leading to the gas chambers just killed me inside. How could the Nazis just be so vile and cruel it's honestly upsetting. Then seeing your last name on the list dropped my jaw. The Nazis were just ruthless and cowards. They tried to get rid of all the evidence,for what? You shold be proud of what you've done shouldn't you? You said this was the right thing to do for Germany, now you want to pretend that it didn't happen? Even reading this entries I couldn't imagine how it would've been back during the Holocaust living as a Jew im concentration camp. Just being treated like the lowest form of life on earth everyday, would breat me down to the point where I'd just be like whatever happens, happens;I can't change it, so why worry about it? I'm disgusted to see all those cans off gas that they used to kill the Jews, and seeing the mild nourished bodies. It all just made me want to be even more thankful for the life that I have. It so sad seeing these pictures, and then thinking about it, and realizing that this was real! Every bit of it, was real! It disappoints me. The sign at the front of the camp pisses me off. "To Work is Liberty," how disrespectful can they be? They kill all these Jews, then have the audacity to use the work "liberty" in the sign at the front of the camp. This whole unit just shows you how emotionally stromg you are, it toys with your emotions. You'll see one thing and it'll make you mad, and then you'll see something else and you'll be sad. You're emotions are just constantly changing. It fumes me to hear Mrs.Stone say "Those Nazis on trial were aquitted."
ReplyDeleteBefore reading the blog I wondered how much of it would focus on Himmler, Mengele or even Hitler because we haven't really discussed them much; I was disappointed but I liked how much detail and photographs we got of Auschwitz. It was ironic to see how rapid the damn cowardly Germans were to destroy the camp and escape as they were rapid to murder poor innocent lives. I mean you could literally sense the feeling of death within the walls, and I got a chill down my spine imaging what if that was me or my family? Could forgiveness really be the key to moving? As it helped Eva Kor. I hate fucking Himmler with a passion, that man just really puts me in a bad mood, and Mengele the sadistic bastard is probably even worse, who could look a little child in the eyes and then proceed to strip away their innocence just because they're curious to see what would happen. It causes me pain to see what one man could do to other when they've been completely brain-washed, but there were also those Nazis that liked to kill just for the fun or even a cynical urge, like that disgusting imbecile Amon Goethe. The people who yearn people to forgive the Nazis are some ignorant idiots as they haven't experienced firsthand the torture, the malnourishment, the constant companionship of death (Sunflower reference), and the list just goes on of all the Horrors the Jews experienced. When I read that only 10% of all Jews were registered when they got the camps just radiates all the death that happened at the Auschwitz, the estimated 2.5 million death of such innocence really makes anyone speechless. The duplicity of the Nazis was horrible beyond any regards, they let mother go first to easily lure in the small scared children. All the ironic situations in the blog were baffling; the red cross gave the Nazis the poison they would use to kill the Jews, they told them to pack their luggage to then later just take it and recycle it, the little girl who thought she was secure and left her doll believing she would get it back. I couldn't imagine sleeping on hay and then waking up to work all day for the men who are about to kill me and my loved ones.
ReplyDeleteWow. Seeing the entry into tho place was one thing that really caught my attention. With the sign above and the looking at the picture of the building knowing that Aushwitz was a living hell. And to read that when the Jews first arrived here they just thought they would be prisoned and be doing work....but no little did they know majority of them were but straight to death..just sickening to think that all happened. Looking through a lll the pictues helped me more better imagine what life was like as a Jew and the horrible things they had to go through. The pictures of the piles of glasses, and shoes that were still left over and knowing that there were so many more than that is just insane of the amounts of people that they killed here and just 10% were registered. At first when I heard about Aushwitz I just thought of it as just any ordinary camp..but no after reading about all that happened and the amounts of people that died here made me realize this place was beyond awful. When they were loosing in war they tried to ruin the gas chambers to hide what they had done...why would they even bother to hide what they did if they are the ones that took place in their own actions??? just stupid. HOW just HOW could anyone treat any innocent human the way Nazis treated the Jews. The picture of the hay for example and how they gave them that to sleep on... they did nothing nice they were disgusting,nasty,horrifying,insane monsters. Each blog of yours I read I get a more better visual of what life was like for the Jews. It has helped me learn so much more on what the Holocaust really was.
ReplyDeleteOut of all of the concentration camps in the Holocaust, I’ve definitely heard about Auschwitz far more than the others. However, I’ve learned a lot more about it through reading Night and even more through this post. I had no idea that this was where most Jews were transferred once other camps began to be subject to liberation or that Auschwitz has the record for most mass killings in history. This honestly doesn’t surprise me given the inhumanly violent nature of the SS officers, like Josef Mengele, controlling the camp. Another particularly twisted part of the camp that caught my attention was the sign that welcomed all new arrivals to their new lives of pain, torture, and death. It’s so ironic that the Nazis claimed to be freeing the prisoners through forced labor when, in actuality, the camp stripped them of any and all liberty they had left. I wonder if this was their justification for committing the countless unspeakable atrocities against the Jews. The Nazis might’ve felt like they were doing the right thing by torturing the prisoners, which might explain why this genocide occurred. If they were so blinded by the ideals the Nazis consistently ingrained in their minds from their childhood on, they wouldn’t see the horrendous crimes they were committing as anything more than a necessary duty. Additionally, the ratio of the people who were deported to the camp and those who were actually registered as prisoners is sickening. How can the Nazis not see the evil in killing two million innocent, defenseless people? I thought that most made it past the initial selections, but I suppose that I didn’t take into account that most women and children were doomed upon their arrival. Furthermore, the last quote that you including regarding a father’s last words to his son really affected me. The two genuinely thought they were going to be working with each other in a factory only to be thrown and locked into a gas chamber without having any idea of what was about to happen to them. At least they weren’t scared. I can’t even imagine what my own parents would say to me and my brother in such a desperate, helpless situation. It must’ve been unspeakably difficult for parents to console their children as they were walking to their deaths; to watch your child die is something that no one deserves to experience, and it’s something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.
ReplyDeleteThere's something terrifying about those pyramids of used of Zyklon B. There are certain things that you just can't appreciate for their full magnitude until you witness it firsthand, and this isn't any aftermath that I would really ever want to observe. The thought that all that stuff was pumped into people's blood streams is sickening... Even worse, it's no longer just recognition of the fact that a mass amount of Jews were slaughtered during the Holocaust. Throughout this unit, we've been made to relate to these people on a more personal level. The Zyklon wasn't simply suffocating a number that would later be used as leverage against Germany, it was suffocating real men, women, and children who led real lives. Each and every one of those cans was responsible for taking a life. When that wasn't "efficient" enough, the Nazis decided to condense it even further if only to oil their killing machine. This begs the question of, "how does an entire nation so readily cast aside their humanity?" How is indoctrination so powerful? If we as a species don't naturally come by original ideas, then what happens next time an Adolf Hitler-esque decides to take hold of a government? Do we drink the Kool-Aid, or inhale the Zyklon? I can only hope that there are better answers, and hopefully, this Holocaust study will help in bringing them to light.
ReplyDeleteThe thing that bothers me most is the way the Nazis tricked the Jews and gave them a false sense of security. The Nazis tried to keep everything calm with the entrance sign and by telling the Jews of resettlement. I can only imagine that this made the Jews even more heart broken when they realized the truth. Another thing that I noticed was the amount of irony in this blog. Not only was the entrance sign ironic and twisted, but so was the use of hay as a bed. The Nazis treated the Jews as less than human by having them sleep on hay; however, in reality, the Nazis were the ones that weren't human. In fact this applies to all of the Holocaust. The Jews were treated like animals, but weren't the Nazis the true animals. Speaking of animals, one thing that you wrote really stood out to me. You said that the Nazis weren't even animals because at least animals had instinct to care for their young. I completely agree; while I call the Nazis animals, it is only because I lack a better word. The reason that I find myself not being able to find a better word is because what the Nazis did was indescribable. They acted worse than humans and worse than animals. They acted as creatures that the world had never even seen before. The fact that there were so many deaths that they can only estimate proves how sickening the Nazis were. It's absolutely unfathomable to think that 10 percent of transported Jews were registered, and there was a total of 450,000 registered Jews. This means that the percentage of Jews that were transported and killed had to be at least two times bigger than 450,000. It blows my mind.
ReplyDeleteIt is scary to think that two and a half million people dead is only an estimate of how many people died in Auschwitz. It’s scary to think that the two and a half million is only an estimate. That there could be hundreds, thousands, maybe millions unaccounted for. That is just so befuddling to me that these so called humans could do that to millions of innocent human beings. How can you call yourself a human after that? These Nazis must have had true hatred for these people. What got me was that the Jews were treated like livestock maybe less than that. If there wasn’t enough room on the barracks for them, they were forced to sleep on hay. HAY! The Jews were labeled as livestock but were treated as less than that. As disposable beings whose only use was forced labor. In my opinion, if there was a hell on earth it would have been Auschwitz. I also found it weird that some of the names in the book were the same as some of your relatives. Those could have been your aunts, uncles, cousins or grandparents. The sign above the entrance to Auschwitz got me. That sign is deeply twisted. The sign says, “work is liberty”. Now that’s just messed up. To give these Jews false hope when they first walk into Auschwitz is just malicious.
ReplyDeleteCorey Choka
This is astonishing how big it is. I always saw pictures of the front gate with the tracks, but i never saw anything else. The ironic part that broke my heart was the father telling the son "See? The Germans are human. They're going to let us work in a factory," when really they were the chimneys to the ovens. It is a horrible thought. Normally, I would try to find a modern event to compare it to, but I can think of none. I completely agree with your statement that they are less than animals. They aren't even monsters. Monsters have hearts too. (refer to Monsters Inc.) They are the physical, human embodiment of hate, cruelty, murder, and demons. They act as if the devil himself has taken over. The part with the steps was cruel. The parents themselves afraid and in mental agony, yet they still reassure the children of safety. What hurts the most is that it's not hidden. It's right there for everyone to see. They are cheating, manipulative, crafty devils. Sneaking in poison in fake red cross trucks. I heard a story once that several families were aware of the incident. They all followed the German "description" of a Jew. All but one. He was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed child. His parents were aware of this and what was happening so they sent him to an Aryan family at the age of 9. He was raised by them, until they sold him out for a mere ℛℳ200. The family themselves, though not Jewish, were sent to Auschwitz, and killed. These images are horrifying. I thought that camping was uncomfortable. Now is should just suck it up. I hope truly that these events never occur again.
ReplyDeleteI am disgusted with the "solutions" Nazis like Himmler carried out to test on Jews. How could they treat humans like lab rats? It's horrible! I can't express how disgusted I am. I just can't. The fact that there is only an estimate of the number of innocent lives that were lost at the site angers me. How many lives were truly lost? These people worked their lives off only to be killed eventually. It's horrible that these masses were manipulated into thinking the Nazis were actually civilized. The slogan they used,"work is liberty," is very ironic. There was no such thing as "LIBERTY" in the Holocaust. Horrible. Imagine manipulating many into thinking they're safe. WOW! These methods used by Nazis were inhumane. Nazis were not Animals but monsters. What possessed them to carry out such cruel crimes on others? Nazis like Himmler and Hitler expressed no form of sympathy towards these innocent people. The blogs you wrote just make me relate back to the ethnic cleansing that happened in the Balkans. My family and other families experienced atrocities just like this. Events like this always make me question humanity. How does a thought like exterminating other people come to someone's mind? Auschwitz was a horrible place for these people,and I could only express my sympathy with these innocent lives that were lost. Why can't we just come together and avoid events like these? It's honestly disgusting to even imagine events like this are still happening in our time. Auschwitz and its operators were definitely evil people. I could never imagine being put into a situation like this. The Holocaust really affected me and sparked even more interest into the topic.
ReplyDeleteArmin S.
I agree with what you said about Auschwitz being a symbol. Whenever someone mentions a concentration camp during the Holocaust, I think of Auschwitz. I did not realize how big Auschwitz was. I also did not realize that they had different names for the different sections of the camp. It is crazy how big the camp is. When I think of camps during the Holocaust, I think of smaller camps, not huge ones. Hearing the things about the Nazis deception made me so mad. I hated to learn how they tricked the children and the mothers. The second picture that you showed was suprising to me. The picture made Auschwitz look like it was a simple village, but now I know that it was anything but that. It was truly disheartening to see all the children "walking to their death" and not knowing it. To see picture of people living and knowing that they were not going to make it, is an awful feeling. The images of the barracks, destroyed gas chambers, and the railroad cars, really brought everything to light. They showed me how awful the conditions were. I don't know how the survivors of the Holocaust dealt with it. They went through so much.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this article on the Auschwitz Concentration Camp, I am truly mortified. I just can't imagine the feeling of being taken from your home, put in a Ghetto, forced in a small cattle car for 10 days, then the Nazis opening the doors and you see the entrance "Work is liberty". The Jews were moved around so much, they were probably too tired before they go on the trains. Obviously they would be too weak and too tired to work as slaves. The picture with all the newcomers and children saddens me because they're so oblivious to what was actually going on. To wake up each and every day not knowing if it's ever going to end, or wondering if that day might be your last. What also saddens me is the quote of the father telling his child that the Nazis were actually civilized! There is so much irony related to the Holocaust. Also, out of all the inhumane things that they do to the "prisoners" they have to do experiments!! Like what kind of demonic act is that?? The POW's, the Jews, even the children! I fell so bad for Eva Kor and especially for her sister. It's scary just to imagine your life in the hands of Mengele. What is also scary is how Eva's sister died long after the Holocaust ended. Still to this day, doctors have absolutely no idea what he put in her! Just the idea of that is horrifying. I know she chose to do what she thought was best for her, and maybe it was. There is just no way in hell that I would ever even think about forgiving Mengele. I just feel sorry for the friends and families that lost their loved ones, and for the innocent people who died unnamed.
ReplyDeleteGraham
It is so true that Auschwitz is a symbol. Before your class, every time I heard the word “Holocaust”, the first thing I thought was the infamous concentration camp named Auschwitz. It is not surprising that, at first, this camp only held people of high culture and intelligence; of course, they were most likely to oppose Nazism. It so crazy to imagine that the number of victims is only an estimated one. I’m wondering how really many people died.
ReplyDeleteIt was so sad to read that the Sonderkommandos sometimes recognized their family members. They were treated better than the other “prisoners” but still suffered as much. I cannot stop thinking about their eventual reactions to see a person who they truly loved dead.
It’s really ironic to know that they tricked the Jews into believing they were safe when, in reality, the final solution was already planned, and they were all going to die.
The thing that really disgusted me the most about this whole article is the pictures that you posted, especially the ones about the children. How could the Nazis, without saying one word, even look at the Jewish children marching straight to the gas chambers? Did they not feel bad? Did they not feel like monsters? How can you do such horrible things to an innocent kid? I just will never get it.
Looking at all the millions of shoes, glasses, luggage, and cans of Zyklon B really breaks my heart. All of these objects really demonstrate how many Jews were killed; a number no one will never forget.
When reading this, the first thing that I saw that surprised me the most was that they used human ashes as fertilizer! What the F?! Even if you take out the Holocaust situation, that is the most disgusting thing. Does that even work as fertilizer? It's not even like there are any nutrients left because the body was burned. It's so absurd that they had to come up with creative ideas on how to use human ashes because there were so many. I didn't know that only 10% were taken as prisoners. I thought everyone who got transported were tattooed and everything. Also, if I was getting tattooed with a number, I'm pretty sure I would know I wasn't safe. Then again, we also know about the Holocaust, so we can associate getting tattooed with a number as unsafe. Every I see pictures of dead bodies being burned or little children about to die or anything like that, it completely brings me back to square one about understanding any of this. How can anyone think that something so horrifying and cruel can help their country? How can anything think that mass murder is something fun or right? It makes me want to take back any hesitation I had over not forgiving Karl, Oskar, and Frieda. Looking through all the pictures, I realized how big Auschwitz is. I knew it was big but actually having a picture of it in my head made it more real. I thought they at least had cots or something to sleep in; I can't believe they had to sleep on hay! It was strange (but cool) to see Eva Kor in that picture since I saw her talk to Oskar in the video online.
ReplyDeleteOut of all of the concentration camps, I have heard the most about Auschwitz. The fact that it was divided into three sections, one section devoted to extermination, horrifies me! The “Work is Liberty” sign disgusts me. It is ironic for two reasons. First of all, the Nazis never intended for the Jews to ever be liberated. Secondly, the work did not mean liberty at all; millions of Jews were worked to death at Auschwitz. I was shocked to find out that only 10% of the Jewish “transports” were registered, and the rest were automatically gassed upon arrival! When I saw the picture of the veterans warning the newcomers, I immediately thought about Night and how Elie Wiesel was warned by a veteran to lie about his age and say he was 18 instead of 15. It must have been terrifying to be warned so cautiously upon arriving at such an unfamiliar, ominous place. The deceitfulness of the Nazis was unreal; they made the concentration camps appear to be a safe, comforting place by allowing them to label their luggage. When I read how the luggage was picked through by the Nazis, I thought of Groening, for that was his role in the Holocaust. Before reading this blog and seeing the picture of all of the luggage, I didn’t think that what Groening did was too bad considering that he never killed anyone, but now, I am extremely disgusted by his actions! How could anyone steal helpless, innocent people’s valuable items?! What really disturbed me was how the Nazis redistributed the Jewish people’s shoes to Germans… didn’t they believe the Jews were subhuman? Why would they want anything to do with the shoes of Jews, and more importantly, why would they let their own people, who were better than everyone else, to wear shoes that once belonged to “sub humans?!” While I admire that a Jew secretly took a picture of the Nazis burning bodies, I am curious to how he got the camera. Also, how do we know that the Jewish person took the photo (I’m not challenging, I’m just curious!) It sickens me that the Nazis would find joy and pleasure in taking photos of suffering people- how sadist! I had always wondered what happened to the pregnant women and was shocked, I don’t know why this surprised me considering the hatefulness of the Nazis, to learn how they were one of the most vulnerable “prisoners” in the camp and were one of the first to be selected.
ReplyDelete- Madison Bain
I hate how everything the Nazis did was built for "efficiency." How the camp was built on the rail road tracks to help move materials and people, how it was near a town so the could evict locals. It's scary to think that the Nazis treated Jews as if they were objects in a land fill, trying to get read of them as quickly and efficiently as possible. The efficiency aspect disgusts me. I think that everyone who was killed in the Holocaust should be remembered in some way, so I was shocked to see that the deaths were only an estimate. Something as terrible as this does not deserve to be an estimate, it should be fully accounted for and well known. It is terrible that the Sonderkommandos sometimes had to see their families as they went through the dead's belongings, but why would they take that job in the first place? Yes, better food and better sleeping arrangements, but wouldn't the thought cross their minds that they were betraying their own families and people? Just a thought. I agree with you when you said they are less than animals. They took pride in what they did? Absolutely horrifying. What really struck me was at the end when the dad told the son that the Germans were actually civilized. What a disgusting word to refer to them as (even though he did not know any better). It reminded me of the movie when the father tries to convince his son that the whole thing was a game so they could survive. The Nazis were a plague to this world, and I am glad that we were able to eradicate them.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing that really grabbed my attention was the fact that the Nazis placed these camps so it was easier to eliminate the Jews. For instance, placing the camps near train tracks was used to transport the Jews, and that led to further exterminating them.
ReplyDeleteNext, I was very disturbed to hear that the Jews' ashes were used as fertilizers as if it was a normal thing to do. You can't just take something normal and turn it into something petrifying and horrid. It also made me upset to hear that when men went to retrieve dead bodies they sometimes recognized their own family. I imagined what it would be like if that were me, and It made me appreciate the life I have today even more than I already do. I can't even think of the depression and stress these men, women, and children experienced.
Looking at all of the pictures and blogs you posted really made me realize what the Holocaust actually was. Yes, we learned about it in history class, but no other teachers really went full into depth like you do. I truly recognize the importance of this event now. I have connected with it on an emotional level, and I am actually interested in learning even more about it. I'm very thrilled about being able to go on the DC trip with you next year!!
-Anna T
The thing that I hate most about the Nazis was their uses of euphemisms. Like how they "liquidated" the Jews after "relocating" them. It also pisses me off that everything that the Nazis did was for "efficiency." They made sure that they did everything as quickly and efficiently as possible. It sickens me to think about how they would cram as many people into huts, the trains, and even the gas chambers; people died from suffocating!
ReplyDeleteContinuing on the theme of "efficiency and sickening things" is that the Nazis would use the Jews' ASHES as fertilizers. (Of course to maintain efficiency and not to "waste any part of the cargo.") What kind of sick, inhumane person would even THINK of doing something like that?! Another thing that I wanted to mention was the sign above the gate in your first picture. The irony physically made me cringe..
I can't wait to come with you and explore the Holocaust Museum! I had a blast last time I went, and I can't wait to go again!
I feel like this entire unit has led up to writing this response even though that’s not true. When we covered the Holocaust in other English/history classes, everything centered on Auschwitz. After all, it’s become a symbol of the entire Holocaust. We learned about Auschwitz as if it were the whole Holocaust; I thought every single Holocaust victim had a number tattooed on their arm until recently. I appreciate that in your class, we spend time discussing things like social prejudice and the bystander effect. It’s so much more impactful than two weeks of reading Anne Frank’s diary and talking about racism being bad.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen pictures of Auschwitz. The only thing I recognized was the sign at the entrance. I thought I remembered it as being larger and more menacing. Realizing that the words were smaller than I’d previously thought, I was reminded that the Germans didn't mean this message sincerely. I’d always thought that it was a massive, reassuring sign, but its lack of size means to me that the Germans were lying through their teeth to the Jews; it’s not meant to draw a ton of attention.
I found it interesting that the camp has very much been turned into a Jewish memorial site (Well, more Jewish than anything else) even though less than half of Holocaust victims were Jewish. The symbolic grave stating that they were “mostly Jews” at Auschwitz explains why. The line stating that Auschwitz-Birkenau “surpassed all previous records for mass killing” had a deeper, ironic meaning to me. When I think of records being surpassed, I think of world records for things like “longest time holding three eggs in mouth while racing a unicycle down a mountain,” so the idea of records for mass killing was an ironic, dark turn I didn’t expect.
I appreciate the German government’s decision to allow access to so many (if not all) parts of the camp. They have hidden nothing; they even allowed you to see the barracks that the victims slept in and the children’s toys. This, to me, shows true regret for the things they’ve done. Like Karl, they gloss over nothing because they know the best story they can tell is the truth.
Auschwitz is probably the most well-known symbol of the concentration camps, but before this class, I really had no idea of the magnitude of what happened there or in any of the camps. The fact that we can only estimate how many people were killed, and yet even the estimated number is still so massive, is horrifying. Additionally, the way the Jews were told they were simply “resettling” before they were shipped off to their deaths is yet another example of the Nazi’s twisted, ironic actions. Not only did they have to kill millions of innocent men, women, and children, but they also felt the need to lie to them in order to do it. The infamous motto on Auschwitz’s sign, “Work is Liberty”/“Work Makes You Free,” is another example of this irony, but it also reminds me of the way many prisoners considered death to be freedom from their torture. In a way, if they were overworked to death as an overwhelming amount of them were, work did make them free.
ReplyDeleteThe picture of the pile of labelled luggage from slaughtered prisoners really struck me. So many people only teach the Holocaust by talking about the amount of people who were killed; they only want to focus on the numbers and statistics of it. However, it’s easy to become desensitized to numbers, and we stop comprehending the magnitude behind them. When you see a picture like this, you’re reminded that these were real people, real human beings, with names and addresses just like everyone else. The picture of the shoes struck me for the same reason; as you pointed out, the shoes represent people from all different families and social classes. The Nazis didn’t care if they were wearing worn-down workers’ boots or expensive heels; a Jew was a Jew no matter where they came from or how much money they had.
One interesting thing I notice a lot in your posts, the comments from others, and our class discussions is our eagerness to dehumanize the Nazis. No one wants to admit that the Nazis were people just like us. No one wants to admit human beings, not animals or monsters, were the ones who committed these crimes. I think if our goal is to prevent something like this from ever happening again, we have to confront the fact that it was real human beings who were capable of this level of hatred, indoctrination, and slaughter. Otherwise, we basically start to think, “Humans would never do this. Therefore, this won’t happen again because we’re humans.” It allows us to alienate ourselves from history and ignore our own prejudice or hatred instead of confronting and making efforts to overcome it.
