LAVONNIE
Elementary Education Undergraduate |
LAVONNIE
Elementary Education Undergraduate |
We’ve been in Berlin for 4 days now, but this one has been the most “emotional” day I’ve had thus far. Today, we visited the concentration camp where Jewish people, war criminals and people from all over European countries were imprisoned, starved, worked and eventually killed. The reason why I put emotional in quotations marks above was that I was not sad nor angry, but my mind was blown. Like slavery or the Native American genocide, the Holocaust is briefly taught in school curriculums. They did Holocaust survivors and victims justice by putting together such a detailed and in-depth experience for visitors. There are over 30 different exhibits that include real artifacts and propaganda, cinemas, documents, recordings, and interactive components.
As I walked around, I could not imagine what it was like when everything was still standing. There was one exhibit where Holocaust survivors who came to the concentration camp as teenager spoke about their experience, and that was hard to watch because they ranged from the age of 14-17. 14-17 years old that have been separated from their families and are being starved and forced to obey with hopes that somebody will come to save them before they are burned alive. There was another account where a food worker explained how he delivered the food and essentially he was responsible for the poor conditions they ate in. He witnessed the inhumane portions they were fed and how they ate like they did not eat for days. After hearing the audio, I then noticed you did not have to actually be killing people to be apart of the holocaust it was the guard, the concentration camp doctors, and the neighbors that turned the other cheek. What stuck with me the most was how guards would make prisoners test out their combat boots, disregarding the size of the impacts, they were forced to march on a strip 40 km longs that had many surfaces [so they can be good for war]. Then, I saw the infirmary where life ended for many Jewish people and European people affected during the NAZI regime, and WOW! I was so shocked I don't know what I was expecting but that was not it. There were different kinds of the infirmary, some bigger than others, and as I walked around inside the presence was so strong I couldn't believe it. We were granted 3 hours