-Rachel Kraiss
I wish we could see these people in today’s format; I wish we could bear witness to them in real colour and sound. I imagine seeing a multitude of faces every time I learn more about the holocaust. I wonder what the conditions of the camp were like in its final days; what did the prisoners feel as Allied forces liberated the camp? I’d love to experience that moment when the camps were shut down; I wonder why the camp wasn’t completely destroyed as the enemy advanced? The remains of the camp indicate that the SS had not destroyed it like others; was Nazi Germany so emaciated by the end of the war that they couldn’t finish their job? Or even hide their abomination? Just imagine a world without any evidence of the Holocaust; wouldn’t that be horrible? Millions of innocents wiped out without martyrdom? They would have perished for scratch, and their captors might have gone off with impunity.
ReplyDeleteI like the term coined in the blog post “previous records for mass killing”; it’s funny that we can use a word that suggests accomplishment with such a misfortune. The Nazis were the best at mass killings, guys! Let’s give them some awards! Blue ribbon in genocide! *claps* It reminds me of a contorted version of silly records like train trip records, but the Nazis are infamous for being the scum of the human race. They hold a world record. How facetious.
If I were constrained for as long as some of the prisoners, I would’ve witnessed this depravity, and I’d have died sowing sedition. Death by beasts I call it. Before I would be executed, I’d do my damnest to incur an insurrection or, at least, given as much retribution as I could’ve. I would not stop to speculate on how “human” these puppets were.
These Prisoners got treated lesser than livestock, to think of sleeping in that bottom bunk is horrendous, it look absolutely disgusting; sometimes they didn’t even get “bunks.” If you were lucky enough to make it off the car, as if being taken prisoner is “lucky,” that having to sleep in these was a death sentence. I find any Holocaust survive to be extremely interesting and mystifying. I hope that I’ll get to meet one someday, but with the survivors getting older and older, I don’t know if that will work out. Zyklon B was only invented in the 20s; for the Nazis, who better to test it on than the Jews. Only small amounts could kill many people, so to think that they had many truck worth is disgusting. The Nazis would have probably had to wear more than just masks because hydrocyanic acid is also a skin irritant. Pure evil and hatred fueled the most infamous genocide in history. The amount of deceit is sickening, from the ironic entrance sign to the living hell that looked like a factory. This was no “relocation,” they were walking to their death; only to be used as fertilizers. That is disgusting. I can’t think of anything much more humiliating that being burned and used as a fertilizer. Everything about the Holocaust is SICKENING, from what they did to them to the drawings that kids made about their surroundings. The post didn’t say much Mengele’s experiments, but I know that he was at Auschwitz. This class has really opened my eyes to the absolute horror that is the Holocaust.
ReplyDeleteWhenever I heard of the Holocaust, I did associated it with Auschwitz. Mainly because I had read “Diary of Anne Frank.” I also only thought that the Holocaust persecuted Jews. I never knew that before the Jews were sent to the concentration camps, the Polish were already there. It’s interesting to me how they just happened to have a place for the Jews to be tortured and killed.
ReplyDeleteI could never imagine the pain of the Sonderkommandos. The thought of having to burn people and search the dead bodies for valuables, then finding your family. That’s awful. It infuriates me because the Nazis that did this to them most likely couldn’t feel this pain. These circumstances are so bad that it is so hard to replicate. If I could punish Hitler and Himmler, I would want to replicate this pain and quadruple it. Sadly, this seems to be the worst that can happen.
How did the Nazis have time to remove all the prisoners’ body hair? I don’t see the reason to do that. I understand why they would shave the prisoner's’ head hair to avoid lice. I guess removing all their body hair dehumanized them because how could you look at a human and do something like that to them? This probably helped them see them as the “monsters” Hitler and the Nazis depicted them as.
This is absolutely, utterly astonishing, and I makes me so upset. I got somewhat mad at myself at one point of the blog, when you discussed the barracks. In my head I imagined bunk beds with horribly thin mattresses that four people slept on. When I learned they were stone openings in a wall that were separated by what looked like boards, I was absolutely shocked, but then my amazement calmed down because I know how bad the Nazi’s were. After that, I wasn't surprised one bit that they would make people sleep on hard, cold stone. It also hit me when you mentioned that you found your parents’ names in the book of people who were killed. I can’t imagine how that made you feel, but I can assume it was absolutely terrifying. Even thinking about that gives me the chills. I also found the art on the walls interesting. As someone who understands meanings through art, this stood out to me. This was a release for some of the people imprisoned at Auschwitz, and it was a way they could express themselves in such an oppressed environment. It was extremely deceitful of them to trick the Jews into thinking that they would have their possessions returned to them. The Nazis planned to take the prisoners’ things with them, but they had to add the extra torture just to mess with the Jews’ heads to make their lives even more miserable than they already were. I think it is really cool that you met Eva Kor. It is hard for me to think about being experimented on repeatedly and then my sister dying because of the numerous experiments. That is unfathomable to me, and I can’t begin to imagine how she felt after that traumatic experience.
ReplyDeleteJust to hear two and a half millions of people dead is just an estimate is shocking. You would expect that that is a large number, but to find out that there could be hundreds, thousands, ten thousand, or millions of people who were not included in that number. The Nazis are defiantly deranged unhuman beings. Calling them animals would be an insult to animals! They were sadistic beasts who deserve no type of sympathy! Whatever they did cannot be justified no matter how you looked at it. The Jews were manipulated into thinking that they were safe, and that they would just be relocated to another place, but in reality they were being relocated to their deaths. The Jews were being treated like lab rats that had no emotions or feelings. Even though it is quite obvious that the Nazis are unbelievably cruel, it just sounds to demotic to read that they would test poisons on people, and they delivered the poisons by fake international Red Cross vehicles. I think people underestimate the actual Holocaust, me included. When you find about these types of things, you can’t really find something to say because you are so shocked. People were being taken as prisoners, starved to death, treated like soulless beings, and murdered. Hopefully, society will learn even more about the holocaust, and make sure a tragedy like that doesn’t ever happen again.
ReplyDelete(Sorry that this is late I posted this three times but it wasn't working!)
this is really sad
ReplyDeleteso sad
ReplyDeletedeeznuts sad
ReplyDeleteSusannah Richardson
ReplyDeleteThis post was probably the most difficult to read. I feel like in the others there was at least one positive thing mentioned, but this post left me feeling disheartened. I have definitely heard of the Auschwitz camp before but not in this much detail. Ever since I have learned about this terrible time in history, I can’t remember a time when Auschwitz was not taught. It is interesting yet more terrifying and sorrowful to learn about it now that I have you as a teacher.
I can’t believe that the Nazis made the killing worse and decided to add Zyklon B to the mix. I am also appalled to hear that the ashes of burned corpses were used for fertilizer. This is absolutely disgusting. The pictures of the Zyklon B brought these horrific things to life for me. I can’t imagine how you felt being there at the site. The pictures of the left behind shoes also gave me a visual for the poem that we read. Your first hand accounts and photos bring this time to life for me and make me want to be one hundred and ten percent sure that something this terrible will never occur again.
A few other things that I can’t imagine are the train cars and the barracks. To be on a train and packed like sardines for almost 10 days seems insane. Not to mention, the people on the train had no idea where they were going. Even after reading each blog post, I am amazed by the conditions that the Jews were forced to live in. No padding at all on cold, hard, stone beds? The list keeps extending just like my anger towards the absolutely malevolent Nazis keeps growing.
The emotions you must have felt while touring this concentration camp must have been unbearable. My mom visited Auschwitz over the summer and came home with tons of photos of the suffering. I can not even begin to imagine what the 90% of Jewish people who were immediately murdered were thinking while in line. The Nazis are truly sick for tricking for making the Jewish children think that this was a place where they could feel safe enough to leave their prised possessions behind. I understand why the Nazis would lie; they needed control to carry out their orders. Still, that does not make their crimes any less punishable.
ReplyDeleteSince Zyklon B was relatively new, the Nazis must have felt it was best to test it on people they considered sub human. Also, how can you be so low as to use cremated bodies as fertilizer? I saw more examples of how the Nazis treated the Jews when you described their bunks. It must have been awful to be on the bottom bunk. I personally would love to meet someone who has survived this atrocious camp and all of its trials. The Sonderkommandos were the strongest not just in their bodies but they must have been to withstand what horrors they witnessed. I wonder how the Nazis got them into the gas chamber if they knew them so well.
Concerning the cattle cars, how do you get dozens of Jews into a cart and trap them in there for 10 days and have them still believe that you want to do them good? People must have died in the cars and the Jews must have seen that the Nazis were not all that they said that they were.
Wow 2.5 million dying Jews is merely an estimate?! How sickening! To think that a majority of this 2.5 million were children makes me want to cry. The fact that these parents had to get tattooed in front of their kids, and then they proceeded to tell then that it will be okay and that it won’t hurt, kills me. My heart hurts as I think about how my life would be if I were in the shoes of the kids. I wonder why the Nazis mislead the Jews? Why did the make them hopeful f they were just going to kill them? One thing that really pissed me off was the sign stating “Work is Liberty.” If that were the case all of the Jews would have been set free. Those Jews busted their butts to make sure that they were ensured freedom, yet they were just killed instead. Lastly, who in their right mind would have the audacity to trap the Jews, or anyone for that matter, in cattle cars for 10 DAYS!?!
ReplyDeleteChrysoula Xyrafakis
It is truly devastating to think about what it must have been like for the prisoners and for you. When I was reading about what had happened to the remaining things of the gassed Jews, I noticed that you had brought up a little doll owned by a little Jewish girl and how the little girl thought she would see her dolly again. That really got to me, and the thought of it really brings a tear to my eye. Another thing that confused me a little was the fact that they still had the bags and luggage with the names of the gassed Jews. If they were meaning to cover up their evidence, didn't they think to first burn the remaining evidence that there once were millions of other Jews at the camps? Like, wouldn't they have thought to cover it up by burning the bags and the shoes and the personal items? That right there just kind of confused me. I was just talking to my mom about these things while I was reading them and showing her the pictures that impacted me most and she started crying. "You'll understand when you have kids," she told me. I don't need kids to know how devastating it must've been. Just the fact that people would do that to poor, young, innocent children is enough to make me feel like my stomach is mush. I just can't make myself see how someone could do something as torturous and brutal as that and then not feel like jumping into the gas chambers with them or killing themselves afterwards. It just leaves me shook. Lastly, I was left in awe when I read about how only about 10% of arriving Jews were actually registered, while the other 90% were killed. Hold on, let me emphasize that correctly. NINETY PERCENT OF THE ARRIVING JEWS WEREN'T EVEN DOCUMENTED AT ALL. Does that not make you feel light headed?! And they said that there was like 1.5 million Jews that were documented or at least that they knew of. IMAGINE THAT BEING ONLY TEN PERCENT OF INDIVIDUALS. I don't get how there were so many and how they could murder so many people so soon!!! It's just so inhumane to do such a thing, and it shouldn't be nor shouldn't have been a thing!!!!
ReplyDeleteI don't even know what to say. I am appalled by the lack humanity i read about in each of your entries. The thought process and manipulation the soldiers used to calm the Jews is hard to wrap my head around. They went through great lengths to deceive many, just to result in their deaths. The dates of 1940-1945 just brings me back to the reality this this was not that long ago. I don't think it will ever sink in that these event really happened and people could be so cruel. They weren't people, they were robots. They had no feelings and just followed orders. The fact that this camp was part of a town surrounded by civilians is just crazy. They had to know what was going on and why so many people where transported in and none left. I had known that they used gas chambers, but i hadn't known that they used it on the Soviet as a test run.
ReplyDelete"Let's test this in the Soviets." "Oh, that wasn't enough, lets put some more in the mix." This is the conversation of the idiots in charge of the amount of gas they should use. When I read about the men who were in charge of moving the corpses into the crematory and then to check their remains for valuables made me sick. I couldn't even fathom the thought of seeing your friends or family, who you haven't seen for a few days, in the pile of dead bodied you need to move. I honestly think that i would feather die then have that job. I don't think i could deal or handle the days in and out of moving bodies.
The drawings of the dead and the noose is extremely disturbing, even for the complexity of the drawings. When you found names of your parents really sent the shock of how this could have easily happened to my neighbor, who is Jewish, and my favorite english teachers parents.
-Caroline Kaney
I agree with you when you said that you will never understand how the Nazis did this. I've always known that Auschwitz was a pretty popular concentration camp, but I never knew just how horrendous it really was. The thought of the nazis trying to reassure the Jews into thinking that they are going to get any of their things back or even make it out alive makes me sick to my stomach. I cannot believe how much the Jews were blind sided and how much false hope they were given. what pains me the most is how clueless most of the jews were. They had no idea what their fate was when they were forced into this camp. The photo of the steps leading into the gas chambers almost left me in tears too, imagining parents trying to comfort their little children when they know they are about to get murdered and there isn't a single thing they could've done about it. The kids must've been so confused as to why these monsters who looked exactly like they did felt the need to be such evil murderers. Reading about the Sonderkommandos made me very disturbed. I cannot imagine having to move dead bodies then dealing with the trauma of seeing someone from your family! I wouldn't be able to handle it honestly, i don't know what I would do.
ReplyDeleteThese Jews were PEOPLE just like the Nazis. That's why I can't fathom how they managed to be okay with doing this. It's not only immoral, it's psychotic. These poor innocent people who did completely nothing to deserve this had to pay the price. How could this happen? How could everyone else let it happen??
HOLY SHIT!
ReplyDeleteThe Nazis attitudes and mentality just piss me off. They act as if the Jews were property, and the euphemisms make them seem like a job that is necessary to get business done. If they have to use terms like "relocate" and "disposal" to justify what they were doing, they must have known it was wrong. Auschwitz is the perfect representation of the Holocaust because it housed every form of hell. Everything about the Nazis just pisses me off.
One of my mom's friends lived in Germany and Poland for a couple of years and made the trips to a couple of camps. Auschwitz had a particularly strong impact on her. She told me that she had never understood actual hell until she walked through the camp, and she could feel the sorrow, anger, helplessness, and hatred experienced by the Nazis and Jews. It was like all of the emotions were embedded into every part of the camp. The overwhelming sense of pain made her sick. Her story was moving, and I could sense how emotional a place like Auschwitz must be.
The pictures of the kids are what get me the most. They are children, and there is nothing else to it. How can such merciless beasts strip kids of their innocence and childhood like they did? That really does take a special kind of an asshole.
The idea of moving dead bodies gives me chills, but the idea of one of them being a family member is putting me on the verge of tears. I initially think of my mom, dad, and brother Trent. I love all my complicated family and siblings, but my mom, dad, and Trent have been the most constant in my life and know me the best. The idea of turning over a body and seeing their lifeless eyes that would have once been filled with love, happiness, and life scares the shit out of me. I've read a lot of things that have affected me, but the idea of finding a dead family member is by far the worst.
I just had to take a minute and text everyone that I love them and am grateful for them. I'm sure my parents are thinking, "what is she about to asks us for?"
It is so sad how they just played the Jews to get them to do what they wanted. Making everything seem like a necessary step to safely relocate them. Relocate them to death. It is sad. I wish I had some big vocabulary word to explain how sad it is, but I don't. The power is in the simplicity. I can only hope that everyone that was brutally murdered has found their way to a restful place filled with peace and the kind of life they should have had.
Shame on the Nazis for stripping people of their one chance at life. Taking their opportunity at a good life and making it a life filled with pain and torture. I sit here and wish that there was something I could do to bring the dead back and give them a good life. Nothing I do can give them the shot at life that they should have had.
To the Nazis, shame on you.
To the victims of mass murder and torture at the hand of a twisted ideology, I am sorry. I wish nothing but the best for you in your afterlife and final destination. Your bravery and strength in the face of adversity are immeasurable and admirable beyond words.
So they first run the death chambers 24 hours a day and then think
ReplyDelete"lets burn it down to make it look like we didn't do it." Wow they thought they could just walk away from murdering thousands of innocent people, making children be used in experiments and watch as parents cry over their children. They must of had sick fantasizes while doing this. I mean it makes sense to hold war prisoners but why did they have to add Jewish women, children, and men to that list. its worse that they told them that work is liberty.
They used them as slaves it just that they already mentally and physically abused them so why not just tell them they are going to die when it may be easy to see to some. It even more ironic that they wanted held people that hated the Jewish people just as much as them. But to start it here and use fake red cross to carry their tools to start killing people who were innocent.
This was just terror incarnate but why be proud that you killed people who truly did nothing to you. It makes you look like you just wanted to be noticed by everyone then got scared for doing something wrong.
Every time I read another on of your posts I get even more confused on how/why someone would do this. Reading the "Work for Liberty" sign made me realized even more how evil Hitler was. He got every single Jews hopes up that they were going to be ok and not be harmed. I do not understand how Hitler could just sit up in his house and live with killing all those innocent people, especially children! I feel bad for those Jews who had to take all of the dead bodies to be burned to ashes. They were probably scarred for life and still did not have a chance of survival. So, no matter what they were going to die anyway in, at most, four months. I became really annoyed when I read how the Nazis would trick the Jews into thinking they were coming back to their stuff. I bet that some of those Nazis did get entertainment out of tricking the Jews. Some of those Nazis were malicious and plain evil beings. I'm not even comfortable calling them "human" beings. It was very sad looking at all the picture of the children who were walking to their death. The reason is they don't know what they are walking towards. One thing I was confused about though was the picture that the Jew supposedly took. How did he get a camera if he was in the concentration camp? Also, were those drawing that you showed us, were they drawn by little kids? The reason is, that's what I feel the Holocaust kids would draw if they were given a pen and paper and told to draw the first thing that comes to their mind. It's sad, but that is probably what would happen. I was really surprised that only 10% of the Jews were chosen to go to work and the 90% were killed. Whenever we talked about the Holocaust in my classes, I felt a lot more Jews were chosen to work.
ReplyDeleteReading through the blog, I learned that Auschwitz was open for two years before Jews even arrived. I did not know this, and I did not know that Polish leaders were in Auschwitz. Why was this? Were they also prisoners? Why were they there a whole two years before any Jews? Also, how come civilians had to move so Auschwitz could be transformed? I don’t understand fully why the Polish citizens didn’t uprise or question why exactly they were being moved out. Also, what was the original intent of Auschwitz. Reading through, the usage of the gas intrigued me. I read and did a presentation on gas last year, and I remember researching that Germany was the first country to use gas as a weapon. However, why did they use to gas to “clean” the clothes? Were the clothes reused along with the shoes? Reading through your blogs, I always learn so much, but I also become filled with more questions. The fact that the shoes from the dead Jews were given to German citizens is almost ironic. They thought so down on Jews; they thought of them as subhuman. I do not understand why the would pass out a “subhuman” shoe to a “superhuman”. This was interesting. The picture of the Nazis burning the bodies in the open was insane. If they wanted to hide everything, why would they do it in the open? Also the fact that gas was used to kill the prisoners in the hospitals is astonishing and hard to bear. I can’t imagine thinking I was in a place to get better and having to sit in a room with hundreds of others and die by the hands of Nazi doctors. The pictures that the children drew were the most disturbing to look at. Children always draw what they see in their life and for that to be death just kills me. The Nazis had no empathy, no heart, and no compassion. How could they watch children die? The fact that these kids had to go through such horrific events at such a young age is what scares me about mortality and the world we live in.
ReplyDeleteConsidering the fact that not only was Auschwitz built in the middle of a normal neighborhood, but the fact that citizens were evicted from their homes in order for Auschwitz to be built infuriates me. Why did they keep silent. They were silent when they were not the victims of the Nazis, but they even kept silent even when they were the victims. This basically extinguishes any argument that the Germans did not know what the Nazis were doing. How could they not know when it was happening just down the street from their homes? I also find the duplicity and deception of the Nazis infuriating. "Marbeit macht frei" translates to "work makes you free." The chances that these people were freed were slim. If they were not killed directly they were worked to death. I am astonished by the great lengths that the Nazis went to in order to cover up what they were doing. I am shocked that they killed the people who were to retrieve the bodies every four months because they knew too much. At that point, I think that almost every prisoner had an idea of what was going on. It is horrifying to imagine sorting through dead bodies everyday and to eventually come across a loved one. Sometimes these horrors seem somewhat unimaginable.
ReplyDeleteI became teary eyed when I saw the image of the little girl's baby doll. This shows so much innocence that was shattered at the hands of the Nazis. I know that we have studied brainwashing on this subject and I am aware that anyone is capable of what the Nazis did, but this picture makes me doubt that. What could possibly happen to a person to make them think that hurting a child is okay? There is nothing more innocent in this world than a child, and in my opinion, intentionally harming a child in any way is one of the most purely selfish acts that anyone could do. I feel like I will forever struggle to understand how a person could ever do what the Nazis did.
I find it outrageous and utterly pathetic that the Nazis tried to destroy the gas chambers once they realized that they were losing the war. Obviously, their efforts to destroy this evidence was in vain. What cowardice
Darien Aassar
ReplyDeleteAs always, I am shocked at the bystanders of the Holocaust. I remember you saying how Auschwitz was at the center of the town. The fact that so many people just ignored this and allowed themselves to be relocated is shocking. Why would they let this happen? Were they fearful of the Nazis? To me, even if they were fearful they should’ve fought against the Nazis because they must have known there was something wrong going on. Were the Polish people so anti-semitic that they actually knew what was going to happen and didn’t care? This really just goes along with the idea that ordinary people made the Holocaust happen because the Polish people’s unquestioning response to the Nazi takeover led to Auschwitz being created.
One other thing that I found to be very shocking was the picture that a concentration camp prisoner actually took of the Nazis burning corpses. I can’t even imagine the courage involved in taking that picture. The prisoner knew that he/she could’ve been killed or seriously tortured for taking a picture, but he/she remained courageous. This just further proves how even when the Holocaust was going on, the prisoners knew that it should never be forgotten. This prisoner risked his/her whole life just to immortalize the truly awful acts the Nazis committed. This is so brave and seems to be an example of the ways prisoners would protest in concentration camps.
The story of the Sonderkommandos is so upsetting to me. To think that these people would be forced to pick up the dead bodies of those they knew only to be killed for “knowing too much”. I cannot imagine the mental trauma one would have from this. I can’t imagine how it would feel to see the bodies of those in your family, after thinking that they would be okay.
I also found the Nazi’s trickery of the prisoners to be disgusting. The fact that they pretended that the prisoners were going to be “resettled” when, in reality, they were going to be killed disgusted me. Even further, the fact that they told the prisoners to write their names on their luggage so that they could find their things later, though the Nazis knew the prisoners would never be coming back saddened me. It is so wrong to me that the Nazis would see the prisoners’ relief only to kill the prisoners shortly after. The amount of hatred and cold, unfeeling tendencies that the Nazis must have had is simply unfathomable to me. How can they be so harsh and cruel? The Nazi’s uses of deception are what lead me to believe that they were not entirely brainwashed because of the sheer amount of thought and deliberation that was put into creating a seemingly safe environment for the prisoners.
I related the quote, “Work is liberty,” back to Night because I remember when Elie saw the sign when he was relocated and how he found it ironic as well. The fact that the Nazis would put this sign up at all is puzzling. Was this just so they could taunt the prisoners because both groups knew that the prisoners would never be free? Or was this so that the people outside of the camp would see it as a beneficial place? Maybe it was both. However, I see this sign as more of a taunt to the prisoners. It just further asserted the Nazi’s power over them and the idea that none of the prisoners would be free.
Lasly, I feel as though the way the Nazis experimented on prisoners of war to test the effects of Zyklon-B just further asserted to me that the Nazis were inhumane because they used human beings as guinea pigs for their already immoral and disgusting way to murder innocent people. The fact that some people were still alive when the Nazis came in to check the effects of Zyklon-B pained me. I can’t imagine how awful that slow suffocation was. I also found it so ironic that the Zyklon-B tablets were brought into the camps in fake Red Cross trucks because they were meant to kill people rather than to help them. This is just another example of the disgusting, inhumane Nazi trickery.
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ReplyDeleteBefore reading this, I didn't ever think about where they got all that space in Auschwitz, so I did think, "Hey! People used to live there! They had to kick them out to build Auschwitz!" The fact that their government was in desperation because of the war makes me wonder why they thought that killing the Jews was more important than housing Germany's citizens. It also makes me say, "Not only was Auschwitz humongous but you got evicted from your homes so that they could build the place! There is absolutely no way you couldn't have not know about the concentration camp."
ReplyDeleteThere was also the fact that they had these people working for them! What? The Germans just though, "Oh hey! These people who are starving, abused, and surrounded by soldiers are willingly volunteering. Nothing's wrong here!" It's just so unbelievable that they'd even try to say that they didn't know what the Nazis were doing.
When I got to the part were you were talking about how the Nazis were taking the Jews belonging I got really sad. Especially with the little doll. The Nazis were able to think that the Jews possessions were more valuable then their lives, and that was just truly heart wrenching.
I became interested by the Zykon B pellets and how they had used it on the Soviet Union before using it on the Jews. I also began to wonder how many times the Nazis tested the Zykon B pellets as a method of killing a certain number of Jews for them to find the right amount of pellets to apply. And were the Jews who survived shot, put into the next gas chamber, or put back into the camp to labor?
Also, I started to think about how they were proud of what they were doing, but when the war ended they tried to hide the evidence. This shows that they clearly knew that what they were doing was wrong and yet they were still happy with their actions. Again showing how mess up everything about the Holocaust was.
While reading this I began to think of a show that I have been watching about humanity being stuck inside a huge wall and they were being killed by these human looking inhumane monsters outside the walls. The reason why I thought of it was because the setting is in Germany, so I began to wonder if the author who wrote the original book did this on purpose. The author said that he wanted to show how scary humans can truly be; it would make sense if he used the monsters as a representation of the Nazis and the humans in the walls as a representation of the Jews. It made me even more interested in reading the blog after I had made that possible connection.
-Alexis Reid
I just thought, at first, that they would send anyone who the Nazis saw were inferior to the concentration camp in Auschwitz. I didn’t think that they sent anyone who were against the Nazis. It also surprised me on how the nazis were able to vacate as much space as the concentration was to build it. They actually vacated the area to make the Jews build it? That is what I thought was ironic, you made the point that they put the words, “work is liberty,” on the front gates. But the Nazis made Jewish slaves build the camp. They were basically building their own prison and death place. To even build next to a railroad for “convenient” drop and pick up, I thought was unbelievable. I found it so sick when I read that they used the ashes of those who had burned in the crematoriums as fertilizer. They put their ashes onto the ground for crop? Probably no one would have known if they were not told about this. I found it so sad that the Jewish people who were suffering tried to find a way to survive. The fact that when someone died, they would immediately search the belongings as a natural instinct. I, honestly, would hate living like that. I bet they did to, I mean they obviously hated being forced into that lifestyle. However, it is human nature to want to survive. I was fuming when I read that they had to bury their fellow Jewish buddies or family. They must be traumatized now. I just want to hug them now and say that it is okay. I’m surprised that the Nazis needed to hide burning bodies and killing Jewish slaves. When Auschwitz was so huge it could have been about 5,000 football fields big. What was there to hide. They even killed the Jews because they supposedly “knew” too much. Really?! All they knew at that point was to survive. They even had to lie about their ages so that they didn’t have to be sent to the gas chambers right when they arrived. It reminds me of The Night, when the main character, Ellie Weisel, was told to lie about his age with his father so that they could live, work, and possibly have a chance at surviving. I almost cried when I saw the little children walking photo. They don’t know what is going on, but they just keep on walking hoping they were walking to freedom. I am the oldest daughter in my family, so I feel responsible for my three younger sisters. I can’t even imagine being separated from them knowing that they were going to die. Then there is the picture of Nazis burning up the evidence. To think that they were so happy doing it too. I mean I know that they are just human beings and not monsters, but they make it hard to think otherwise. The zyklon B looks just like an ordinary pebble or rock. I wouldn’t have noticed if I were to just glance at it. That’s what made me scared, that if I were to be walking straight into the gas chambers and I saw the little rocks they were throwing in, I wouldn’t be able to tell anything of it because they just looked like rocks. The se same rocks have tricked millions of women and children into thinking that they were safe from harms way. I felt disheartened when I looked at the pictures of the Jewish people’s belongings and the way that they were so malnourished and just skin on bones. I couldn’t look at the pictures for too long or else I would feel ashamed at the United states and the allied powers who let this all happen.
ReplyDeleteThe one question I am left with after reading this blog is how someone could knowingly be apart of a mass genocide and still be able to sleep at night. It is appalling to read about how the prisoners would tell the newcomers to lie about their ages and abilities to prevent them from getting sent to the gas chambers. In the gas chambers, Zyklon B pellets were used to kill multiple prisoners at once. These pellets were transported in fake International Red Cross vehicles. This portrays the lengths Nazi's went to hide their nefarious practices. This makes me sick to my stomach. The picture showing all the suitcases belonging to the Jews makes my eyes water. This is because they stripped them of their personalities by taking everything that makes them unique such as their hair, clothes, and glasses. Honestly it's astounding how many pairs of glasses there were; at first, i thought it was a pile of string until I read the caption. The thought of the Nazis giving the Jews hope that they will live is almost more gruesome than them actually getting murdered. The prisoners were alluded to think that they were safe and only getting "relocated". It is tear-jerking to think that parents had to lie to their children so they wouldn't be scared. Its truly revolting. The picture of the shoes got me the worse because it shows that the Jews were normal, family-bound people before being sent to the concentration camps. It shows the diversity of all the prisoners who were forcefully taken from their homes and sent to these camps. The picture of the 'shower rules' made my blood run cold. I can't believe someone could have the audacity to send a pregnant woman to the gas chamber. How could they not empathize with the prisoners? That could be one of the S.S soldiers wife and child-to-be, yet they still were able to desensitize themselves. It makes no sense; no matter what I learn I will never fully grasp the concept of how.
ReplyDeleteAs a side note, their ashes used as fertilizer made me think the Jews do have life after death. They could be considered the foundation of growth; they feed the sunflowers that sat upon the Nazi's graves.
After finding out that Auschwitz was located in a neighborhood from which the evicted confuses me. If this would’ve happened today there would be an uproar of protests defending their rights. I also wonder in regards to “Marbeit macht frei.” if they truly acted like the Jews would be free to make them work harder, or if it was just an ironic statement meant to be a joke for the Nazis. I see the bystanders as weak low lives. They knew what Auschwitz was but acted like they couldn’t do anything about it. If all of Germany stood up there would be no way for them to punish the upstanders. They can’t put all of Germany in a time out. So to act like they had no choice but to be a bystander is revolting. The picture of the glasses reminded me of seeing pictures of barrels of silver and gold teeth. It also reminded me of seeing barrels of wedding rings that the Nazis stored away. All these little things make the biggest impact because they truly show the scale of the slaughterings. I'm surprised that the Nazis would even let their shoes go out to the public. With all the hate they had for them I would think that they would burn them as well. I’m also surprised that they let them sleep on hay. I would’ve thought that they would’ve made them sleep outside or at least on the hard concrete. I believe I talked about this in another paper but the fact that they tried to hide their wrongdoings proves how inhuman they were. The Nazis always acted like they weren't committing a crime because Jews weren’t human. If they truly felt that had done no wrong why try and cover it up? Why not embrace it? I was amazed that the Veteran prisoners were still looking out for the newcomers and having hope for them. I would’ve personally given up if I were one of the Veteran prisoners knowing my ultimate fate.
ReplyDeleteI have seen the gates of Auschwitz many times before, in all types of media and pictures. Each time seeing it, I always wondered what it read. I can't believe that they would do something like filling those at the camp with hope through an ironic sign. "Work is Liberty"- if this was seen by the eyes of a fresh prisoner, the thought that they would never leave alive wouldn't cross their mind. They'd work and work, praying and slaving away so that they'd get out. All because of a sign at the entrance.
ReplyDeleteI have to question the Nazis. If you bother to round up so many people in one place, and you set them to work, why would you ever kill them? They would surely die of natural causes. You could just have thousands of slaves all working to the bone until they became to weak to continue. Why would you bother with gas? Why would you bother with ovens? Is it because there were so many prisoners that extending the camp and housing even more of them couldn't easily be done, so it was less resources to just kill them? Even though gas would have greatly eased the process, it still comes across as highly inefficient to me.
The worst part is the deception. The way they thought they were just being relocated is awful. Nowadays we have knowledge of events like this to refer back to, but at that time there weren't really previous events in history of the same scale. I can't imagine how frightening it must be, to not even know if you'll be alive the next day or not. Being shaven, showered, undressed, tattooed- what in the world would it have been like? The part that really gets me is how they tattooed a child's leg because the arms weren't big enough. Not just that, but they sent their mothers along with them. The family would be confused and lost all the way. I find it hard to believe that 90% of Jews were sent to die immediately though, it seems like too high a number.
There's so many cans of Zyklon B. I would have thought they would have done something with them, like melting them down, or anything besides leaving them there. You can get rid of Jews immediately after their use is through, but you can't dispose of trash? The same for all of the Jewish possessions. What did they intend to save them for? I understand they took what was valuable, but that still leaves a mass of undesired clothing and possessions. Auschwitz truly seemed horrible.
There are so many thing wrong with how the Nazi's were. I don't understand how anyone could even think about an excuse for this. I didn't even know Auschwitz and Birkenau were part of he same camp until I read this blog entry. It all starts with the sign,"Work is liberty," that is the first and in most cases was the last thing the prisoners saw when they entered the camp. After all, 90% of the Jews sent to the camp were killed immediately. It's tragic how the Nazi's gave the Jews false hope by putting up that, however, most of the Jews probably knew they weren't gonna be freed until the Allies won or they died. They probably knew it was just another hoax or fake promise like putting your name on bags, or remembering where your bags are so you could get them later. The Nazi's sat on a throne of lies and no one did ANYTHING.
ReplyDeleteThen of course there was the camp. The camps, I should say.Sure there was that sign but it's not like people couldn't see through the fence. There was no point in destroying the gas chambers because they already knew what was going on. I think that may be worse, a whole world does nothing while millions of people are gassed and burned. That is crazy.
The Nazi's made the Jews life a living hell and to them it was fun. Even for the Communists and political opponents. They didn't even know how Zyklon-B would work so naturally you test it on humans right? No, Wrong, That's ridiculous. They transported it in fake Red Cross trucks so people would think they were helping the Jew, but it just made their life a lot harder.
The irony of the opening picture is unbelievable. I cannot even begin to imagine what the actual victims were feeling as they entered. Did they believe that work would set them free? Did they know what was going to happen to them? The fact that there were three parts of Auschwitz is strange to me, I guess I never thought about how big a death camp/labor camp would be. I always thought it was a struggle to find your family because of how many victims there were and because of the amount of deaths, you said it in your post, 2.5 million, on estimate! I find it very disturbing to know that there are so many people who were killed in death or labor camps and no one will ever be able to know what actually happened to them. To think that there was a thought process behind the entier Holocaust makes me question humanity and just reading about Auschwitz alone and how much pain it caused so many people is terrifying. I find it strange that the Nazis thought they would be able to destroy the gas chambers to act like it never happened after taking so many lives. With all of the victims there would be no way for the Nazis to act like they never did anything wrong, I cannot even begin to fathom the thoughts of those who still say the holocaust never happened, however, i cannot fathom the thoughts of those who were for the holocaust either. I think that you being able to find your parents names in the book of the perished, it really puts it into perspective that this could have happened to anyone, it just takes a crazy person who when given enough power can change the thoughts of those around them. I think it is amazing that you were able to meet Eva and also tour through all of the camps you did. Learning about the holocaust is important, the whole reason we learn about history is so that we do not make the same mistakes which were made in the past. I love how you wore the israeli flag around your shoulders at every camp you went into, quite ironic how the jews were the ones who ended up in triumph after the war.
ReplyDeleteLiz Montgomery
It is really ironic that they put the sign above the camp that says, "Work is Liberty" because the Jews definitely were not going to be given and rights or freedom during that time. It is almost like it is making fun of the Jews and their horrible situation in the camps. I remember learning about the Holocaust in the sixth grade and reading the book called The Devils Arithmetic. It reminded me of the Auschwitz camp and how horrible conditions. I never knew that there were three parts to the camp. I had heard of the camps individually but didn't know that they were one. I find it very disturbing that they used the used the ashes of the dead Jews as fertilizer. That is not healthy or sanitary! It is plain immoral and insane. Life was not any better for the Sonderkommandos because they were the ones forced to do cremate their fellow Jewish friends. And it is not any better that they were killed after four months. These Nazis were killing like crazy just because they thought it was for the good of their future. When really they were just killing innocent people for no real reason. Also, I think that it was torturous that they tattooed everyone. It probably hurt to get them, especially for the little kids. It is so wrong and insane that the Nazis burned all the corpses so that were wouldn't be any evidence left over. It makes me sick thinking about all of the ways that the Nazis tortured and tormented the Jews. The Jews saw a lot of things that would forever scar them. It makes me angry that the Nazis lied so much to the Jews and promised them for better things in the future. This false hope hurt them in the end when they realized that they were being lied to and that there was no hope for the future. I don't understand why the Nazis has such a big hatred against the Jews and everything they were for but then they would take the Jews' shoes from them and then give them to Germans to wear. I really like that you wore the Israel flag around your shoulders. It made me smile that you did that. I can't believe the horrors that these Jewish people had to endure especially when they were sent to their deaths in gas chambers. It hurts me inside to think of the innocent people who thought they were all going to take a simple shower or something else. I remember reading books about the Holocaust and being completely shocked by the way they were treated in the camps. I couldn't believe that other people had the ability to inflict this kind of suffering on the Jews. It makes me sad thinking of all the family members that were lost and the survivors who were deeply affected by this. I imagine myself in this situation and I wonder how would I be able to handle all these persecutions. I feel for these people, and I wish that they didn't have to go through what they did and never again for anyone. It is super important that we the people learn about the horrors of the Holocaust so that it is never repeated.
ReplyDeleteThe sign meaning “Work is Liberty” makes me sick. For people living on this Earth and them putting other people, their neighbors, in this type of situation is sickening. To think that people actually did this to other people and think it was right makes me think that they just completely lost their minds. Actually, as if they never had minds at all. They were never human, they were never animals, they were never even little tiny bacteria, and they were absolutely nothing. They were just one big threat. They were a disgrace to this world.
ReplyDeleteYes, when I hear the word Holocaust, I think of the mass killing of innocent people. And Auschwitz first comes to mind because unconsciously I know that it was the main place for killings. I know that it played the biggest role in killing these innocent people. When I hear the word Holocaust, I also think of Adolf Hitler. He was a sick, horrible man that should have never lived on this Earth. He deserved to be born on some distant galaxy or something as far as the Earth can be from him. All he did was cause the world pain and dread. He was a complete villain, and he did this only because he was a horrible person.
The way the Nazis tricked the Jews is horrible. To trick someone that they are safe and then kill them your self is complete betrayal. The Nazis just completely betrayed everyone and the world. And too kill them in mass makes it even worse. That means that there was no sole purpose in killing. It means it is just so they can e killed. It means that the Nazis put no thought or sympathy into what they are doing to innocent people. The Jews never did anything to Germany. What Hitler ever said about the Jews was completely wrong. These innocent people had no reason at all to die.
One thing that makes me furious is that the Nazis tried to get away with their crimes by burning their evidence. If the Nazi’s were so “proud” of what they did, then why destroy the gas chambers. They are just a bunch of cowards. I mean they tortured innocent people, and it makes no sense why they thought that it was possible for them to get away with there spiteful, truculent acts. The one quote that almost made me cry was when the father told his son, “I told you the Germans were civilized....We will be working in a factory.” The fact that the Nazi’s decived them and killed so many family’s really pissed me off. I couldn’t imagine living without my parents. On top of that, how could any human being let this happen to little children? The children are the most innocent out of anyone; they don’t know any better than what their parents taught them and they do not deserve to be that scared. The camps designed specifically to kills Jews are the worst. They give no chance of survival; you arrive and are instantly killed. I cannot believe that they used the prisoners’ ashes as fertilizer. There are two things that shocked me about this fact. One, who thought to put the ash on plants? And two, I never knew that human ash had nutrients in it. That has to be the most inhumane thing i’ve read throughout this blog. It shows how little respect the Nazis had for the Jewish people. Burning innocent people is a hard thing to think about, but using their ashes as fertilizer is just abhorrent. It is peculiar that approximately 2.5 million people deported to Auschwitz, and only 405,000 were given prisoner status. So many innocent people died without a chance to fight for there will to live. It makes me sick just to think about all the stuff they did to these innocent people like if I were a Nazi and I did all these heinous crimes, I wouldn’t know how I could live with myself. For me the most powerful photo through this whole post would have to be the main entrance of Auschwitz. For me that photo is just a symbol for death. So many people died there that had no chance for survival.
ReplyDeleteI think it’s sickening that the Nazis had a sign that said “Work is Liberty” because why they felt the need to put a straight up lie in front of the Jews faces is beyond me. They knew that what they were doing was awful so I don’t understand there need to disguise it with signs that were just complete lies. It’s crazy that teachers, doctors, and intellectual people were kept in the Auschwitz camp. I think it’s insane that so many talented and important people could just be turned into slaves in the matter of a few hours. I am baffled by the number of people estimated to have been in the Auschwitz camp. I also find it very baffling that the Nazis could kill this many people and still think that it was the right thing to do. While reading about the Sonderkommandos was heart wrenching. I can’t even imagine the amount of mental pain they must have felt when they had to retrieve the bodies of the dead and then search them. Realizing that they might have seen their own family members terrifies me internally. I am so extremely saddened by this because I just can’t believe that anything like this could even take place. It’s absolutely sickening to read about how the Nazis tricked the Jews into making them think that they were safe. It is so sad to read about how the mothers had to show their children it was safe even though it wasn’t. Reading about how veteran prisoners in the camp told the new prisoners what they needed to lie about to survive just shows that even through the hard times the Jews who were being treated so badly still cared and tried to help other people even though they needed help themselves. is gross to look at the picture of the Nazis burning the corpses of Jews. It’s disgusting to think that even when they knew that they were going to be stopped they still continued with the murders of innocent people. It’s also disgusting that they tested the Zyklon B on men from hospitals and when some of the men were still alive and suffering the Nazis didn’t even care. I can’t even imagine how terrified I would have been if I got to the camp and was stripped of all my possessions. That was all the Jews had left and it was taken from them. It’s sickening to read about Dr. Mengele I can’t even begin to comprehend what would make him think that this was an okay thing to do to other humans. It’s so sad that the Jews were treated like animals and were forced to sleep on hay, and I can’t even begin to comprehend how one human could treat another human like an animal. The pictures that were drawn are absolutely terrifying, I can’t even start to understand why this ever happened I just don’t understand how one human could do this to another human. It’s truly so saddening. I am not Jewish, but seeing that you were able to find the names of your parents makes me so sad that people ever had to experience this and that people‘s families are still being affected by this because they lost people they loved in this horrible genocide. It terrifies me that something like this this might happen again and people in my family could be affected. The entrance to the Auschwitz camp is is truly menacing it honestly looks like a place where people were sent to die there’s no other way to describe it. It’s terrifying to see that almost 100 people were locked in a train car meant for cattle for up to 10 days. Looking at the place where the Jews slept is extremely hard to take in. I cannot imagine sleeping on that and ever getting a good night's sleep. The fact that the Nazis tried to destroy the gas chambers when they knew they were losing the war just shows that deep down inside they knew what they were doing was wrong and that they were going to be punished for it. I can only imagine how it must have felt to see the steps to the gas chamber and I am just astonished at the fact that any human could ever think that the Holocaust was a good idea. The fact that the chimneys were burning all day is absolutely baffling because I can’t even imagine how many people died and were cremated every single day in every single camp during the Holocaust.
ReplyDeleteThe obvious shock at the start of the blog is the infamous sign “Arbeit Macht Frei” which meant “Work sets you free” which is obviously very ironic. This honestly could be one of the most sickening things in human existence. But they didn’t lie about the sign: The Sonderkommandos, the Jewish prisoners who were the biggest, therefore, the strongest, were forced to kill and clean up the remnants of their fellow prisoners of these corpses could have been their children, spouses, family, and friends. After three to five months these hard-working Jewish people were killed like lambs to the slaughter thus making them “free”. Free of the pain and suffering caused by the Third Reich and their inhumane plans to make the Aryan race pure and god-like. I choked on some tears as I read about how kids were led off and killed by the Nazis. Who in the world would have the guts to think about killing little children let only actually carrying out the heinous deed. The picture of the baby doll along with the description perfectly sums up my reaction to the Nazi process of deceiving the Jewish population. The Jews believed that they were only being relocated, the Germans reassured them that was the plan as they knew the entire time that they would never see any of the possessions that they held so dearly to them again. I would never be able to take away a baby doll from someone and tell them that they would see it again when that wouldn’t be the case. Another abominable thing that my mind can’t process is the burning of the corpses on the open field. As the Germans knew they were losing the war they began killing more efficiently (I can’t believe I just wrote the words “killing more efficiently” in a non-fictional sense.) Although this picture was taken by a Jewish prisoner, I found it interesting that the Nazis had more of these types of photos because they were so excited about what they were doing. The inhumanity of these actions is what sticks with me the most; The idea of mass killing people for only being different than what the Germans thought was “normal” is a sickening thought that shouldn’t be comprehensible no matter how evil you are or how evil your motives are, and the way that the Nazis went about killing is the true evil. If you weren’t normal in the eyes of the Nazis you could have been shot, gassed, burned, hung, starved, poisoned, worked, experimented, marched, or beaten to death on because you were different. I don’t understand how such atrocities could be planned and carried out by these ruthless, evil, conniving German scum.
ReplyDeleteWhenever I see the word “Auschwitz” I think of a place where hope and dreams were lost. Where families were torn apart, and death ruled all. I can’t imagine ever visiting a place like what without having grief loom over me. I give you a lot of credit for learning about the place and talking about it; many find it taboo or too upsetting to go in depth. Right off the bat the place is deceiving. “Work is Liberty” just sounds ironic because the Nazis made them slaves in a way. I didn’t know that Auschwitz was once are area where people actually lived. If my home was turned into an area of death, I’d be ashamed and would never want to reveal it. It’s still not nearly as bad as what the prisoners went through. Having to loot corpses? The Sonderkommandos must have been scarred mentally… It's awful that they must die after four months, but in a way, it’s relieving them of all the horrors they’ve seen. Horrors that should have never seen in the first place though. So many names were lost and never to be found again. It scares me knowing that people died, and no one would remember their name or their essence. That’s what I thought of when I read that many weren’t recorded, and most died immediately. One thing that I fear is not being remembered after death; many also must have thought this. The prisoners were likely just thinking on how to survive. It’s something I’ve never gave much thought to, but I feel so sympathetic to those who did. Things such as age or occupation determined whether you worked or were sent to the gas chambers. The Nazis were so elaborate in what they were doing! They knew once they were losing the war that they needed to get rid of the “evidence.” It makes me sick knowing that’s all the Jews were to the Nazis. I also believe the Nazis were cowardly for wanting self preservation and having a whole cover up! Not only did they kill so many people, but they created euphemisms and wanted them gone as soon as possible. Even children who did nothing wrong! They looked so sad and tortured in the pictures; it tore my heart apart. I agree with you that they didn’t even have animal instincts. Animals protect their young, and the Nazis just saw the Jewish children as inhuman. The statue also touched me because the eyes look like they’ve seen so much pain. They look so tired of surviving. I think it really captures the idea of what the prisoners faced. They also look undernourished and sickly. I feel so bad, and the statue gives off uncomfortable emotions. That’s what the sculpture was portraying. How could anyone feel unsympathetic and torture someone who looked like the statues? The “living” quarters were so unhygienic and terrifying. I wouldn’t refer to them as living quarters because of how beyond awful they were. It was so much worse than I expected! It looks like a dungeon, and I have no idea how anyone could sleep in such a room. I’m just happy that the Holocaust ended, and people like you thankfully help us remember the atrocities humans are capable of. This isn’t something humanity should brush off.
ReplyDeleteI find that the most ironic thing is the sign that hangs above the camp entrance, “Work is Liberty.” Liberty is being free, if working is considered as being free then that is awful. I didn’t realize that there were three different Auschwitz. When I use to learn about the Holocaust all they teach about is Auschwitz, not the three different camps. It is awful that Jews had to search the dead bodies for gold. I don’t even know what I would do in that situation, especially if I found a family member. It is insane that they estimate about 2.5 million Jews inhabited this camp. There could be way more too. Also the Jews that searched the body's, died a few months later because “they knew too much,” what did they know? It is terrible that they tricked the Jews into thinking they were safe until the last second. It is also really sad to think that the children had to be tattooed on their legs because their arms were too small. It probably hurt too, no child should ever have to go through that. The fact that people literally marched to their death is inhuman. No one should go through that suffering. They were probably wondering when it would all be over, the walking was probably just torture in the process. That picture of the Nazis burning the corpses is disgusting. Also the Nazis should never be proud of what they did, I am not sure what they were proud of. All the Nazis did was torture the Jews, using them as guinea pigs for their new gas. When the doors opened some were still alive, I can’t even imagine going through that pain. When the Jews came to the camp, just to wait for their death, they didn’t even get to keep their belongings. The Nazis tricked them and stole from them, that is the most heartbreaking thing ever. If you are torturing them and making them wait for their death, at least let them have their belongings. They even stole babydolls, I don’t even understand the point in that! They obviously didn’t want them, so was it fun for them?! The photos of the children and how skinny they are is awful. Who could do that to a person?! Jews also had to sleep on hay, Hay! I will never understand their reasoning for anything. The cattle car is very sad, how could people just be locked in there? I will never understand fully the reasons for the Holocaust and learning about it breaks my heart. One day I do hope to do the same trip as you because it seems so amazing and especially in person I believe it will fully open my eyes to everything that happened.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIt sickening to see that the Nazis had the audacity to put up the sign “Work is Liberty”. The reason being that it makes me sad to see that Nazis went to the extreme to try to convince Jews that they were going to be fine. They had went to the extreme by taking their clothes, shoes, and even dolls. While on there way to concentration camps, Jews thought that they are simply being relocated. With a father saying to his son “I told you the Germans were civilized....We will be working in a factory.” That just shows how the Nazis easily succeeded into to tricking Jews into their own death and that is just a terrible thing to see of how the Nazis were able to do that the millions of Jews. I was extremely surprised to hear that not all Jews were counted for. Most were all sent straight to the Gas Chambers were they would later die with not knowing what's happening to them and their loved ones. By reading more about The Sonderkommandos I understand more about what they do and how hard of a job they were assigned to do. While they were feed better and had better clothes I personally feel that they had an extreme Job that would be hard to overcome. You would see loved ones that you would have known right in front of you dead. You had the responsibility of putting their bodies in the crematoria. It is just sad to even be thinking about it. Unfortunately, after four months they would like many other of their friends die.
ReplyDeleteJust because they would “know too much” and the process would go on and on. That is why veteran prisoners would stress to the new group of Jews to lie about their age and occupation. With just that simple lie they could have possibly lessing their possibility of dying immediately just like many other Jews just because they were “useful’ to them. By seeing the empty Zyklon B cans it shows that it would be mind boggling to think about the amounts that were used to kill thousands of innocent Jews. When thinking about the Holocaust and the gassing one of the images that would pop up in my head is the masks that the Nazis would wear to protect themselves from the gas. Through Auschwitz and the whole “Final Solution”, it just shows the amount of evil and hatred that the Nazis had.
Xan Brien
ReplyDeleteWhy did the Nazis even bother to give the Jews fake comfort and compassion? Like the message at the gate that work will set them free and that they will receive their possession back. And this place looks more like town than a death camp. The pictures you showed have streets in between the building with trees and sidewalks. And the picture of the “factory” looks like an actual factory. Not some death machine. And that’s what doesn't make any sense to me. Why the Nazis would provide a false sense of security to Jews. Lying about their fate and reason of being there. Why not just tell them what's happening? They’re going to die anyway.
It must have been very hard for you to go to such a terrifying place. I don’t think that I could go to a place where millions of my people and family have been murdered. You were wearing the Israeli flag like it was some sort of Nazi force field to protect you from the negative energy that fills the camp.
I do agree that the Nazis were not human nor animal, they were some sort of alien species that came in just to f*** the world’s order and peace. No human can be that immoral were all they want to exterminate everyone else and rein violence down like a f***ing waterfall. Hopefully in the future we can learn from Auschwitz and use it a symbol to stop countries becoming so racist and nationalist.
I don’t know if I could ever bring myself to a place with such brutal history that it would burst me into tears just trying to imagine what happened during that time. The sign that hangs above the entrance to the camp makes everything about it ten times worse. The prisoners were tricked poorly into thinking that they would be safe at Auschwitz, and the Nazis kept reinforcing the idea that they are safe. One thing that really stood out for me was, how only ten percent of the people transported was registered and how there is not even a close estimate of the lives lost there because of the thousands to maybe millions of people who were not even registered; they only were transferred for their quith deaths. The main thing that are usually located in these blogs are, how social conformity played such a great role in the Holocaust because no one, group, or even country say the need to help the people crying for help right in front of them.The Nazis even evicted the area in order to force Jewish prisoners to make the camp. Auschwitz was built right in front of the people and they all just turned their backs and allowed it to happen. The gas chambers must have been the scariest experience because everyone already knows what happens in the chamber and no one could do anything to stop it. Zyklon B was the poison used in the chambers, and I have a good feeling that the suppliers knew what they were being used for. Seeing hope and potentially help, the people hoped that the RED CROSS TRUCKS would help them, but instead, they were only fake trucks to bring mor Zyklon B in order to kill more of their prisoners. I have not heard of Block 11, but from the pictures and the use of “executed,” it seems as if prisoners were shot to death and carried away to be cremated and for them to use their ASHES for FERTILIZER. I did not expect the living conditions to be good, but I also did not think they would be as terrible as shown. They slept on hard floors or wood. Due to the bunks, the people on the bottom bunk would be defecated on, which just makes me think how long would they have to stay on their “bed?” The Nazis automatically executed all of the pregnant women. They are taking two lives at once, and the baby could have grown up to make a great difference to the world; instead, their pre-existing lives were taken from them without knowledge. I can keep asking why, but I know that I will never receive the answer; even if I was in the shoes of anyone involved in the Holocaust and especially Auschwitz.
ReplyDeleteJordan Morris
When the word auschwitz comes to my mind, images begin to pop in my head, letting my imagination carry away my thoughts of what my mind tells me the holocaust was like. I can’t wrap my mind on the fact that Himmler ordered the “final solution”. It disgust me thinking about the fact that Himmler and Zyklon took their time, brainstorming the most efficient way to eliminate Jews. was shook I was shocked to figure out that auschwitz was the biggest concentration camp Himmler had ordered the "Final Solution," and this camp became the center of the mass destruction of the European Jews. Before beginning Jewish extermination, the Nazis used Zyklon B on the Soviet POWs to test a way to kill many people at once. -moose m. III
ReplyDeleteI was happy when you wrote the irony in the sign when Hitler’s full intention was for all of the Jews to be killed! He made leaving difficult, he cornered them all into ghettos, he starved them to death in the camps, and he did so much more to them! I didn’t know that Auschwitz was divided into three sections, each of which had different intentions. I imagined it as this open field (in present time) with vines growing on the buildings, but I had no idea there were three different holding places in Auschwitz. I wonder if they moved some Jews in the camp around in different sections for different purposes, like if some got weak, they put them in the death camp. I an’t believe there were FIVE gas chambers! Other camps had around one or three, but this one had five! It was a killing factory! Those who were deemed fit enough during the Holocaust were tattooed and dressed in the striped uniform, but what happened to those who weren’t fit? How would it have affected the fit Jews watching sick or injured Jews being taken away when the Nazis told the Jews they were there working for a better life! I had no idea that Jews who were too young got tattooed on their legs because their arms were too small! I had no idea they did that another way and I wonder if there are any survivors (if there were any children strong enough to survive) with their legs tattooed? It made me so sad how a few people survived when they were gasing the Jews, so they added more pellets! I don’t know what would be going on in their head because they would be in pain and they’re watching people around them die, so it’s a slow and painful death!
ReplyDeleteI too agree with what you said about when people think of the Holocaust, the first concentration camp comes to mind is Auschwitz. Before this class that was the only concentration camp that I had heard of, but now I have learned of many more. I before this class I also did not know that each camp was designed for a different, unique purpose. I thought that all the camps were the same and served the same purpose. I can absolutely not believe 2.5 million people were estimated to have gone to Auschwitz-Birkenau. That is close to half of the six million Jews who died in the Holocaust. When you talked about the prisoners getting their head shaved and wearing striped clothing, it reminded me of “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.” I think it is awful that once the Jews were dead they would then search the dead bodies for valuables. That really shows how much the Nazis’ did not think of them as humans, which is truly awful. It made me sad thinking about what parents had to tell their kids when going into the camp or the gas chambers. I can’t imagine the pain that the parents had to go through when lying to their children about death. When I saw the drawings on the wall, it made me sick. It made me think back to when I was a child and would draw sweet innocent drawings of flowers and my family. But these kids drew things about the horrors of humanity and what they dealt with and saw every day. I can even begin to imagine being raised in those types of surroundings.
ReplyDelete-Ashley LeBlanc
I found it ironic that the sign translated to “Work is Liberty” because the Jews never had liberty. The Nazis never intended for the Jews to be free to begin with. Auschwitz seems very interesting to me because everyone including the Jews were in the concentration camps. The final solution was what we learned about and rereading it made me very mad. How can someone be so cruel? It sickens me that they thought killing a massive amount of people would help their problems. They themselves are their own problems. They put Jews in gas chambers and threw them in pits. They came up with many ways to vanish the Jews. After their deaths, they would search them for gold! What. The. Heck. They just killed a bunch of people yet they still have the audacity to look for gold? How the hell is that possible?! Are they even human? It makes me sad that they tricked the Jews into believing they were safe. The Jews had hope for a bit but that was soon taken away. The fact that they even tattooed children disgusts me. It must’ve been so hard for the children witnessing the deaths of their family members. What makes me the most mad it the fact that they added more pellets because not everyone died. That is one of the cruelest thing they could’ve done and they of course did it. I wonder what was going through the Jews heads during this time. They must have been very afraid. The survivors probably have post traumatic syndrome remembering all of these things. This probably scarred them for life.
ReplyDeleteAuschwitz is definitely the first camp that comes to mind for me when I think of the Holocaust. Now I truly see why. The deception in Auschwitz is scary to read about. Starting with the front gate as it reads, “Work is Liberty”. All of the Jews were given false hope by this sign and moments later more than half were sent to die. This shocking act leaves me speechless. What really struck me in this entry as ironic was how fake Red Cross trucks brought in the lethal chemicals. The Red Cross are suppose to help!!! Yet, the Nazis knew this and used it as another form of trickery and deceit. It’s horrifying to read about how the Nazis burned the Jews overall but seeing that they burned them in gigantic pits???? This act just shows how desperate the Nazis were to kill the Jews. I was going to say show how they are subhumans but the Nazis treated them like subhumans all day every day. I found the strong prisoners job very saddening. To have to throw your fellow Jews and family into the crematorium is a feeling that I can not even imagine and hope no one ever has to imagine. One of the strongest pictures in this entry for me was the cattle car. How can 90 people possibly fit into a space meant for probably less than one fourth of them. It really puts things into perspective to me, to see the real conditions and to just imagine being in a car like that not being able to sit down because your packed shoulder to shoulder. I can not be in a car for more than a few hours, so how are they suppose to go 10 days, without stopping one time. It’s just absolutely ridiculous the lengths that Nazis went through to make killing Jews easier and more time efficient.
ReplyDeleteTypically when I hear or see anything related to or on a Holocaust survivor they were stationed at Auschwitz and I can understand why. It’s three camps in one essentially with all having a completely different purpose. I have heard of Buna which was were the Jews (primarily) were forced to work until they unfortunately became sick or were unable to push any harder. I was not aware of Auschwitz one being a camp for prisoners of war, such as the Russians. Birkenau I have heard of I just wasn’t sure what it’s function was or what occurred there. The train tracks stand out so much to me from movies to just regular photos. After most traveled for nearly days at a time they were taken out of the cramped cattle cars just to be put through essentially “hell on earth.” It’s sad that a lot of the poor souls didn’t even get a number. They were sent straight to the gas chambers. Sonderkommandos jobs make me sick to my stomach. Carrying a body is terrible enough, but what if you had to burn your own mother or father? It seems that the best part of this whole thing is being freed from all this, which of course is a direct result from being killed. Just seeing the zyklon B makes me want to break down. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas used this when they killed the boy and it brings tears to my eyes because that’s someone's son, daughter, brother, sister, or someone related. The pictures are simply unexplainable. THEY ARE STARVING!!!! How can you do this to someone especially at a young age? I cannot look at people who allow this or condone this the same as others. This makes regular or somewhat bad sins look almost non-existent.
ReplyDeleteBefore taking your class or being informed on Jews, I was unaware of the different unique purposes of each individual camp. My ignorance drove me to believe that every camp was a place where these Jews yes were held captive but received the chance to work and with the possibility of eventually be killed or freed.I was surprised to find out that this camp was holding Polish teachers, doctors, or anyone who opposed Nazism in general. This shocks me to see the intense strictness upon what shall have and shall not have been believed in. These Jews were sent with one intention and one intention only and that was to enter the final Solution. I couldn’t imagine containing the mindset and the tolerance of researching ways to demonstrate mass murder most efficiently let alone actually committing the crime itself. The fact that someone could use thousands of victims remains and ashes gives me goosebumps. These Nazi’s had no mercy or sympathy whatsoever. I was introduced to a new word for the first time as your blog brought up the word Sonderkommandos. It was brand news to be informed that the word Sonderkommandos was used to identify the strong prisoners whose job was to fetch the dead bodies, tossing them in to the crematories. This reminded me of slavery as the large africans would be captured and sent out to capture those of their own kind. Not to mention that both of these individuals would be treated more. Although I pictured myself in the shoes of a Jew and decided that a Sonderkommandos was the best way out, I shortly changed my mind as I read that they were destined to a four month death sentence. I was in awe as you explained the tattooing of the Jewish children on there legs in result of there arms being too little. This obviously revealing the terrible malnourishment that took place.
ReplyDeleteMoose M.III
I am disgusted that any human being is capable of doing these horrific things to another human being. I find it very surprising that they had three different sections to the camp. I also find it very surprising that mothers would tell their children that everything is going to be fine when they knew it wasn’t. There are so many people that we didn’t know that died because the Nazis felt that they were unimportant to be documented. What was even more surprising to me was that they killed the Jews that helped them after four months because they knew too much. Like yes they could tell the newcomers what they had saw but why not keep them away from the other Jews? I can’t believe that they were still they were killing Jews when the enemies were getting closer to them. They just moved them all to Auschwitz so they can just end up killing them in the end. They must have had millions of people trapped in the camp. By looking at the pictures of the buildings on the outside you can imagine that the insides would look just as nice but no they were more horrific. I think it’s awful that other Jews had to tell the new Jews coming into Auschwitz to lie about their age and the type of work they had to do just so they can be able to live longer. The pictures that I keep looking at just get more intense as I read on. The children look so innocent, but little do they know they are being lead to their death and that just seems so wrong. They also used so many cans of Zyklon B to kill the jews which is just a weak way to kill someone to me. - Riley Dilsworth
ReplyDeleteAuschwitz-Birkenau. In your reading your Auschwitz-Birkenau blog,
ReplyDeletemy thoughts wandered back to the words of Mr. Felix Piercson:
"We were good people. We feed the homeless in our home every Friday.
The only reason this happened to us is that we were Jews."
Mister Felix was sharing the sorrow of what concentration camp was like for him and his Dad while held in Auschwitz and Dachau, after being separated from his mother and brother, added a human element to the mass murder of these good innocent people. Even with this said, I feel incapable of ever fully grasping what life must have been like for him, especially after he realized the Nazi's plans for their total annihilation and the incredibly evil mindset of their captures. The number of Jewish people who chose to immigrate to the United States, after liberation has significantly enriched this country. The character of people of the Jewish faith as a whole is inspirational. The Jewish culture is far advanced in many areas, having a dedicated education and work ethic comes to mind, a charismatic sense of humor, creative writing skills, their impact on Hollywood, love of the arts, as well as introducing us to more healthy Mediterranean cuisine.
One can only imagine all the uniquely individual ways our country would have flourished, should the powers to be of had the foresight to anticipate the horror of the Nazi mind. Imagine if you will, what this country be like today should we have opened our door and welcomed all nine million Jews, when given the opportunity, forgetting immigration quotas, for the period that is now known as the Holocaust. It is discouraging to comprehend, that after so many Jews chose America as their new home while contributing to our way of life, they still faced anti-semitism here in "The Melting Pot," as citizens of the United States of America. One has to ask themselves ... When is it going to stop!
-Russ Powell
Whenever I think about the Holocaust, the first image to pop into my head is that picture of the railroads leading into Auschwitz. To some, that image may not hold any meaning but whenever I see or even think about it, I just imagine the millions of lives lost in this place that looks harmless from the outside but it the complete opposite on the inside. I think the picture symbolizes how Auschwitz was the final stop for most and millions of innocent lives ended at the same place the railroads did. I agree with what you said about the Nazis and animals because if you think about it, most dogs are more human than the Nazis were. The pictures are really what resonate with me because I’m able to better imagine the horrific scenes of the poor families marching to their deaths and it helps me better understand the true tragedies of the Holocaust and the reasons why we need to learn about it. We don’t learn about the Holocaust just so we are better educated on the history of it, we learn about it so we understand why we need to refrain from all of the hate that everyone in the world experiences today. The more we learn about the Holocaust, the more we will be prepared to prevent anything like that from happening. I hope people understand that although the majority killed were Jews, Jews weren’t the only ones killed during the Holocaust. I think it would be unfair for the other groups and races that were affected during this time of barbaric action. Seeing the pictures of the children really angered me because I will never understand how you could do this to someone who doesn’t even have the ability to harm you even if they wanted to. I want to know if the Nazis who did these types of things had any feelings at all or if they actually viewed another human being as a subhuman. Never in my life have I viewed someone as sub human or below me. So I don’t understand how the Nazis could view an entire race this way.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of the Holocaust, one of the first things that comes to mind is Auschwitz. Yet, I really don’t know much about Auschwitz. First of all, I think I’ve been spelling and pronouncing it long since I first learned about the Holocaust in elementary school. Second, I had no idea that there are three separate parts of Auschwitz. I only really ever thought of Auschwitz as a place of mass extermination. I always forgot about the horrible forced labor also. It was so sickening to learn about the Sonderkommandos. Their roles in the camp were so awful. I wonder if they were aware that they only would have four months to live. If I were in that position, I would not want to live much longer than that. It would be so traumatizing. It is very disturbing and horrible that they had to cremate their own friends and families bodies. Especially considering that I would never want to be cremated. I wouldn't want to be cremated since it is disturbing that you have a family member take your dead body to some creepy stuffy old place with some sketchy guy (or girl) that is gonna take your body to throw it in a fire and burn it so people can spread your dead flakes (which will get to other people and then breathe in their dead remains) or so people can keep them and carry them around forever. I bet you they just take the body and dump it somewhere, like in ditch for animals to eat, and give you some dirt. It is especially a shame since their friends didn't even get to keep the ashes to remember them by. I wonder if the government is killing off people because they “know too much” just like they did in the concentration camps? This just all so crazy to me.
ReplyDeleteAuschwitz, to me, seems like the worst camp that took place during the Holocaust. When the Holocaust comes to mind, I think of Auschwitz. The crazy horrors that went on at this camp are so frightening. I can’t believe the amount of people who came into the camp and didn’t make it out alive. Just walking through the front gate, you can tell that Auschwitz was a p;ace of horror. The gate read, “work is liberty.” This is scary to me because the Jews that were entering thought that they were going to be rewarded, but minutes later they were punished and killed. This is crazy to me how the Nazis could do all of these horrible actions and go on with life. What really struck me was what the Nazis did after they killed the Jews. After they killed the Jews, they would search them for gold! That is ridiculous to me, and I find it so crazy. The strong prisoners job also really got to me. Having to throw people that you knew and loved into the crematory is so sad to me. I would never be able to throw a loved one into a crematory, and I don’t know how they did it. The Nazis keep on making me dislike like them more and more because of their cruel actions. They did so many bad things that just make me wonder why no one stopped them. The picture of the Jews in the cattle car made me learn not to take things for granted. They had 90 of them in their when the capacity looked like it was for 20. The conditions that they lived in were horrible and it makes me feel even worse for them. This blog got to me the most out of all of them and I’m glad I got to learn even more about this crazy time in history.
ReplyDeleteI can’t imagine the feeling of sadness and emotion you had while you visited Auschwitz. What grabbed my attention the most was the book of all the victims in Auschwitz that the names of your grandparents were in. This is extremely sad to me because it could have been anybody's grandparents. The visual pictures in the blog make me feel gross and I can imagine the Jews being moved via cattle car to Auschwitz. I can’t imagine anybody being strong enough to survive ten whole days in the cattle car and then to be evaluated to see if the are “fit” enough to work. How could anybody be fit to work after that long of a ride without food? I hated to see that the Nazi soldiers took pleasure in killing the Jews and kept photos for keepsakes. It should make the Germans and the bystanders of the time feel embarrassed for not standing up against the hell the Jews had to face. The method used for gassing disturbs me and I hate thinking that normal humans were living during the struggle the Jews faced and they did nothing to prevent this from happening. If this were to happen today, the United States would have bombed Germany. The US waited for 6 million Jews to die before acting and this makes me feel awful. I wanted to ask the Holocaust survivor who visited Myers Park how he could love the United States so much even though they waited to act upon the Nazis in the 2nd World War. I also find it extremely sad that they completely lied to the Jewish people during the Holocaust to make them feel “secure.” The Nazis of the Holocaust didn’t consider at all for the victims and “Zyklon B” is evident of that. It is hard to imagine all the pain those people went through.
ReplyDeleteI’ve always learned about Auschwitz in school, but not until being in this class did I really begin to see all of the horrors that went on in this place. The reality of all that went on here is so painful to think about. There are details that I have learned from this one blog that no one has ever mentioned to me before. I cannot imagine how it would have felt to be in a place like that. It was so hard to look at the pictures from this blog, because looking at photographs really makes things seem real. The pictures of the starving children make my skin crawl. They were all skin and bones. It made me realize just how much we take for granted. I have so much more than I ever acknowledge, and I am so lucky. I just wish that these innocent children had had the same privilege. Instead, their rights and freedoms were stripped from them in the blink of an eye with no real explanation. The Jews were really treated like cattle. Being forced into small spaces, executed in masses, sectioned off by strength or ability. I mean really, they were shoved into box cars and locked in for DAYS at a time. They were gassed to death in huge showers because it was “more efficient.” A more efficient way to kill?? How anyone survived these atrocities is beyond me. I know I would not have the strength to do what many of these Jews did. Whether they lived through the camp or not, they were all so incredibly strong. They did not let the Nazis change them. Seeing your parents’ names must have been crazy. It goes to show that these people who were imprisoned could have been anybody. That must have been really emotional to think about.
ReplyDelete-sophia r
Throughout all of the excerpts of your experiences, through where you have traveled and what you have seen, you force the reader to see the gruesome truth behind words. The pictures you include are worth so much, and you paint and vivid picture through your words, which is not easily accomplished. Your blogs are really one of a kind in the fact that you express your experiences with the world, and all your classes. You discuss numbers like how over 2.5 million people were transported to become prisoners in Sonderkommandos, but you don’t focus enough to where numbers is all you detail in your blogs, which is in my opinion wonderful. You discuss how the prisoners were treated so the reader can try to imagine what it was like for all these Jewish people to be kept in a place so far from home, and so cruel. The use of pictures like the men, women, and children in the striped pajamas, create a real impact, when you read the caption, about how the people were expected to, “make sure you are useful to them” meaning the Nazis holding them captive, it speaks to how repressed these people really were. But for me personally the pictures that scream in your ears to listen were those of the cans upon cans of gas ‘responsible’ for so many deaths, the endless amounts of belonging that were once given life like the, glasses, the suitcase, childrens toys, and the shoes of the dead. People were treated worse than animals, as if they were guilty, guilty of a crime so horrible that only these conditions could be sufficient. The pictures of the boys, starved and malnourished are hard to look at let alone describe, to think someone could stand back and decide to take a photograph, which would take a few minutes to process is horrible. It’s good that photographs exist but i would hate to think that someone stood and watched these people die, and took photographs, as if they were animals, as if them being caged was normalized.
ReplyDeleteThe irony is never ending with the Nazis. A new “prisoner” could go his entire life thinking that the harder he worked the closer he got to freedom. The Holocaust makes you ponder what human nature really is. The fact that humans would ever think it was ok to kill other Innocent humans is insane. These so-called humans didn't just think it was ok to kill them; they actually followed through and murdered millions of innocent people. The shoes really struck me how the Nazis really did not discriminate. If you were Jewish, the Nazis hated you. I mean how can you hate someone just on their religion? How can you be that “brainwashed” to kill innocent people?
ReplyDeleteIt seems the more and more I learn about the Holocaust the more and more I realize I don’t know. Like for example, I did not know the SS officers and soldiers could quit. I also didn’t know that it was optional to join. When former Nazis say that they did not know what was going on, or they could not get out. All of those excuses are nonsense and just plain stupid. Every single Nazi who is still alive today should be hunted down and tried. Humanity can not just sweep what happened under the rug and act like it didn’t happen. We must never let history repeat itself.
Ms. Stone, you are very brave to visit and learn about these death and concentration camps. These are the closest thing to hell on earth that will ever exist. I am very grateful that you are passing the information along to us because before this class I really did not know anything about the Holocaust, and you are a phenomenal teacher. This needs to be taught in depth to every student that goes to school.
It was so sweet hearing how you were able to feel comfort from wearing the flag of Israel. I can completely relate to that when I get anxious or stressed i hold on the my cross necklace and for my worries calm. Prisoners who were surrounding the newcomers could have just thought to themselves, “well their next,” but no they helped the others and warned them of what would come. They helped them lessen their pain by telling them how to get better placement, know this next part is sad but I also find it sweet. The veteran One thing that really made me mad was how the Nazis would take the shoes of the jews and casually gave them back out to the then considered german citizens. Another point that shocked me was about their sleeping arrangements. While reading all the books and watching the movies I always thought that the barracks were like actual bunk beds. That's just so horrible how they made these poor people sleep on hard slabs. I also feel bad for the people who got the bottom bunk they didn't know what they would wake up to in the morning. They falsely lead the Jews to thinking they would be secure, but how on earth could you feel secure not even sleeping on a real bed or in decent clothing. Especially with having all your family taken away and not knowing what would happen to any of them. Another sign I saw from God was the name of your mother. It's a wake up call to think this could have been anyone.
ReplyDeleteI knew that Auschwitz had become the most well-known camp after the Holocaust. In fact, oftentimes, many people don’t even any other names for any of the other camps, but I had no idea that Auschwitz had begun with a different intent and with different people. It’s baffling that this place managed to trick innocent people into thinking that everything was okay, and then it managed to break all records for quantity of mass murders. The Jews didn’t just have to give up every material thing that they owned, didn't just have to give up their families, their livelihood; they were stripped of everything even remotely resembling humanity. Children were fooled into believing that they were safe! Mothers and fathers thought that they were protecting their kids, and everyone believed that they were simply going to resettle. They WANTED so desperately to believe it. Oh, how wrong they were. Another major thing that has always pissed me off about the Holocaust (through people tend not to mention it as much a great deal of the time) is the fact that they couldn’t even bother to let the Jews keep their own names. They had to dehumanize them to the point where they were just numbers amongst sea of other prisoners. They broke these people down to dust and then burned the remains. Even after the Jews were killed and their remains destroyed, the Nazis found ways to disrespect their memory—like a final slap in the face. They would have other prisoners rifle through the ashes and find any valuables; that’s such an ironic word considering that human life was less “valuable” to the Nazis than a couple of gold teeth.
ReplyDeleteI think every concentration camp is terrible but Auschwitz takes the cake. Before taking this class, i thought all concentration camps were used for the same thing. I then learned about how every concentration camp had its unique “purpose”. Felix Piercon shared his experiences at Auschwitz and everything that has happened to him during the Holocaust. Felix was very comfortable to share his experiences knowing all the bad things that have happened to him. It is so sad to see that these kids are walking to their deaths without even knowing. I don’t know how you can do that to anyone, let alone kids. Animals have more heart than these monsters. I’m more grateful for my bed because some of the Jews would sleep on hay like animals. How can you treat people like that? I even let my dog sleep in my bed. Those pictures, probably drawn by kids, are simple but powerful. I would never imagine a little kid drawing pictures of hanging people but that was what they saw daily. I was sad when i saw that you found the same names as your parents in that book. These Jews didn’t do anything to deserve to have their names in that book. I feel bad when i read that sign “work is liberty” when it is really just a big lie. Sonderkommandos had to burn their own mother and father. I wouldn’t be able to burn a random person. Tis camp is surely the worst camp of them all. I Still can’t believe everything the Nazis did to these people.
ReplyDelete-Wilson Hawes
I personally am not surprised that the Holocaust happened, or even that something like that could happen again. Humans are animals, and I am not surprised or shocked by what we are capable of, what we can do to each other in the name of politics, or religion, or just plain old hatred. Same is perceived as “safe,” and different is perceived as “dangerous,” so fear is a very powerful tool. But the fact that I am not surprised does not lessen the amount of hatred and disgust I feel toward both the Nazis’ behavior and toward people who indulge in hate and fear and treat other people that way now. I also have to acknowledge that I am not Jewish, and I understand that as a white person I do not view the atrocities that were committed against the Jews in the same way you can, because this was not done to my ancestors.
ReplyDeleteI had learned about the Holocaust before this year, and I had had conversations about it with my family. My great-grandfather was in the US Army during WWII, and we have a photo album of his that has some pictures of some of the horrible things that happened, including huge piles of bodies that were discovered when the camps were liberated. When my mom was in high school she was able to visit Dachau, and we’ve looked at the pictures she took there in the late 1980's. When I was in sixth grade I visited the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in DC.
But now that I have read The Sunflower and The Boys from Brazil and heard Mr. Pierce speak, I think I have more understanding of personal experiences. I always viewed the Holocaust as a factual, historical event, but the things that I have read and heard have put a human face on it.
I will be taking a trip to Germany this summer with Herr Hawkins and the itinerary includes a visit to Dachau, one of the concentration camps where Mr. Pierce was. I think being able to see these things for myself – the concentration camp and also other monuments in Berlin, Munich and other cities - will make the Holocaust even more real for me. I will be taking all I’ve learned this year with me.
All this blog does for me is reinforce my belief that the Nazis were not human at all and they were actually demons in disguise. There is no possible way a human being could be capable of murdering millions and millions of people and then on top of killing them they actually have it left in them to make some of the Jews and prisoners cremate the dead. Just the very thought of someone having to look at their dead mother, father, brother, sister and even their own children would make me want to go and torture each and every single Nazi that ever lived. Like, did the Nazis honestly have no hearts at all? Did they even have a soul? How can anyone ever consider themselves to be human when they have had the nerve to trick innocent children into their death. Now that I think I’m done with that rant(no promises), let’s talk about some of the good things that I just happen to pick up on while I was reading this infuriating blog. One thing that I have to mention is how much I truly admire the Jews’ compassion. Even though their lives were already in danger, the imprisoned Jews still took it upon themselves to try to warn the newcomers of what their actual fate was and what to do and say so that they won’t die right away. That is an act that really deserves praise. Another thing that I’m really glad you brought up in this blog is the part about Eva and her twin sister. I just can’t believe that she actually decided to forgive Mengele and the other Nazis even though she was being experimented on, tortured and knew that they Nazis were killing other innocent Jews. I honestly would love to know exactly what was going through her mind at the moment that she made this huge decision.
ReplyDeleteI consider myself knowledgeable on the events that transpired during World War 2, but in truth, I didn’t know much about the Holocaust. I knew about some of the concentration camps and their purpose, but I didn’t know about the other camps and the horrific things the Jewish people had to endure during the course of the whole thing. Reading about these death camps and what actually happened inside the walls of these places has really opened my eyes to just how terrible the Nazis actually were. I always knew that the Nazis were the bad guys during World War 2, but after reading this, it heavily reinforced that thought. Reading about how these horrific things were justified as a “Master Plan” and how these SS soldiers had no remorse and saw these things perfectly normal and vital to the success of the Nazis was astounding to me. I never thought that human beings could treat other humans in such a disgusting and horrible way, but I was surprised again after reading about what happened during the time of these camps. I also enjoyed the experience of meeting with Felix Piercon. It was very interesting learning about the Holocaust from a first person perspective and their point of view of the whole event. I loved being able to hear about his family growing up and how he was able to survive during the terrible times of the Holocaust and World War 2. It gave me an inside knowledge of what really happened during that time and I think that is the best way of being able to somewhat imagine the pain and suffering that all the Jewish and other people experienced, even if it was only a fraction of the story. Learning about the Holocaust this year has really changed my outlook on life, and I think humanity has improved since this dreaded event. I hope we, as a people, stay strong and never let anything like this happen again.
ReplyDeleteThis blog post was the worst one for me to read feelings wise. I’ve learned about Auschwitz before in history classes, but what I learned was nowhere near as much (nor as emotional) as I learned from this blog post. I even did an entire project on the Holocaust last year for history, and I’ve learned so much more from your class and your blog. I’m so incredibly grateful that you wrote this blog about everything you experienced and learned while visiting all of these camps. It is the best way to learn about the Holocaust.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea how different Auschwitz actually was compared to my previous knowledge. I did not know, previously to this class, that the Nazis were so deceitful towards the Jews. The first thing would be the “welcome” sign. Not only irony, but the amount of deceit the Nazis presented to the Jews. “Work is Liberty.” I don't think i’ve seen or heard a better example of false hope. When the Jews saw this sign, I’m sure they all figured everything would be fine. I mean they see this sign that tells them they will be free if the work, and they are told that they’re just resettling; then, they arrive at this new settling place, and most of them are killed right away. Over halff didn't even get numbers??? That was such surprising information to me. I thought that everyone who went through the camps got a number, but I was very far off. Another thing that really hurt me was the Sonderkommandos. I can't believe the Jews were forced into searching all of the dead bodies. Especially if they ended up seeing their family members!! They've already endured so much, and then, they were forced to go through a bunch of corpses! It is so inhumane, and I completely agree with you; I cannot fathom any idea as to how “people” could do such horrible things to others. One thing that stood out to me (and made me want to cry) was a statement written in one of the pictures. “Sending pregnant woman to be murdered in the gas chambers.” They barely even entered the camp and pregnant woman were already sent to death. I did not think the Nazis could get any worse. It’s bad enough that were killing MILLIONS of people, but now they were killing unborn children. I should’ve seen it coming because the Nazis only kept around prisoners for labor, but I guess I never thought about pregnant woman going to camps.
All of these blogs have been so eye opening. I know I’ve said this a million times, but thank you so much for writing them! I can’t imagine learning about the Holocaust without them! Teachers all over the world need to read your blog and share it with their students. It is so important that everyone learns about the Holocaust like our class did, so we can ensure that something like the Holocaust never happens again!!
Auschwitz has by far been the most interesting one, and I love the picture you took with the train tracks going into the camp with a dark sky above. That picture seems to be everywhere, and it looks like it came out of a movie. I mean you could literally sense the feeling of death within the walls, and I got a chill down my spine imaging what if that was me or my family? Could forgiveness really be the key to moving? As it helped Eva Kor. I hate fucking Himmler with a passion, that man just really puts me in a bad mood, and Mengele the sadistic bastard is probably even worse, who could look a little child in the eyes and then proceed to strip away their innocence just because they're curious to see what would happen. It causes me pain to see what one man could do to other when they've been completely brain-washed, but there were also those Nazis that liked to kill just for the fun or even a cynical urge, like that disgusting imbecile Amon Goethe. The people who yearn people to forgive the Nazis are some ignorant idiots as they haven't experienced firsthand the torture, the malnourishment, the constant companionship of death (Sunflower reference), and the list just goes on of all the Horrors the Jews experienced. When I read that only 10% of all Jews were registered when they got the camps just radiates all the death that happened at the Auschwitz, the estimated 2.5 million death of such innocence really makes anyone speechless. I can’t believe the Germans were proud of what they were doing. Did it give them a rush? Spark their adrenaline? What? I’ll never understand why. I can’t believe that being desperate led to this.
ReplyDeleteThis concentration camp in my book is the worse one. They had a sign that said “work is liberty” when you entered it. They made all the jews leave their bags somewhere and remember were they put it. They tried to make the jews believe that they would be freed. They only took count of the prisoners that stayed their long enough to work. The majority of them were sent straight to death. They made the strong prisoners search through the dead bodies for valuable stuff. Some of the people knew the victims they were searching and they had to witness their dead bodies and loot their dead bodies. The strong prisoners also had to move the bodies into the cremator or into the pits were their ashes were used as fertilizer. The part I really thought was messed up was that they wanted to get inside the heads of the jews and make them feel like they were safe and that they weren’t going to die. The people that worked and moved the dead bodies only lived for 4 months at the most in the concentration camp. They would kill them after 4 months because they knew too much. The jews saw the big chimneys on the cremator and thought they were factories and they thought that the germans were actually civilized human beings. The nazis didn’t want the whole world to see the gas chambers so when they were losing the war they destroyed the gas chambers. I think it's really messed up how those small train shafts had 80-90 people in them and when the doors closed they weren’t opened for another 10 days which is a very long time for 90 people to be cramped up in such a small place. I bet the bathroom situation was horrible and i would’ve been disgusted out and so claustrophobic if i was on one of those train carts.
ReplyDeleteMatthew Adams
Every piece of literature or personal account I encounter about Auschwitz has left me shocked; your blog post is no different. It has become a household name and a perpetual symbol of how human nature can be subject to such inhumanity. The photographs of malnourished children, cradled in their parents’ arms or lacking their presence completely, are truly haunting. The blatant brutality against innocent people, whether it be the deadly gases or infectious conditions, is continually jarring. The photos you took of shoes, dolls, and suitcases are heart wrenching; I’m left to imagine the fiancée who wore those heels, boy who donned those sneakers, or little girl who played with that toy. There is a certain ghostly sentimentality among every object, the ever looming “what could’ve been.” The belongings and personal possessions give the victims a sense of tangibility that strays from the sheer numbers on the page. The fact that we are left to estimate how many people filtered through the gas chambers, labored over useless work, and were condemned to horrific fates is really upsetting to me. I will NEVER understand why these monsters disguised as men did what they did; I never want to. It’s hard to fathom that the Nazis found enjoyment in their torturous actions; inflicting pain brought them satisfaction to the point where they filmed or photographed it. While such actions provided us with the artifacts we have today, it’s more disgusting to know that the intention was for personal satisfaction. They may have covered their tracks, but the Nazis left us with remnants of their reign to last for generations. What was required of the Jewish people at Auschwitz will never stop shocking me. The stacks of cans, bodies, gallows, barracks, and more is what remains of nearly an entire people; it stands as a reminder that must never be forgotten.
ReplyDelete-Annie Vedder
Auschwitz is definitely the most infamous concentration camp, and it was the first one that I ever learned about. The sign over the gate just shows the Nazi’s duplicity and how they made the Jews believe that they had nothing to worry about. I had never previously learned about the purpose of Auschwitz I. I remembered a very detailed description in Buna and Birkenau from the book Night, but I was very interested to learn about how the prisoners of war were treated as opposed to the Jews. I was surprised that they tested the Zyklon B on the prisoners of war. When I previously learned about the Holocaust, I had always been taught that the Jews were the only prisoners in the concentration camps. I was surprised to learn that they imprisoned anyone who disagreed with Nazism. It sickened me to read about the selections. I cannot imagine my family being split up by the SS Guards and never being able to see my parents and siblings again. It is ironic that they deloused the incoming prisoners as if the concentration camp was not way dirtier than anything they could bring in. The conditions in the camp were disgusting. I felt sick when I read that people on the lowest bunk were defecated on. I was heartbroken to see the drawing that the innocent little children drew of people hanging on the gallows. Instead of drawing flowers, they drew death because that was all they knew. I was shocked to see that there were 2.5 million people deported to Auschwitz. That is a larger number than the population of many countries. It is amazing to me that Eva Kor was able to readily forgive the Nazis. I thought it was interesting that she found forgiveness to be so liberating. I can see how hard it would be to move on when one is harboring anger. Her forgiveness gave her power.
ReplyDelete-Jane Jeffries
Each blog post makes it easier to comprehend to Holocaust. All of the pictures are so hard to look at, but each one makes you realize how important it is for us to understand what happened in order to prevent it from happening again. Each shoe, each toy, and each suitcase help us realize how many innocent lives were lost. We will never know how the world could have been different if they were not murdered. The picture of the staircase down to the gas chamber makes me remember all of the mothers and young children that would have walked across the exact stones not understanding what their fate would be in that chamber. The man thinking that they were going to be working in a factory who was actually walking into a death chamber makes me really upset. For all of the innocent people who were killed right after their arrival, it makes me wonder when they realized that everything was not going to be okay. I'm glad that there is no picture of the chaos and panic after the gas was released. All of these images are difficult to handle but that would break me.
ReplyDeleteThe "Work makes you free" sign is ironic because many prisoners were worked to death. No one was ever set free by the Nazis.
Moriah Campbell
I have read several Holocaust based books in my lifetime. Most of the books that have taken place in Auschwitz reference the sign that states, “Work is Liberty.” Night by Elie Wiesel is one of the books to reference it. This sign obviously is untrue because the Nazis worked the people inside the camp to death. Death is not liberty. Was the sign supposed to trick the “prisoners” into working hard? Was the sign literal or figurative? No matter what, it was deceptive. Every time that I read anything about this sign, I question what exactly it was supposed to mean. The fate of the Sonderkommandos is absolutely awful. How could anybody force someone to cremate bodies of loved ones? The Sonderkommandos must have been completely and utterly emotionally ruined. I know that if I had to do any such thing to a family member of mine I couldn’t live with myself. Also, there had to be a large number of these people because they were each killed after four months on the job. I really don’t understand how the Nazis came up with awful ideas such as these. How could you possibly do any of these awful things to people? I cannot believe that only 10% of the Jewish transports were registered when sent to Auschwitz. That means that the other 90% were sent to be killed. 90% is a massive portion of a group of people. The picture of the shoes and the belongings make me extremely upset. The shoes upset me because shoes are something owned by all people. They are simple dignity, and the Nazis stripped the “prisoners” of everything including these shoes. They couldn’t even allow them to keep their shoes. Let alone their shoes, they weren’t allowed to keep any of their belongings. They were tricked into believing they would get them back. Thank you Mrs. Stone for writing this blog. Thank you for including the pictures that you took. I appreciate you writing these blogs because I learn something different every time I read one.
ReplyDelete-Elyse Duley
Auschwitz was definitely the worst of all of the concentration camps; 90% of the Jewish transports were sent immediately to be killed. Before taking your class, I didn’t know much about the concentration camps, and I initially thought that all of them looked and functioned the same way. This was proven incorrect by your blog, which showed that Auschwitz was the largest, deadliest camp. After hearing the excuse that many people “didn’t know” about Auschwitz, I was really surprised to learn about the size of the camp and the fact that it was not in the “middle of nowhere.” The idea that there were 2.5 million prisoners in Auschwitz was also sickening. A total of about six million people died in the concentration camps, and there were many concentration camps. I could not believe that of those six million, a little under a half were killed in Auschwitz. Furthermore, the ironic sign that hung over the entrance of the camp showed the duplicity of the Nazis. The sign read “Arbeit Macht Frei,” which translated to “Work is Liberty.” These words accurately displayed the Nazis’ deceitfulness as they never intended to free the Jews after they worked. Along with the many other lies that the Nazis told the Jews, the sign cruelly suggested a future to the Jews that they were never going to receive. Furthermore, you also wrote about how the working prisoners had to be shaved, tattooed, and washed while their clothes were “disinfected” with the deadly Zyklon B gas. The Nazis truly aimed to dehumanize these Jews, and hearing that there were even small children who had to get their tattoos on their legs was sickening. Seeing the drawings that the young children had left on the walls was also heartbreaking. I remember innocently drawing happy pictures as a child, and seeing that the Jewish kids drew only about the hostility of the Nazis was saddening and disturbing. Also, seeing the picture of your parents’ names in the book had to have been hard, and I could not imagine seeing my parents’ names included in that list. Thank you for writing these blogs and teaching us through both your writing and your images.
ReplyDeleteSara Trochanowski
Before taking this class, I knew that there were other death and concentration camps, but Auschwitz was the only one I’d heard of. However, I didn’t realize that there were three different parts of Auschwitz. It’s terrible that an entire third of the camp was dedicated to murdering people. The sign reading “work is liberty” shocked me. It was both ironic and cruel because the work that the prisoners were forced to do was in no way freeing. One thing that really stood out to me in this article was how the Jewish slaves were forced to build the camp. It’s terrible that they had to construct the place that would become the death site of many other innocent Jews like them. It’s also awful that they used victim’s ashes as fertilizer. Like Simon said in the Sunflower, the Nazis would be remembered with sunflowers on their graves, while the victims wouldn’t have anyone to remember them. It’s bad enough that the poor victims were being murdered when they did nothing wrong, and it’s even worse that they received no respect once they were killed. Not only did they not get proper burials, but their ashes were used to aid in the death of even more innocent people like them. It also amazes me that out of the 2.5 million people were transported there, only 405 thousand were given prisoner status. That’s less than 20%! The facts about the Sonderkommandos also shocked me. I had never heard of them before now, and although they were treated better than the rest of the prisoners, they had the worst possible job at the camp. They were forced to cremate their own friends and family, only to be murdered themselves after four months. I also can’t believe that 90% of the people that came to Auschwitz were sent to die immediately. That’s over 2 million people! Many of the people that weren’t killed instantly likely died later in their stay, which makes the death toll even larger. Many of the pictures also astounded me. I can’t believe that the Nazis managed to trick the prisoners into thinking that they would make it out safely. The few people that did manage to survive probably escaped with nothing, though the vast majority didn’t manage to escape at all. The conditions of the camps were also terrible. I can’t believe that they made the people sleep on hay. As if their time there wasn’t bad enough already! I don’t know people managed to survive crammed into that tiny cattle car for ten days, I feel claustrophobic just thinking about it. In conclusion, pretty much everything about this article astounded and disgusted me. I will never understand how people could’ve been cruel enough to treat people in such horrible ways, but I’m glad that people are able to visit camps such as this one and share their experiences to help to commemorate the millions of people that died and to help share their stories.
ReplyDeleteClaire Porier
So, firstly I will have to agree with Mrs. Stone that Auschwitz is the most identifiable camp with the Holocaust. Additionally, we figured out in class on Friday that Auschwitz was 50 football fields large. Therefore, there was really no way for people to not know that this concentration camp existed. However, I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately. One can only estimate the number of people that died at Auschwitz because there was no record kept of the deaths. I have been thinking about why the Nazis didn’t keep records. Maybe not keeping records was another attempt at just being completely inhumane towards the people that died. I did a little research into Zyklon-B gas. Apparently, this method of killing was extremely painful. It has been compared to the feeling of suffocating. In the gas chambers, people would scream and moan after exposure to the gas. Therefore, this method of killing was extremely inhumane, despite what the Nazis thought about it. Additionally, I thought it was strange that the strong prisoners who moved the bodies to the crematorium had to die after four months. How could they know “too much”? It would be hard experiencing how you were going to die every single day. And then four months later, you would have to die the same way. The picture of the Nazis burning the Jewish bodies to hide the evidence really strikes a chord with me. The way the lifeless bodies are just strung out. It’s just crazy to think how things like that can just become “normal.” Additionally, photographs like that prove to those who deny the Holocaust that it really did happen. You can see from this photographs that these horrors were not a lie created by the government. Why did the Nazis tell the Jews to write their names on their luggage? I know this was just a ploy to reassure them but why would it have to be this sadistic. This is why you can’t say that an S.S. officer was just following orders. This is not following orders. This is enjoying tormenting the Jews. Once again the pictures of the little child crying and bloated from malnourishment are another example of why you can’t say they were just following orders. Mrs. Stone was right, some of these people had something wrong with their head if they wanted to do this to a child. It’s hard to look at these pictures and not just feel a certain way. The fear that all these people must have been feeling when they were lead to their deaths must have been unimaginable.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading about the horrors imposed by the Nazis at Auschwitz, I was surprised to learn that the number was an estimate. I had never considered that the exact numbers would be estimates because of the mass murdering led by the Nazis. It is extremely apparent that the Nazis were despicable as they let the Jews believe they could somehow achieve freedom. Additionally, I find it interesting that it was raining while you visited because that is a sign that generates a sad mood. In most of the pictures I’ve seen of Auschwitz, it seems to be raining or gray. I’m also surprised to learn that the children were tattooed on their legs. I wondered if the Nazis intended to use that to see who used to be small enough to need that tattoo. To further my surprise, I discovered that Auschwitz wasn’t originally housing Jews, and the people who lived in the land were evicted. I understand how Auschwitz dramatically changed with the Jews because the guards become more hateful and deceiving. I can’t believe they took so much pride in their treatment of the Jews that they took pictures for their amusement. There is no way Nazis should be free today when they operated under such a harsh and unforgiving mentality during this time period. I am curious as to how the Jews were able to take some pictures of the camp when their belongings were all stolen by Nazis. Another huge surprise was that the Nazis were so intent on hiding their horrors in the camp because the conditions of their camp wasn’t much of a secret to the surrounding area. Another message that reached me was that a person could be looking for wedding attire and find themselves in the shoes of a Jew who suffered from the Nazi death camps.
ReplyDeleteThis post was very interesting for me to read because Auschwitz was the thing about the holocaust that I recognized the most before I learned more about the Holocaust. When I thought of the Holocaust, I imagined Auschwitz. I actually learned a lot more about Auschwitz when I read the post. I learned that Auschwitz was one of the first places where they tested gassing people. It sickens me that the Nazis were so focused on killing all of the Jews that they had to test more efficient methods of exterminating them. The duplicity of the Nazis trying to make the Jews think Auschwitz was safe also angered me. The “work makes you free” sign above the entrance was an obvious lie by the Nazis. When one of the prisoners said "I told you the Germans were civilized....We will be working in a factory." that was another example of how the Nazis tricked the Jews into thinking Auschwitz was a safe place for the Jews. Seeing all of the prisoners’ belongings and suitcases in the picture saddened me because most of those belongings belonged to people who were murdered in the camp. The Nazis wanted the Jews to remember where they left their things to come back and get them, but the Jews were never going to come back and get them. The images of the death chambers also angered me because I did not think people could be so hateful that they would create buildings just to murder thousands of people. The fact that the Nazis forced the Jews to carry the dead bodies the the crematorium and do their dirty work angered me because they were forcing the Jews to kill their own kind. When you wrote about how the Jews recognized their own family as they were carrying them to the crematorium that put an awful feeling into my stomach. All of this just shows how sick and twisted the Nazis were.
ReplyDelete- Mac Patterson
Another great article. This article really shows how evil these people were and how stupid the people around it were. How can you let the Nazi’s create a death camp in your backyard and “not know about it”. I’m calling B.S. on that one. It is truly horrifying how ironic these monsters were. “Work is Liberty” that literally makes no sense. Let’s make these poor people feel right at home and tell them all they have to do is a little work, but in reality they just worked them to death and if they couldn’t work bye bye. It’s absolutely appalling. When I went to the Holocaust Museum in D.C. I saw the display of all the shoes. That was one of the main things that upset me during that visitation. All the people that once walked in those, tortured and killed for no reason just because of their faith. In the first paragraph when you talked about three parts of Auschwitz. It made me think of how all these people must have felt. Nazi’s sending them off to were they will spend the next 1, 2, 3 years. Maybe not even a week if you were at Birkenau. It’s disgusting how the Nazi’s just willie nilly tested Zyklon B. They just took a couple Soviet POWs and tested it on them to see if it would kill them. It’s a damn gas what do you think?! It’s terrible to think that we as Americans just sat back and watched this happen because we didn’t want to get involved. It is sickening to think about that the Final Solution almost worked if the Americans hadn’t gotten involved ( late, but I guess better late than never). The Soviets were not going to beat the Nazi’s single handingly and Churchill didn’t have a large enough amry. The Nazi’s would have won the war and kept killing Jews. That is the scary part. The whole thing was God awful, every single one of the concentration camps were horrible. Not one was worse than the other. They all stole so many lives from people, ruined family's, and ruined a nation. I even feel bad that I have German heritage in my background.
ReplyDeleteBenjamin
I honestly do not know how to even describe the things that I think about when I see these pictures. There was one of what looked to be homes with a street and trees; I just don't understand how there are streets within a concentration camp. Killing people is one thing, but literally tricking millions upon millions of people into thinking they would be safe? I don't think a mental illness even exists that could even somewhat condone what was done by these people; if there is, it was made up to try and make up for the sickening things done in the war. I attended the Holocaust museum in D.C., and I saw the shoes. The shoes introduced me to the amount of people who died during the Holocaust; I saw the train car and the bunks. Every time I walked further and further into the museum the more my heart was crushed. I mean the shoes and the glasses just stick with me because there are just so many of them. The Holocaust was for me at least just grouped into people, and because of this, I never fully grasped the amount of people who were killed and forgotten during this. The fact that 10% of prisoners ever had records just amazes me. I don't whether the Nazis did that to hide how many people who were being killed, or whether it was because it just took too much time. Nobody will ever know exactly how many people went through concentration camps and died. The remeberence of somebody was taken away all the time, and it just terrifies me how so many people were forgotten. I just don't understand it, and I know about it yet I still don't understand it. The fact that the Nazis forced prisoners to burn their victims is something that I cannot comprehend. If they really wanted these people dead, then why not do the dirty work themselves? Why not take at least a little pain off some people and do what you apparently joy so much? Humiliation by Nazis went into the afterlife. They took the remembrance of your own victims away from the world. They burnt people and used them as fertilizer. Auschwitz has hatred and forgotten souls within its foundation. That sickens me, and I don't understand how somebody did that. People drew what they witnessed. Everyone saw what was happening in the camp within it and outside of it. I'll never understand what went through these people's heads.
ReplyDeleteRyan Szeker
The first thing that stood out to me was the fact that they put “Work is Liberty” at the entrance of the camp. It is disgusting that they would give the Jewish victims that type of hope knowing that they were going to work them to death. The false hope they displayed to the Jews was also showed in the picture of the pieces of luggage that had the victims’ names and addresses on them, and the picture of the little girl’s baby doll. It makes a person wonder if the Nazis really enjoyed making the prisoners feel as if they were going to continue on with life, and that this was just a “resettlement.” This just shows how sick and twisted they really were. The number of prisoners compared to the number of people deported there is also very disturbing. It is very saddening to think about all of those people killed in gas chambers just because of the religion they practiced, the disabilities they had, etc. Another thing that was horrifying was what the Nazis put the Sonderkommandos through. I cannot imagine what going through dead bodies does to you psychologically. Especially since some of those dead bodies were their family members. One picture that was gut wrenching to see was the one with the children going to their death chambers. I will never be able to fathom how the Nazis were able to kill innocent children. It was also sickening to see the cans of Zyklon B. These cans held a poison responsible for killing millions of people. I cannot even begin to imagine who they killed(people’s children, brothers, sisters, mothers) because it is too upsetting. It was also very moving to see the railroads, on which the Jewish victims entered the camp, and the cattle car that they came out of. It is hard to think about the amount of people that came in on these cattle cars compared to the amount that were able to leave. I also thought that the picture of where the hay, on which the prisoners slept summed up their horrifying experience. It represents to me how they were fed the kind of food that horribly treated animals would eat, how they would be hit and beaten if they didn’t complete their work in the correct way, like abused animals are, and how they were killed like animals that didn’t have anymore worth to farmers. Again, this shows what disgusting human beings the Nazis were to give this type of treatment to the prisoners. Thank you, Mrs. Stone, for writing these blogs. I have learned more about the Holocaust than I could have ever imagined, and I am very appreciative towards you for that.
ReplyDeleteHalsey Patrick
Reading this, I am overwhelmed with indescribable emotions; I feel hatred, I feel disgusted, and I feel physically sick to my stomach. How can this happen? I’m beyond shock that this simply happened for 5 years (!) when so many people knew it was happening. Why would they let this happen and why would people choose to participate, let alone be proud of mass slaughter.
ReplyDeleteI think one thing that always makes me enraged is that fact that the Nazis decided to destroy the evidence of their crimes once they started losing the war. What happened to their pathetic ideas about racial purity and saving the universe? Why do they think they have the right to bury everything they’ve done when weeks ago they were drunk on the power and boasting to anyone who would listen. They don’t have the right. They are simply pathetic cowards who deserve the same fate that they served to millions of others.
I can’t help but be overwhelmed by the fact that so much death occurred in this place and we only have the estimates of it! It is unknown how many people were deported there and how many died before entering the gates or shortly after. But the Nazis didn’t care and it sickens me especially to think about how many families walked in to have none walk out or to only have one lone member walk out and never be able to properly respect those who had fallen. To never bury your mother or father, to never see a picture of your family ever again, or to never even see a valued possession. It’s simply inhumane and disgusts me to my core, and I don’t know if something like that had ever happened to me what I would have done. I don’t even know if I could survive the idea of losing everything I hold dear to me. It’s overwhelming and I after reading every blog post, I feel my hatred towards Nazis grow stronger and stronger. -Madison Lastoria
It’s crazy to think about how big Auschwitz was. I can’t even imagine it. The size of it shows that it really couldn’t be hidden. Since it was larger than 5000 football fields, people can’t deny that they didn’t know what was happening. Impossible. That is incredibly huge. The part about Auschwitz drastically changing from 1940 to 1945 is crazy. It must have took so many people to make such a big change within a small period of time. It’s insane what people can get done so quickly. Another part that stood out to me was the Sonderkommandos. Their job must have been so difficult. I can’t imagine how hard it must’ve been to have to dispose of corpses that could’ve been your mom or sister. I thought it was ironic that they had to die within four months because they “knew” too much. Who could they tell? What could they do? I also was shocked to learn that only 10% of Jewish transports were registered. This meant that the rest were sent to die immediately. That’s crazy. The pictures included were really helpful because I was able to get a visual interpretation. Many of the images gave me a dark and gloomy feeling. I felt uncomfortable just looking at them. The image with the children marching to their death, completely unaware, made me upset. They looked confused as they held each others hands. The information and images of Zyklon B is unbelievable. I can’t even comprehend how awful that is, especially the part about their experimenting with the men from the hospitals. That’s so evil. The sketches depicted made me think about how some children might’ve drawn what they saw. It’s so different from what children see and draw today. I didn’t realize how small the cattle cars were until I saw those pictures. Wow. It’s so cruel that so many people were shoved in there for 10 days. Again, I can’t even imagine how horrible that is.
ReplyDeleteElla Page
I wonder why the Nazis even put the effort into putting, “Work is Liberty,” at the entrance of the camp. I also wonder how often civilian transportation trains traveled past Auschwitz. I think that putting the largest concentration camp in Poland is a strange choice. It seems like it would be easier to maintain and transport materials and prisoners if it were in Germany. I wonder if the guidelines for who got to live were more strict. This is because it is so surprising how high the estimate is for people who were deported there. However, the number 2.5 million is still a tiny fraction of the Europeans in the world at that time which adds to the question of why there was so much pressure to eliminate the Jewish people. I wonder how the Nazis thought that taking people’s clothes and tricking them into thinking that they were “resettling,” made any sense. Wouldn’t telling people that they had to work to live encourage them to want to work. Some of the pictures look like Auschwitz is just a small town and not a mass genocide community. I wonder if it seemed any different when it was an active camp. I also noticed how some of the prisoners took some of the pictures. This reminds me of the basis for “The Great Escape.” A story of how 76 allied P.O.Ws managed to tunnel out of their camp and film the entire process in secret. Were prisoners who were allowed to live not searched or just not searched thoroughly. Or were they searched well just somehow able to sneak a camera in, or were they allowed to have cameras but not gold teeth. Why is the gas in pellet form? I understand that it would be much cheaper to ship but it would still have to be shipped in an airtight container, so why not use gas which is likely inhaled quicker. Was having glasses enough for the Nazis to send you to die. Because that seems pretty irrelevant but the glasses picture shows many pairs of glasses.
ReplyDeleteNate Reiney
This blog drove home the point of just how deceptive the Nazis were. Everything about this camp and the entire holocaust was deceptive. From the outside, Auschwitz didn’t seem nearly as sinister as it really was. The sign saying “Work is liberty”, the talk of “relocation”, and the disguise of a “factory” were all used to make the Jews believe that nothing was wrong. This is shown by the father telling his son that the Germans were civilized as they walked to their deaths. Some of the prisoners tried to warn them, but I wonder how many people just didn’t even listen to them. It seems odd to me that the Nazis put so much effort into deceiving the prisoners as they came in. They were going to find out the true nature of the camp as soon as they were inside, so what was the point in keeping up the illusion for a little while longer? I can’t think of any possible benefit it would have in that short little time. Did they just want to build a false sense of security so that they could tear it down? They didn’t care about how the prisoners felt afterwards, so I don’t know why they would then
ReplyDeleteThe Nazis also deceived themselves at times. They believed that they were doing the right thing. I don’t understand how it could be possible, but they actually convinced themselves that they were doing something good. However, their actions show that they knew of their own wrongdoings. If they had really believed that they were doing the right thing, why would they have tried to get rid of any evidence. They killed prisoners who “knew too much”, and they tried to destroy their gas chambers when they knew they were going to lose the war.
-Brian Ramsey
Auschwitz was the biggest camp and it wasn't even hidden. It's pretty ironic that intellectuals used to live in a place where innocent people are getting murdered, and It's insane that much death happened there. It's awful to think that 11 million people that could have helped and contributed to the world had to die. The way that they dehumanized these people was disgusting. They killed in masses and even when they were killing thousands of people a day they found more ways to kill quicker. When I read the fact that they used the ashes as fertilizers I was amazed and angered. They couldn't have at least done anything else with the ashes but instead, they used them for their own benefit. They completely objectified them and made them seem so insignificant. When I read about the Sonderkommandos, I felt sorrowful. These people would work with dead people day in and day out to then see a member of their family. That would crush me to see my dead mother and have to loot her. I couldn't do it. They would do nothing but their jobs just to be killed for a BS reason. Seeing the actual pictures had me in multiple different emotions. Seeing the Nazis burning corpses baffled me. How could these Nazis see the burning of their once neighbors and think its ok? It just shows how inhuman some of them became. I was amazed to see how many cans they used and the fact that they used RED CROSS vehicles was just unnecessary. At that point, you wouldn't even need to hide it. Looking at the luggage and shoes of the Jewish people, made me heartbroken. Every one of those objects belonged to a person who shouldn't have died. All the pictures of the Jews filled me with bitterness. They will never be able to live life the same because of one characteristic. They locked tens of people in small carts for days on end until they were released to a place that wasn't even better. The barracks looked so painful. I couldn't imagine what it would have felt like to witness the steps that hundreds of thousands of innocent people had to walk on to their demise. I still can't believe how something like this could have happened.
ReplyDelete-Carson Bahr
My first thought was why do they even have the sign "work is liberty" at the entrance? It just confuses me as to why they even tried to make it somewhat "positive." I was very surprised at how big Auschwitz actually was- I knew it was big just didn't know how big. I had no idea Auschwitz was close to "civilization" and didn't know that they made people move so they could make it even bigger. Something that really caught my attention was the fact that teachers and doctors were in the camp- I guess I never thought about who were in the camp besides Jews. It disgusts me not only that there was a final solution but the fact that they tested it out before. I am wondering how they even selected the people to die in the "test"- was it random? It's ironic that they used Zyklon B to kill the prisoners but also to clean their clothes. 405,000 out of 2.5 million given prisoner status- that is insane- around 85% were killed! I had never heard of the Sonderkommandos and I'm wondering how they were chosen- was it just random like all the other things that happened? Also only 10% were registered which is crazy! It is so cruel that the Nazis lied to the prisoners in order to make them think that they even had a future. It is so crazy to see all these pictures because they are actual things that were used then. It's horrible that all of the stuff the Jews brought with them got stolen by the Nazis but reassured them that they would be given back to them. It is amazing how stron Eva Kor is and that she was able to forgive the Nazis and Josef Mengele even though they did horrible things to her, her family, friends, and the other Jews.
ReplyDeleteWow! I just can not believe the level of deception here. It is unfathomable. Just unbelievable. First off, just thinking that the Germans were testing the gas that they used to kill all of the millions of people is just a terrible thought. I guess people will do anything just to have their ambitions happen. I also can not believe the part about how the Jews were left in cattle cars for days. The survivors are extremely strong to stay in a cattle car for over ten days most likely without barely in food and water. They also probably had their dead friends and family next to them. Next they sleep on floors that were roughers than an uneven bed of nails while having people’s waste drop on them. Then these same people treated so awfully were just thrown to work the next day without any food. Just inhumane. I really just can not believe this. It is sick to think that the Germans brought the poison in on red cross cars because those cars were fake. At that point who are they lying to. It sure is not the Jewish people anymore because they have most likely figured out what is going on when they see these cars coming into camp. I think that the only reason that they are bring the gas in the fake red-cross cars is because they are trying to convince themselves that their awful action are reasonable and justified. They want to trick them selves that the red cross is supporting them because that organisation always helps people and they want to think they are doing the right thing when they are not. I just can't believe all of the torture. The Nazis are just sick and the survivors of the camps are stronger than I could ever be.
ReplyDeleteCharlie Robinson
I have heard all the terrible things about this camp in and out of this class, but this blog gave me more detailed information and personal accounts that greatly increased my knowledge of Auschwitz. A specific part that was sickening to me was how to Sonderkommandos searches bodies for valuables. I can’t imagine having to look through your fellow prisoners dead bodies to find valuables. Also, when you said that the Sonderkommandos would sometimes have to cremate friends and family, that stuck out because that is something so awful but had to be done otherwise they would be the ones getting cremated. This situation symbolizes the situation all Jews had to face when in the death camps. They all had to accept death and be familiar with it in order to stay alive. It was saddening to hear that even after the Sonderkommandos followed orders and had to do terrible things, they still ended up dying because they “knew too much” from doing their job. It was surprising for me to learn that only 10 percent of Jews “got to live.” I put that in quotes because it isn’t something that should have to be looked at as a privilege. This situation also shows that the Nazis had no intentions of using the Jews and just wanted them exterminated. The picture that stood out to me the most was the one of the small child curled up in a ball with a sad look on his face. I agree with everything that you said underneath that the Nazis shouldn’t even be looked upon as animals. They are monsters that committed things a normal person wouldn’t even think were possible. I also agree when you said you won’t ever be able to understand what they did. There is no excuse for murdering millions of innocent men, women, and children.
ReplyDeleteDavid Winslow
Finally reading about Auschwitz, one of the most infamous concentration camps, has made me (if possible) even more more disgusted and horrified about the Holocaust. I always believed that Auschwitz was in the middle of nowhere, and I guess I wanted to believe that no one knew about it. I imagine all of these Polish citizens seeing this camp being built, the crematoriums used, and the gas chambers operating daily while no one said a word! How can that be? Historians know that it was not because of ignorance, so what stopped them from saying something while witnessing the mass murder of millions? To this day, no matter how much I read about the Holocaust, I will never truly be able to understand that. Also, I felt a sickening feeling when I read that the ashes of the Jews murdered were used as fertilizer. I can't even comprehend in words the amount of anger, disgust, and sadness I feel about that. I am also shocked to find out that the Sonderkommandos were the ones that had to take care of the bodies in the crematorium. How could you ever live after witnessing that? I bet the Nazis did that on purpose just to torture them even more which is so twisted.
ReplyDeleteTo my shock, I did not know that at first when the Jews got the Auschwitz they were convinced it was “just resettling.” I thought that by then the Nazis would just admit to what they were doing. I can’t imagine the fear these people witnessed as they were forced to obey the orders of strangers as they were teared from their families and placed in a new environment. The picture that disturbed me most was the boys holding hands walking towards a gas chamber. They were so young and so innocent. Seeing their faces absolutely makes my heart break. Another picture that was so gruesome in and of itself was the pile of glasses of all the victims. To me, the glasses represent civility and intelligence. All of that was stripped away and burned in an instant. On a last note, I don't know if I could ever be strong enough to visit a place like this. Maybe on day, but definitely not anytime soon. I simply would not be able to function after witnessing that in real life.
-Sophie Slayden
The death camp Auschwitz was an unbelievable place that most could barely dream in their nightmares. What made the camp so terrible was that not only were the prisoners instantly killed or eventually killed, but they were told such deceiving lies. Some deceiving things the prisoners were told was that “work will set you free” or to put their names and addresses on their luggage so that they could have it returned to them after they had been “settled”. I can not believe that only ten percent of the people who arrived at the camp made it past the first selection; to me that is insane because they killed off so many people right when they got there. Something that really stood out to me was when the prisoners who did survive the first selection had to get tattooed because the kids’ arms were too small so they had to tattoo their legs. This stood out to me because they were just kids, and usually you have to be an adult to get a tattoo; which just shows how the kids instantly had to adjust to their new environment. When reading about the gas chambers, it really was sickening the way the Nazis made them; how they used sick people from the hospital to test the gas then decided to add pellets to make the chambers more deadly. Also even the idea of the gas chamber is just terrible how prisoners were just instantly sent there and one group of prisoners had to come in and collect any valuables and collect the dead bodies and some were even family members. Another thing that is messed up is how the people who searched the bodies had to be killed after four months because of them “knowing too much” which seems very ignorant being that after the first day most prisoners had probably already figured out their fate.
ReplyDeleteThe death camp Auschwitz was an unbelievable place that most could barely dream in their nightmares. What made the camp so terrible was that not only were the prisoners instantly killed or eventually killed, but they were told such deceiving lies. Some deceiving things the prisoners were told was that “work will set you free” or to put their names and addresses on their luggage so that they could have it returned to them after they had been “settled”. I can not believe that only ten percent of the people who arrived at the camp made it past the first selection; to me that is insane because they killed off so many people right when they got there. Something that really stood out to me was when the prisoners who did survive the first selection had to get tattooed because the kids’ arms were too small so they had to tattoo their legs. This stood out to me because they were just kids, and usually you have to be an adult to get a tattoo; which just shows how the kids instantly had to adjust to their new environment. When reading about the gas chambers, it really was sickening the way the Nazis made them; how they used sick people from the hospital to test the gas then decided to add pellets to make the chambers more deadly. Also even the idea of the gas chamber is just terrible how prisoners were just instantly sent there and one group of prisoners had to come in and collect any valuables and collect the dead bodies and some were even family members. Another thing that is messed up is how the people who searched the bodies had to be killed after four months because of them “knowing too much” which seems very ignorant being that after the first day most prisoners had probably already figured out their fate.
ReplyDelete( repost because i forgot to put my name) - Lawson swisher
ReplyDeleteClay Tobin
I think that the reason for the Nazis making the sign that said “Work Makes You Free” was to calm down the incoming Jews and make them think they would turn out OK if they obeyed. I think they wanted them to think this so that the selection process would be more fluid and have less people act out because they didn’t know what was really happening. I think that sign was a symbol of what the Nazis would do to make the process and efficient and fluid as possible. I learned that prisoners of war were imprisoned at Auschwitz and this is new to me because whenever people talk about Auschwitz they are talking about the holocaust. I wonder how long it took for the prison population of Auschwitz to turn from Polish people who opposed Hitler too Jews? What did the Sonderkammanodos know too much about so that they would need to be killed in four months? One thing that keeps I see keep recurring in this blog and tales about the Holocaust is the extent the Nazis would go to to make the process as efficient as possible. I think this just goes to show that these people weren’t dumb or uncivilized. I think this shows that they were smart, organized, and efficient. I think that if another Leader besides Hitler took power who wasn’t evil at all, but still had the charisma to empower the people of Germany they could have been a world superpower without going to war to prove it. They could have been leaders in science and Industry. Where would the Germans go who lived in the towns that were cleared for the concentration camps? Would they go to the homes of Jews who were forced out? What percentage of Jewish homes were lived in by other Germans when the Jews who lived there were sent to concentration and death camps?
There’s a lot of things that surprised me about Auschwitz. The sheer size of Auschwitz is actually insane. How did they get that much land for a concentration and death camp. I thought it was really ironic how they had that sign above the gate at Auschwitz. The sign read, “Work is liberty.” The Nazis obviously knew they weren’t going to set the poor Jews free. It didn’t matter how much work they did, they were not going to get set free despite the Germans promise on the gate. I think that the giant trains they had to herd all the Jews were awful. They loaded up 80 to 90 Jews in one cart and they would send them off to Auschwitz for their assured death practically. They would keep the Jews locked up in the carts with these huge locks that no one could break if they even dared to try. They would be kept on these carts for about 10 days before being forced off into Auschwitz. Lastly, these gas chambers are so sad. Everyone thought the chambers were really nice factories and it seemed that the Nazis were very industrialized. Everything about Auschwitz was a let down. The sign at the gate, the “factories,” and being able to be let free like Jews should be. I thought it was really sad, the stories about how the kids would be assured by their mothers and fathers that everything would be alright and they were just going to the showers or the factories. Multiple families would be in their at once, I don’t know how it’s possible to be able to kill all those people and drag the bodies out and just keep doing it. I think the Nazis had to be physcotic in some way. Some of the things they did were just unexplainable.
ReplyDelete- Brad McKewon
Somehow, even after learning about this topic for months, I am still astonished at the atrocious crimes that the Nazis committed. One picture that really struck a chord with me was the one taken by a Jewish prisoner that showed Nazis burning bodies because of crematorium overflow. Acts such as this truly prove that they weren’t just following orders. No one who is in their right mind could ever burn a PERSON’S BODY unless they wanted to. Something else that really stood out to me was that over 2.5 million were deported to Auschwitz, but only around 400,000 were actually recorded as being admitted into the camp. My heart goes out to the many people whose lives were given no meaning by the Nazis and were lost in their heinous deeds through not being recorded. Another piece of information that I gleaned from this post is that the Nazis couldn’t have not known that what they were doing wasn’t wrong. Proof: they tried to destroy their gas chambers and crematoriums once they knew that they were losing the war and that the Allied forces would soon find them and take down their operations. If they hadn’t known it wasn’t right, they would not have tried to take away the evidence. One part of your blog that gave me joy was the picture of you with Israel’s flag wrapped around your shoulders. I feel that this is a very powerful photo and I’m glad that it brought you comfort and hope throughout your travels. The last thing that I want to talk about is somewhat unrelated to the topics discussed in your blog but still pertains to the Holocaust. I cannot even fathom the amount of perseverance and bravery shown by any Holocaust survivor. They are amazing, strong willed people who deserve the absolute best in life for their troubles. When most people even just have a bad day they don’t feel good for a while and may be in a funk. Holocaust survivors were put under extreme physical and mental torment for years on end until the horrible ordeal was over. Anyone who has the strength to overcome this is a hero in my eyes.
ReplyDeleteI noticed that you had brought up a little doll owned by a little Jewish girl and how the little girl thought she would see her dolly again. That really got to me, and the thought of it really brings a tear to my eye. Another thing that confused me a little was the fact that they still had the bags and luggage with the names of the gassed Jews. If they were meaning to cover up their evidence, didn't they think to first burn the remaining evidence that there once were millions of other Jews at the camps? Like, wouldn't they have thought to cover it up by burning the bags and the shoes and the personal items? That right there just kind of confused me. I was just talking to my mom about these things while I was reading them and showing her the pictures that impacted me most and she started crying.The sign over the gate just shows the Nazi’s duplicity and how they made the Jews believe that they had nothing to worry about. I had never previously learned about the purpose of Auschwitz I. I remembered a very detailed description in Buna and Birkenau from the book Night, but I was very interested to learn about how the prisoners of war were treated as opposed to the Jews. I was surprised that they tested the Zyklon B on the prisoners of war. When I previously learned about the Holocaust, I had always been taught that the Jews were the only prisoners in the concentration camps.
ReplyDeleteSoren Gautam
ReplyDeleteI am still completely astonished at how atrocious the crimes that the Nazis committed were even after months of learning about this event. There was one picture in particular that stood out to me. It was taken by a Jewish prisoner depicting Nazis burning bodies, and it really stuck with me because of how inhumane the act was. Acts such as this one really show that the Nazis truly felt hatred towards the Jews. WHY would they be burning the bodies of others if they did not hate them? It does not make any sense to me as it shows that ALL Nazis really hated the Jews and cannot make excuses such as "we were only following orders." It also shocked me that over 2.5 million Jews were deported to Auschwitz yet only 400,000 were actually taken into the camp. That means that around 2 million people were killed at Auschwitz BEFORE they even entered the camp. What was the point of bringing them to Auschwitz if they were just going to kill them before? Again, another illogical and mindless decision by the Nazis. Another piece of information that I learned from this post is that the Nazis were completely aware that their actions and camps were wrong. They even tried to cover up their tracks by destroying their gas chambers and crematoriums when they knew that they were losing the war and that the Allies would soon find the camps and the horrible buildings and machines they contained. If they had not known that what they were doing was wrong, then why would they have tried to erase the evidence of their wrongdoings? It just does not make any sense. It was also somewhat angering to learn about the Zyklon B and how it was used on the prisoners of war who were not Jews but rather those who had been captured during the battles throughout Europe. It actually surprised me that there were other prisoners in the camps besides Jews as this whole unit has never discussed the other prisoners who were in the camps and had to endure such suffering. There was one part of this blog that cheered me up after reading about such horrific events. It was the picture of you with the Jewish flag around your shoulders and the big group of people walking right in front of you. This picture to me really showed how much people still care about the Holocaust today and how they are still striving to learn about the event, so they can share their information with others and teach them about the horrible happenings that occurred so that those they share with can then pass on the information to others as the cycle continues on and on.
The sign that says “Work is Liberty” is one of the most common artifacts from the Holocaust that I have heard about. The sign shows so much irony because the Nazis never planned on setting the prisoners free. I have never really thought about it before, but Auschwitz is the concentration camp that almost everyone thinks of when thinking about Holocaust camps. It is probably because Auschwitz was the largest camp. Before reading this post, I didn’t know that Auschwitz was broken into different sections. All I had ever learned before was that Auschwitz was a camp with many gas chambers. Another thing that I guess I assumed was that all camps were built next to railway tracks. You state specifically that Auschwitz was located next to railway tracks, but weren’t all camps? It still amazes me that the Nazis would kick the Germans out of their homes, so they could have Jewish prisoners build a death and labor camps. We have learned in class about all of the other groups targeted by the Nazis, but reading about how they were sent to Auschwitz first was strange. I think that society generalizes the Holocaust as only targeting the Jewish population, but this goes to show that other groups were victims as well. When the Jews arrived at the camp changed how it was run. Gas chambers were built, and there is no doubt in my mind that the prisoners were forced to build them. I can’t comprehend how a person could start burning people in a pit because he/she thought the prisoners were not being killed fast enough. So many people were deported to Auschwitz but only a small fraction of those people were recorded in the camp records. I can not imagine being a “strong prisoner” and having to search dead bodies for gold fillings or important items. The psychological torture that does to a person is awful. The Nazis did such a good job of hiding the truth from their prisoners. The people arriving at the camp truly believed they were going to work in a better place. Honestly, the Nazis were smart for trying to reduce the amount of panic and fear in their prisoners. It was a strategic plan to get what they wanted done. But the amount of unethical decisions and plots that went into the Holocaust will never cease to amaze me. So many people who had fallen to Hitler’s reign made places like Auschwitz possible.
ReplyDelete- Ashley Szymonski
Auschwitz has always been the primary concentration camp that I have learned about. I have not learned much in the past, but I know that it was an area of devastation, torture, and extermination. One of the main parts of the camp was Auschwitz-Birkenau, and its main goal was to exterminate mass numbers of Jews. It still sickens me that they used the word “exterminate.” You exterminate pests and insects not people. People are human beings with a soul and a heart and a future. Never should a human being with the potential to grow and prosper be “exterminated.” I think that the word used during the Holocaust is one of the most disgusting things about it. It still interests me so much that there was more than just Jews perpetrated during the Holocaust. There were normal people living normal lives, but they opposed Nazism. People tend to zone all of the attention on the Jews when they think about the Holocaust. This may be because the Jews were the number one priority, but there were many other completely innocent people that were affected by this tragedy. As I kept reading, I read that the strong prisoners had more luxuries in the camp, but they were in charge of burning to dead prisoners. They would often run into their dead family members or friends. How could they do this? It would make me sick to burn one of my family members. I guess they had to do it or they would be punished too. In these blogs, the pictures are always what stands out to me the most. The pictures stand out because I can see the damage that was done instead of just read about it. One of the first pictures shows innocent children being led to their death. But, they didn’t know it. They thought they were being relocated and their parents would tell them “it’s is all going to be ok.” The sad part is that it wasn’t. They were so oblivious to the danger that awaited them, and then they were just killed with no warning, no hope. Some of the other pictures show the belongings of the prisoners. They were ordered to put their names and address on their luggage so that it could be returned to them. They actually thought they would get it back. It was all part of a master plan to exterminate them. There were pictures of dolls. Little girls and boys handed over their dolls and were told they would get them back. They didn’t. They got nothing except pure torture. I think that this blog stood out to me the most because I finally am realizing how utterly heartbreaking it is. People were strung upon a series of the unknown until they were tortured and then killed.
ReplyDelete-------EMI JONES-------
As I began reading this blog post I realized that I had seen the sign “work is Liberty” before. I then realized it was mentioned in the book “Night” that we read in class. This sign struck me then as it did when I just read this post. It is shocking that the Nazis had the audacity to not only do the horrific things they did but also flaunt it in such an outlandish way as this sign. Imagine being an innocent Jewish person being herded into Auschwitz when you see that sign. It ultimately fills you with hope about your situation. This hope was soon crushed by the inevitable reality of this concentration camp. Work did not make you free. The Nazis were never going to let the Jews free no matter how hard they worked. Work could ensure their lives, maybe, but it would surely not set anyone free. This makes me so angry because of the pure lies a sign like this portrays. I also resonated with the reputation Auschwitz has. If you had asked my middle school self what she knew about the Holocaust, I would have said “Auschwitz.” This camp is one of the most famous camps. When I read that is only possible to estimate the number of victims murdered at Auschwitz, I got chills. Those are human lives that were essentially erased from history. There are no death records, no definite answer as to how they were killed or when. This infuriates me. Some people today don’t even know the stories of their ancestors. I was so disturbed by the fact that there were workers who were specifically told to search the dead bodies for valuables and cremate them. I could not imagine ever having such a job. These prisoners endured this horrific job for months and then were simply killed because they “knew too much.” This is completely unfair. There was one picture I saw on the blog that made Auschwitz look almost pleasant. Without knowing the history of the camp, one would not instantly think it was a concentration camp. It baffles me that such horrific things could have gone on at a place that looks far from horrific. I feel like this was part of the Nazi’s plan. I wonder if they thought to themselves, “maybe we can trick the jews if we make the camps look like good places.”
ReplyDelete-Lexi Amedio
It’s disgusting that the Jews were treated as if they were cattle. They were locked in carts that were cramped, dark, nasty, and filled with human waste. The Jews were close to starved by the time they reached their destination, but as soon as they get out of the carts, over 90 percent of the Jews were immediately sent to slaughter alongside their family and friends. The other 10 percent were tattooed, stripped of their valuables, and immediately put to work in the camp. The thing that really infuriated me was the fact that the Nazis looted the belongings of the murdered innocent men, women, and children, and used it for their own personal gain. The Jews had fought hard to survive, traveled hundreds of miles with their bags, carrying the only thing on earth that they truly owned, and in the end, it was all stripped from them. Little did they know the majority of them were going to be put straight to death upon their arrival. Looking through all the pictures helped me better imagine what life was like as a Jew and the horrible things they had to go through daily. The pictures of the piles of glasses, and shoes that were still leftover helped me to realize the number of people that they actually killed there and it’s crazy that just 10% were registered. At first, when I heard about Aushwitz I just thought of it as just any ordinary camp, but after reading about all that happened and the amounts of people that died here made me realize this place was beyond awful. When they were losing the war they tried to ruin the gas chambers to hide what they had done, but why would they even bother to hide what they did if they are the ones that were responsible for their own actions? When you talked about how some of your relative’s names were in the book I was astonished. Those more than likely had been some of your aunts, uncles, cousins or grandparents. To have personally read a list with the names of your family members on it must have been heartbreaking. It must’ve been insanely difficult for the parents to console their children as they were walking to their deaths; to watch your child die next to you is something that no one ever deserves to experience, and it’s something I would never think to wish on even my worst enemy. -Lila Barenberg
ReplyDeleteBefore reading this, I was a little excited and anxious because I’ve read and heard so much about Auschwitz and the terrors that occurred there. I knew that it was by far the biggest concentration camp, but I didn’t know exactly how big. I also remember reading a lot about it when we read Night, so I was somewhat prepared for reading the horrors that went on in Auschwitz. It really disgusted me that ashes were used as fertilizer. I mean, killing someone is one thing, but using their only remains to improve your crops and livestock? That’s just sick. Reading about the Sonderkommandos also disgusted me. Even though they were treated better, I can’t believe that they had to retrieve and burn the dead Jews. On top of that, they were also killed within four months just for “knowing too much.” That’s just so inhumane and terrifying. It was also disturbing for me to read that the clothes of the Jews were disinfected with Zyklon-B gas. That’s literally the same gas that was used to kill a mass number of Jews, but obviously, the Nazis didn’t care whatsoever. When I saw the number 10% of the population survived getting into the camps, I was appalled. The other 90% died for absolutely no reason, and that totally enrages me. The worst part is, I wouldn’t be surprised if some of that 10% envied the 90% who were sent to death because I bet a lot of those Jews who were forced to work wished to die more than anything. To me, Auschwitz seems like the perfect definition of a hell on Earth. Seeing that picture of all the Zyklon B was horrifying. That is only a small percent of the gas used, so it proves how many Jews were murdered in gas chambers. What made me really mad was the fact that fake International Red Cross vehicles delivered these gas chambers. That is just upright disgusting trickery. Seeing those pictures of the drawings that were drawn in Auschwitz was actually scary. It looked like something straight out of a terrifying horror movie. The people hanging was so gut-wrenching that I had to look away and look at some of the other pictures. Then, I saw the super-skinny kid. Seeing him sitting there was just so sad for me. I can’t believe kids my age were treated like absolute garbage. No human should ever be treated that way, and it enrages me that the Nazi soldiers let that happen to normal people.
ReplyDeleteSam Wofford
I was shocked to hear the meaning of the sign “work makes you free” the Jews never had a chance to free themselves once they were in the camp. I remember reading about this sign in the book “Night” when Eli first entered the camp. The Auschwitz camp was 472 aces big. The first part was Auschwitz 1 which was mainly for prisoners of war. Then came Auschwitz-Birkenau which was the main death camp. Then Buna was the work area of the camp. Auschwitz was the largest camp and many people know of it when asked about a death camp. What surprised me was that the cam was built out in the open with no attempt to hide it. The Nazis even relocated citizens so they could build a larger camp. If people knew about the camp, then why did they do nothing to help the Jews inside it? The camp was originally for people who opposed the Nazis then it turned into a death camp. At first families where kept together and they were told that they were just being relocated. Moms and dads comferted their children. I was heartbroken to see the picture of the broken doll that a young girl thought she would get back one day, instead she was sent to the gas chamber. The Nazis did not care about the social status of the Jews they took all of their belongings to burn or to sell to make money for the war effort. The gas used in the gas chambers was zyklon b in the form of tablets. This gas was original tested on Soviet prisoners of war. When the Nazis found that the amount of gas they used left some men alive, they quickly ordered more to be used when gassing the Jews. the gas was even delivered to the camp in fake red cross boxes. This had to be so awful for the Jews in the camp, they thought they were getting food but instead it was gas. The people doing the gassing even had to wear masks it was that strong. Once the Nazis began the final solution this camp is where they began the mass exterminations. All children and women sent to the camp were killed and only the men that could work were spared. This is the camp where Mengele performed his experiments on twins such as Eva Kor. Anne Frank was killed at this camo as a young girl and Eli from “Night” passed through the work section of the camp. When the other camps were destroyed the Jews were then sent to this camp making it even more crowded and unbearable.
ReplyDeleteAnn Slegelmilch
Stanton Bryson
ReplyDeleteOut of all of the blogs on this page, I was most interested to read this one. I have learned more about Auschwitz than any other camp, and I knew this was the main site for exterminations. It is strange to see current photos because they do not reveal the true horrors that happened at the site. I am shocked to learn that 90% of the people transferred were immediately sent to their deaths. I did not realize the number was so high. I can't imagine the chaos, confusion, and fear of the new arrivals. I knew about the jobs of the Sonderkommandos, but I did not know that they were executed after four months because they knew too much. I was aware they had some "privileges," so I also thought that included a lower risk of being killed. What a terrible thing to be chosen to be part of such a unit. It must have been unbearable to have to search for valuables on the victims and dispose of bodies. They had to see first hand the evidence of what the Nazis were doing, and it must have been awful to be able to identify your friends and family among the dead. The fact that that the Nazis used the ashes from the crematorium as fertilizer is repulsive. I find it interesting that they made any effort at all to try to comfort people by giving them the impression they were only resettling. I realize this was for selfish reasons and to control hysteria or chaos. I am not surprised that they stole valuables from the new arrivals. It is interesting that they tried so hard to get rid of the evidence of the gas chambers when they realized they were losing the war. I can't imagine the horror of seeing children being taken to gas chambers. It is impossible to think of parents comforting children when they knew they would all soon die. The introduction to camp must have been humiliating and terrifying. To shave all of a person's body hair, tattoo a number on them, and leave them standing in herds without clothing is an obvious way to dehumanize the victims. It is all so inhumane, and it is shocking that it is something that actually happened in modern history. The Nazis were clearly monsters, but it is still so hard to understand how so many people participated in such cruel and hateful acts towards other human beings.
Makayla Gathers
ReplyDeleteThe infamous sign that’s in Auschwitz is often mentioned throughout books, movies, and accounts of the Holocaust. I can’t imagine how it would feel to be a Jew that arrived and saw the sign and the irony of it. I don’t understand why the Nazis even put that sign at the camp because all it seems like is was doing was mocking the Jews. It is true that the most known concentration camp is Auschwitz. I remember that when I was in fourth grade, it was the only concentration camp that we learned about. I did not know that Aushuwitz was separated into several parts. I also didn’t know that the people of the area were evicted so Auschwitz could be built. I’ve always imagined it being off to the side. I also now realize that the people probably did know that the Nazis were doing this. There were literally houses around and today Ms. Stone explained that Aushuitz is the size of 5,000 football fields. That is outrageous. I also find it interesting that the camp was originally for the people that opposed the Nazis. Were they killed before the Jews got there or were they all thrown together to suffer the same fate? I find it disgusting how the Nazis were so okay with killing the Jews. You know that they are okay with it because they were looking for ways to kill more people faster. It’s also very sad that several Jews weren’t even entered in the system. There is no way to keep account and hold certain Nazis accountable because of how much they hid and didn’t keep track of. It’s sad that the Sonderkommandos were killed quicker. It’s sad that the only way you can live better in the camps were to bury and cremate your friends and families and fellow humans. Why didn’t the Nazi propaganda videos show that? I never knew that only 10% of the Jews were registered and the other 90% died. That really put things into perspective and it shows how little people know. That doesn’t even show how man survived. I’m glad the veteran prisoners tried to help the newcomers. They realized that they needed to work together to keep each other alive and some of it wasn’t in vain. The picture of the Jewish children are really sad. While other kids were able to walk to school and walk with their friends, these kids weren’t even allowed to live.
This blog was very interesting to me because I never knew this much about Aushwutz. It was shocking to me that the camp was in public and the Nazis evacuated all of the citizens. The citizens need to know what is happening in their world. I was unaware of how much the camp changed in five years. From doctors, teachers, and people who hated the Nazis to Jews. One thing that I never heard of was that they used Zyklon B to exterminate human beings because the gas chambers were too slow. Zyklon B is used to kill rats and insects, and they used it to kill innocent people. The Nazis were crazy. One of the things that stood out to me the most was that Sonderkommandos (strong Jews) had to retrieve bodies from the gas chambers. The bodies that they were retrieving could have been their families. They may have been treated a little better than the other Jews but imagine witnessing the terrible things that happen behind the scenes. Then the Nazis would kill the Sonderkommandos in four months because they knew too much. This is cruel! Another thing that stood out to me was that the Nazis made the Jews think that they were “resettling” when they were being killed. I cannot imagine the pain the children had to go through once they arrived at the chambers. They had no idea that they were going t o die that day. 90% people died at this camp, which is insane. This is the highest number of deaths I have heard so far at one concentration camp. It is really devastating to see the pictures of the Jews’ belongings that they will never receive back. An innocent child expected to see her baby doll again, but she will never have the opportunity to do so. It is horrible that the Jews entered the camp thinking they were secure when all of their belongings were taken away from them. It is crazy that the camp in today’s setting looks like a normal field, but when you hear the terrors that occurred there, everything changes. The picture of the shoes connected me to the poem that we read in class. It is unfair that they kept the shoes away from the Jews who need them. After reading this article, I questioned humanity. I agree with you that we cannot even identify the Nazis with the word “animals” because animals care for their young and the Nazis had no proof of that.
ReplyDelete- Emma Grace Parker
Wow. I can't even begin to imagine how much emotion was evoked in you during this trip. Each aspect of this huge camp is a symbol of the true horrors of the Holocaust. The Nazis were such a deceptive group of people and the fact that the had a sign saying work makes you free is absurd. It is completely immoral to give people a false sense of hope when their fate is already decided. It also shocked me to read that the Nazis were proud of the fact that they were murdering millions of Jews. I simply can't understand why people would take such pride in a cruel act like this. I agree with you in the sense that I will never truly understand the mindsets that the Nazis had during this time. Reading about the Sonderkommandos also disgusted me. Yes, I guess it is good that they were treated more humanely and were given normal clothes and more food. However, the fact that they had to cremate their own people is absurd. Some of these people that they cremated were even members of their family. I couldn't even image the emotional pain that it caused them when they did this. Through all this, the Sonderkommandos were still killed because they knew too much. This is absolutely unacceptable. Something that really stood out to me was the pictures. The sheer size of the camp is astounding. With a camp that big, you would think everyone knew about it. However, some people are still in denial of the Holocaust or don't know about. The pictures of the starved children were disturbing. Some of them had to get their numbers tattooed on their LEGS because their arms were too thin. One picture showed the smoke stacks and the crematorium. One child believed they were in good conditions and would be working in factories. This really opened my eyes to how clueless and unknowing the Jews were during this time. The Nazis were extremely deceptive and the Jews had no idea that they would be killed. This child has no idea that he was looking at the death chamber where he would eventually end up. I also find it incredible that you got to see people's names from their suitcases and their belongings. Their belongings can carry on their legacy. The shoes allowed me to see that Jews came from all walks of life. They were normal people just like us who had happy lives and it is horrible to see them now dead leaving only a few belongings behind
ReplyDelete-Ava Harrell
Jordan Browning
ReplyDeleteIt’s interesting to see how many of the concentration camps had signs implying that work will set them free; the Nazi’s truly kept their deception consistent. The camp being separated into three parts isn't very surprising as prisoner life seemed to be very structured and exact as well. I often hear about how local citizens claimed to have “not known what was going on,” so it surprised me that they had to RELOCATE citizens because it was so large. Yet, they still claimed not to know. I was shocked that the camp was first for anyone who opposed Nazism. Imagine if everyone who opposed a certain party went to a concentration camp in the United States! That would be a lot of people, and what purpose would it serve? I didn’t know the bodies would be burned as pits, and the ashes would remain in the ground. However, it’s hopeful to imagine that maybe after the war, plants could have possibly grown from the same ground. I can’t believe the Sonderkommandos were killed after only 4 months. If the Nazis were planning on everyone dying eventually, what would them “knowing too much” do? Wouldn’t it be more efficient to let them live for longer as it’s not like they had anyone to tell about what they saw. I was surprised that the Jews clothing was disinfected with the same chemical that they used to exterminate them. Would it not damage their possessions, which some of the Nazis wanted? I wonder what requirements children met to be deemed useful. What purpose did the kids serve as they are often weak and more susceptible to disease. I’m not surprised the Nazis took pictures of their crimes because they were proud of them. However, I’m happy that it backfired as it created evidence and could be used against them in trials. I can’t believe 850 men were gassed in only 28 rooms, and some of them slowly suffered for 24 hours until the Nazis put ore Zyklon B into the chamber. I was kind of shocked at the pictures of the glasses. I wasn’t even picturing the prisoners to be allowed to have them, or I assumed they would have been killed immediately due to having poor eyesight. I’m confused as to how a bride even got taken and deported from her wedding. What a horrible ending to what was supposed to be the happiest day of her life...
How do I respond to this? I am actually at a loss for words. This by far has been the most horrifying of the blog posts. 2 million. Two million killed out of 2.5 million. What could have happened to turn the Germans into such monsters? I am ashamed. I am ashamed of the human species. How can we possess such potency to do evil? Why would we see that potency through? How could the Nazis? How could anyone? We are all human. There is no justification for killing another human. Not in self-defense. Not in war. None. I honestly am running out of things to say. There are so many things that I can say in my head but can’t put into words. It’s just… horrible. When I think of Germans I think of cars or technology they have developed. When I think of Europeans I think of queens and kings. When I think of Nazis, I just think monsters. They ruined their nation’s name. The men and women who killed the Jews deserve to go to whatever “hell” you believe in. They do not deserve anything less than what they did to the Jews. If I lived back a couple of years after World War II, I would be a Nazi hunter. I would track them down and force them to be brought to justice. They killed millions. Millions of people who were living ordinary lives. Millions of people who might have produced some creation, or some worldwide cure for a pandemic. Maybe even cured cancer. Who knows? Millions of lives lost for no other reason than putting the blame on someone for something they didn’t do. “Of course the Jews are responsible for the common cold. Duh! Just kill them.” WHAT! How could people actually believe junk like that? How could people believe they were demons. Where was the proof? Where were the horns growing out of their heads? NOWHERE! Their heads were shaved by the Nazis. How could people honestly believe they were demons. What goes through their heads? What goes through the heads of the people spouting the garbage lies? If people don’t learn about the Holocaust and the death camps like Auschwitz then this will happen again. If people don’t learn from the past we’re screwed. Humans are already ruining the planet so lets just not kill people for the sake of it. Lets try to keep everyone around for as long as we can.
ReplyDelete-Ethan Fronapfel
k
ReplyDeleteI find it shocking that there is a sign above the entrance saying “work is liberty,” because no matter how hard the Jews worked they were never set free. It makes sense that Auschwitz is one of the most well known concentration camps during the Holocaust becuase it was very large and served many purposes and ways to torture prisoners. It is interesting how at first the camp was used to punish people who opposed Nazism rather than all Jews. This involved mainly teachers, doctors, and intellectual leaders. As more Jews got transported, the camp soon became a center of mass destruction and murder. Jews who were considered fit enough would be tattooed to be slaves and complete intense manual labor throughout the camp. It is first of all interesting that it was both a death and concentration camp, but also overwhelming to think about how much it evolved over time and changed into such a cruel place where innocent Jew would be forced to go. They had gas chambers, ovens, and crematories. Its horrible to hear how the other prisoners where the ones who had to cremate the bodies and dig through the piles to find valuables. The pictures of the prisoners shows us how badly they were treated. They were given little food not even enough to keep them healthy or strong enough to work in the camps. It startling to see the pictures of the concrete and hay that they had to sleep on like cattle and not even being treated like human beings. Even the entrance of the camp looks threatening and terrifying. The fact that so many people were shoved into the cattle cars and then locked in for 10 days is so inhumane. I will never understand how the Nazis thought this is what any person could ever deserve. The barracks also looked miserable, cold, and uncomfortable with no mattress or blankets. I could never imagine having to work for so long and in such terrible conditions only to not have anywhere to sleep comfortably. The fact that the Nazis attempted to destroy the gas chambers once they were losing the war shows how they had to have known what they were doing was wrong. It is also very sad to hear how some Germans thought the gas chambers were nice factories they would be able to work in once they moved into auschwitz.
ReplyDeleteEmary Gordon
It is disgusting that ashes of other humans was used as fertilizer. It seems crazy that only 405,000 out of 2.5 million people were “fit to work” according to Nazi Standards. I had never heard of the Sonderkommandos until now. The fact that the Nazis killed these prisoners, which were their strongest, after four months seems pretty dumb. You think they would want their strongest prisoners around for all the labor they had going on in the camp. It makes me sad to hear that some of the children at Auschwitz were so small their arms could not be tattooed so they had to have tattooed legs. The pictures of Auschwitz sicken me. Even after the Holocaust, these pictures still look dark and gloomy. This does not look like somewhere I would want to be even in present day. I never understood why a camp like this could be hidden from the whole world, but hearing that Zyklon B cans, which were used to kill all the innocent prisoners, were transported in fake Red Cross vehicles, makes me start to understand how the general human population did not suspect much as Auschwitz. Maybe they were just as confused as the Jews were before and when they arrived at the concentration camps. It is sad that the Jews had hope for their future and trusted the Nazis at first believing that they would be safe, but then they had their whole life ripped from them and all their possessions stolen out from under them. These people never got to live a full life. I love the courage and strength Eva Kor used to forgive the Nazis after everything they put her through. Someone like Eva Kor has a lot of courage and willpower. Wow, the Jews really were treated like animals weren’t they. Sleeping on hay? How disgusting and cruel. The picture of the railroads in Auschwitz makes the camp look HUGE in just that one picture. I can’t even imagine how big the actual camp was. The trains that the Jews rode into Auschwitz one are LITERALLY cattle cars. How disgusting. I do not understand how someone could live through that and especially when being pooped on by other Jews. If the Jews had so much confidence in what they were doing was right, it does not make any sense that they would try and completely destroy the evidence of what they had done during the Holocaust. This proves that the Jews knew that what they were doing was wrong and inhumane.
ReplyDelete- Emma Groves
Wow! This blog left me very shocked. Every time that I read one I am even more surprised and horrified, but this time is different. Auschwitz is a whole other level of inhumane. I did not know that there were three parts. I just assumed that it was all one, but it makes a lot of sense because it is so big. The pictures that are included in your blogs are usually awful, but these ones were even more horrifying. As I looked at them and read the captions, I thought about how many innocent, good people lost their lives and families there. The picture of the glasses is horrifying. There are so many! Not a ton of people that I know wear glasses, but that is SO many. They all belonged to humans who deserved a long and happy life. The barracks were also really bad. One of the pictures did not even have beds. One had stone bunks but the other had hay and concrete!! Not only were so many people forced to be in there together the Nazis did not even provide them with anything at all to sleep on. The entrance to Auschwitz is so gloomy and terrifying. Even if I believed that everything was going to be ok and I was simply going to a safe haven I would be so scared. Nothing about it is welcoming, which I assume is the point, but it is like something out of a horror movie. Those cattle cars are so small! How could 80-90 people even fit in there? They also had large locks and looked unbearably frightening. They seem intimidating and scary even if I did not know what they were used for. 2.5 million people!! That is so many! Most of them died and did not even get registered! This number is only an estimate and it could be higher, but we will probably never know. It feels so wrong to me that we may never be sure how many people were taken to Auschwitz and killed. They deserve so much better and I really wish that we could at least give them specific remembrance. The children’s arms must have been so small! That is so awful to think about. Having to tattoo their legs because their arms were too small is such a scary thought. I did not look too hard at the images of children included because I can’t handle seeing that. It’s cruel. I have not words to even begin to express my feelings about the treatment of those children.
ReplyDelete- Lillian Smith
Auschwitz. A name known above every other for its brutal precision. The camp’s size alone inspires awe and horror, but it processed more captives than many would have thought possible, even for such a massive facility. If possible, there was a worse element to the camp than death. The Nazis lulled prisoners into a false sense of security. They told the people they had stolen that they were only being “relocated,” not that the camp would be their last location and their final resting place. The Nazis were cunning in how they convinced the slaves-to-be that they would live peacefully in the camps. They told the frightened people to write names on their baggage, or to remember where it was. As soon as the new arrivals were put through selection and processing, thieving Nazis pilfered piles of baggage, taking valuables and even simple commodities. The dead and death-sentenced “workers” no longer had any need for their things. Not only luggage was stolen. Anything useful to the Nazis belonged to the Nazis. They were willing to rip gold teeth from the starving mouths of those they tortured. These pirated profits paid for the extermination, annihilation, and desecration of their original owners. The Nazis used their funds to develop gas chambers, crematoria, and gallows. The original gas chambers were not efficient enough for the monstrous Nazis. They increased the concentration of Zyclon B gas in the chambers. This gas was hidden from the world, just like the rest of their crimes, albeit in a more ironic manner. The gas was shipped by the canful in faux-Redcross vans. The same vans that should have been providing aid were instead carrying damnation. The crematoria were built to destroy the memory of the dead, but they weren’t enough. They couldn’t burn enough corpses at once, likely because any fast-burning body fat had long-since been starved away. To supplement the ovens, the Nazis simply piled corpses in pits and set the human pyres alight. Or they would have if they considered themselves lowly enough to carry out that kind of work. Instead, they forced Sonderkommandos, or strong workers, to haul, pile, and maintain the burning bodies. These strong workers were prisoners, and often recognized, gut-wrenchingly, the faces of relatives or friends among the dead they were made to dispose of. Unthinkable cruelty. Inexcusable brutality. The Nazis who orchestrated and carried out Auschwitz and its fellow “camps” were monstrous, soulless, and do not deserve even to be considered human.
ReplyDeleteSophie Thrasher
Being one of the largest and most well-known concentration camps of Nazi Germany, it's surprising how many of these details aren't public knowledge. this post left me feeling saddened. I have definitely heard of the Auschwitz camp before but not in this much detail. Ever since I have learned about this terrible time in history, I can’t remember a time when Auschwitz was not taught. It is interesting yet more terrifying and sorrowful to hear about it now that I have you as a teacher. It is truly devastating to think about what it must have been like for the prisoners of the camp. I will never understand how the Nazis did this or even why, but I assume many feel the same as I do. It's appalling to think about how many people's lives were extinguished at this facility of death. The true magnitude and scope of both the lives lost and the physical area of the camp are mindboggling. As always, I am shocked at the bystanders of the Holocaust. I remember you saying how Auschwitz was at the center of the town. The fact that so many people just ignored this and allowed themselves to be relocated is shocking. Why would they let this happen? Were they fearful of the Nazis? To me, even if they were fearful they should’ve fought against the Nazis because they must have known there was something wrong going on. Were the Polish people so anti-Semitic that they actually knew what was going to happen and didn’t care? This really just goes along with the idea that ordinary people made the Holocaust happen because the Polish people’s unquestioning response to the Nazi takeover led to Auschwitz being created. I also found the Nazi’s trickery of the prisoners to be disgusting. The fact that they pretended that the prisoners were going to be “resettled” when, in reality, they were going to be killed disgusted me. Even further, the fact that they told the prisoners to write their names on their luggage so that they could find their things later, though the Nazis knew the prisoners would never be coming back saddened me. It is so wrong to me that the Nazis would see the prisoners’ relief only to kill the prisoners shortly after. The amount of hatred and cold, unfeeling tendencies that the Nazis must have had is simply unfathomable to me. How can they be so harsh and cruel? The Nazi’s uses of deception are what lead me to believe that they were not entirely influenced because of the sheer amount of thought and deliberation that was put into creating a seemingly safe environment for the prisoners.
ReplyDeleteI related the quote, “Work is liberty,” back to Night because I remember when Elie saw the sign when he was relocated and how he found it ironic as well. The fact that the Nazis would put this sign up at all is perplexing. Was this just so they could taunt the prisoners because both groups knew that the prisoners would never be free? Or was this so that the people outside of the camp would see it as a beneficial place? Maybe it was both. However, I see this sign as more of a taunt to the prisoners. It just further asserted the Nazi’s power over them and the idea that none of the prisoners would be free.
-Evan Pratt
Gillian Morano
ReplyDeleteEnglish
4th Block
1/6/2020
The anger and sadness that I have felt while learning about the Holocaust built up inside me as I read about Auschwitz. Each blog post that I have read amazes me when I learn of yet another horrible aspect of the Holocaust, but Auschwitz was all of those conditions combined. The pictures included made me see the complete loss of humanity, and it is impossible to wonder what disease the Nazis had. To tell people that they “Work is Liberty” was immediately false. Stepping inside the gates confined them to the requirements that Nazis had, and these people had recently been living freely in their own communities. I am disgusted by how misleading the Nazis were to innocent humans who were helpless and searching for something positive. Giving them false signs of hope would give them courage only to be completely let down and destroyed. It amazed me that prisoners who were deemed “strong enough” would have to get rid of dead bodies that they may have even recognized. Nobody is strong enough to carry out the dead body of one’s friend or family member, no matter how tough they may seem. The picture of the pile of luggage was a prime example of the Nazis deception. I know that as a little girl, I would have wanted to make sure that my babydoll was safe at all times, and I would have only placed her in the suitcase knowing she would come back to me. Also, looking at the buildings and layout of Auschwitz sickened me. As I scrolled through the pictures, I was baffled by the quarters. Sleeping on concrete and slabs of wood sounded painful, but seeing the picture really put that in perspective. The conditions of sleeping quarters themselves were abuse to the prisoners. Also, seeing the secret picture of the innocent bodies being burned made me sick. Previously, I had wondered how any pictures were released or saved. I wondered how some prisoners had cameras and how they were able to take pictures of the monstrosities. Then, I read that many Nazis themselves actually took pictures because they were proud of their work. Proud of killing people? Proud of their complete loss of humanity? The steps leading to the gas chambers were the steps to death. I can understand why you would have cried seeing that millions of people walked down the steps, but never walked back up.
Prior to taking this class, I realized that there were other passing and inhumane imprisonments, however Auschwitz was the just one I'd knew about. Be that as it may, I didn't understand that there were three distinct pieces of Auschwitz. Unfortunately a whole third of the camp was devoted to killing individuals. The sign perusing "work is freedom" stunned me. It was both emotional and brutal in light of the fact that the work that the detainees had to do was not the slightest bit liberating. One thing that truly stood apart to me in this article was the means by which the Jewish slaves had to manufacture the camp. Unfortunately they needed to develop the spot that would turn into the passing site of numerous other blameless Jews like them. It's likewise dreadful that they utilized unfortunate casualty's remains as manure. Like Simon said in the Sunflower, the Nazis would be recalled with sunflowers on their graves, while the unfortunate casualties wouldn't have anybody to recollect them. It's terrible enough that poor people unfortunate casualties were being killed when they don't did anything incorrectly, and it's much more dreadful that they got no regard once they were murdered. Not exclusively did they not get legitimate internment, yet their remains were utilized to help in the demise of significantly progressively blameless individuals like them. It additionally flabbergasts me that out of the 2.5 million individuals were moved there, only 405,000 were given detainee status, which is under 20% of the individuals. The realities about the Sonderkommandos likewise stunned me. I had never known about them now, and despite the fact that they were dealt with superior to the remainder of the detainees, they had the most noticeably awful conceivable occupation at the camp. They had to incinerate their own loved ones, just to be killed themselves following four months. I likewise can hardly imagine how 90% of the individuals that came to Auschwitz were sent to pass on right away. That is more than 2 million individuals! A considerable lot of the individuals that weren't murdered in a split second likely passed on later in their remain, which makes the loss of life much bigger. A considerable lot of the photos additionally shocked me. I can hardly imagine how the Nazis figured out how to fool the detainees into believing that they would make it out securely. The couple of individuals that managed to endure likely got away with nothing, however by far most didn't figure out how to escape by any means. The states of the camps were additionally horrible. I can hardly imagine how they made the individuals rest on feed. As though their time there wasn't terrible enough as of now! I don't have the foggiest idea how individuals figured out how to endure packed into that little cows vehicle for ten days, I feel claustrophobic simply contemplating it. Taking everything into account, practically everything about this article bewildered and nauseated me. I will never see how individuals could've been merciless enough to treat individuals in such shocking manners. I am however happy that individuals can visit camps, which provides a learning opportunity and a piece of history.
ReplyDelete-Sunil Mehta
How could someone use someone else’s own ashes as fertilizer? It’s saddening that someone’s ashes would be used for that. Did people only want to be Sonderkommandos for somewhat better living conditions? If they knew they would have to die within four months, then why become one? It pleasing to know that the old prisoners would tell the new arrivals what they have to come. I’m glad they helped one another out to help them live as long as they could. It was really sneaky of the Nazis to have the Zyklon B delivered by fake Red Cross vehicles. It seems like they had tricks for everything imaginable to hide their evidence. Those kids are beyond brave to be facing those harsh conditions. It’s sickening that people could even treat young innocent children in those horrible ways. How could a group of people just decide to exterminate an entire population group? It’s sickening that humans were able to treat other humans like animals by making them sleep on hay. How could people be so deceiving and tell such lies to defenseless, vulnerable people? It’s devastating to see all of their most prized possessions be taken away from them, but it is even more upsetting that they would never be reunited with those items ever again. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be marching with other young kids to our deaths. Those pictures show the true, harsh reality of the Holocaust. It is interesting to see a picture of the a set of twins that were experimented on by Mengele. I’m glad she was able to forgive in order for herself to move forward. The cattle cars appear to be fairly small to fit 80-90 people for 10 days. I cannot even begin to imagine the suffocation and the conditions inside those cars. It’s interesting that the Nazis only began to panic and quickly got rid of their evidence once they began to lose the war. I continue to be fascinated by all of the interesting facts that I’m learning through these blog posts.
ReplyDeleteSofia Christofaro
Although I was not surprised by the evils committed by the nazis, they were still puzzling and saddening to hear. I was shocked to learn that the nazis held any Polish people who opposed nazism in Auschwitz, even teachers, and religious/spiritual leaders. I wondered how the evicted townspeople had either none or very little suspicion about being evicted by the nazis. Surely the townspeople would be upset and demand to know why they were being evicted. Even though the nazis probably wouldn’t admit to constructing a death camp, I would think that the civilians would surely be more suspicious due to their eviction. Although I am very familiar with the nazi’s ways, it is still extremely saddening to hear about the nazis’ disregard for the value of an individual human being’s life, and how they worked to the best of their abilities to formulate better and better ways to kill more efficiently. This shows the nazis terrible numbness to the value of human life. It is appalling to learn that some children’s arms were too small to be tattooed, so they had to be tattooed on the leg. It’s hard to imagine a newborn child being tattooed, thus being doomed to a terrible death unbeknownst to the Jewish people at the time because they thought they were just resettling for the time being and completely unaware of what lay ahead. It was horrific to see the bare and motionless bodies of innocent Jewish men and women lying among nazi soldiers who casually talked to each other and even strolled in between the corpses. To make matters worse, a Jewish prisoner took the picture. I can not imagine what emotions he/she was feeling at the time, knowing that he/she likely shared that exact fate. This shows how strong those prisoners must have been, especially the adults, who cared for and comforted their children in the midst of one of the darkest times humanity has ever seen. It was also extremely saddening to see a young Jewish child dressed in his prisoner clothes while gripping the hand of his friend or brother for maybe the last time. To know that that innocent young boy in the picture suffered an immeasurably terrible death for no reason is painful to think about. To see him amongst other children is even worse, and to know that that young boy was among millions of other young boys and girls who unknowingly walked to their deaths is horrific.
ReplyDeleteLeo O'Neill
Wow, seeing the pictures of where these events actually took place is shocking. To see where millions came unknowingly to be executed is a gut wrenching experience, I can only imagine what it is like to see it in person. In the last couple of days learning about the terrible things that took place here has really interested me. It makes me want to travel to these places to experience what is like to see them with my own eyes. When you hear about everything that took place here it is scary and just unbelievable, however,seeing the pictures shines a whole new light on everything. Seeing where the millions of Jews walked, slept, and worked while being treated like animals makes it seem even more real to me. I can't even comprehend what it was like being there as a Jew during the holocaust. I am not Jewish, but I can only imagine the feeling that you felt walking around that camp. The picture of your parents names in a book of people who were in Auschwitz is so startling. Just thinking about the fact that it could have been them is so frightening I wouldn't even know how to respond to that if it were me. This topic interests me so much even though there are so many hard things to learn about because they don't even seem like another human could perform such acts. After going through the holocaust history assignment and hearing everything that lead to the use of these concentration and death camps it makes me want to learn even more about these events. This time period has so much to learn about and I can't wait to continue to learn more throughout this unit. The worst part about these pictures to me was thinking about the unknowing children. The picture of the kids marching to their deaths is so inhuman, I don't understand how it can justified by anyone. I want to understand how the Nazis could bring themselves to do this and then go home to their family at night and be happy. I wish I could go inside the head of a Nazi to see what went through their mind as they killed innocent kids who hadn't even begun their lives.
ReplyDeleteThomas Killeen
I think that the sign saying "Work is Liberty" over a concentration camp perfectly sums up the Nazis. They are purposely lying to the Jews to make them feel safe, so they can then gas over 90% of them. When I read about the Sonderkommandos, I was horrified at their job. I can't even imagine having to carry my dead family to a crematorium. I was amazed when I read that the veteran prisoners would warn the new Jews about what to say. I was amazed that even during the most horrific event ever, people would help each other out. I thought that that showed the resilience that the Jews had to not give up and keep fighting by surviving. I thought that the picture of the Nazis burning the Jews' corpses was especially horrifying because they knew they had lost and were wrong with the Holocaust, but still, they continued to kill more Jews. I can't imagine that mindset that they had to have in order to continually commit these atrocities after they know they've lost. I was appalled at the pictures of the Zyklon B that was used in the gas chambers. I was horrified that people had to stay in a gas chamber for 24 hours as their friends and family died around them. I can't even imagine what they would've thought about for those 24 hours. The more I read these blogs, the more horrified I become with how cruel the Nazis really were.
ReplyDelete- Josh Matushak
What broke my heart the most was when I saw the steps leading into a gas chamber. Like you said, on those steps fathers and mothers had to reassure their children that they would be fine with tears in their eyes, then they would never return. What also broke my heart was the job of the Sonderkommandos. It goes to show how much pain the Jews were in and what they would do for more comfort. In order to have better living conditions like more food and comfort, they had to sacrifice their humanity in a way. They had to carry the dead bodies of people who could have been their family and friends. Another picture that was so haunting was the secret photo taken of the Nazis burning Jewish bodies. There were so many laying bodies on the ground. That was something normal that the prisoners had to witness in their day to day lives. Another image that disgusted me was the picture of the barracks. Thinking about the poor Jews on the bottom bunk that got defecated on is so sad. They lived so filthy and did not even have the luxury of being clean. I never really understood just how poorly they lived. They were denied of the most basic needs and rights as a human being. This blog was just very sad and Auschwitz still gives me chills every-time I hear the name.
ReplyDelete^^ "What broke my heart the most........ I hear the name" is Julia Measham's response.
DeleteI completely agree with you. Those soldiers, those men, don’t even deserve to be compared to animals. I believe the word “monsters” fits them better. The fact that they photographed what they were doing because they took pride in it is truly disgusting. It makes me question the whole brainwashed argument. Sure, propaganda can persuade you to believe a certain way or do certain things. But is propaganda all it takes to strip a nation of their humanity. Are lies all people need to disregard the lives of an entire group of people? I have so many questions and I don’t think any philosopher or psychologist could provide me with a satisfying answer. I believe it’s more tragic to trick Jews into thinking they're safe. If they had known, sure they’d be panicking, but they’d at least have some time to prepare for the death. Think about the fear those men, women, and children must have felt when they watched as their comrades and their family members started to slowly die around them. Imagine that being the last sight you saw before you passed on. Truly terrifying. I can’t even begin to imagine what those Sonderkommandos must have felt knowing that they had to burn the corpse of their own family. I struggle to read every blog of yours.
ReplyDeleteChidimma Umerah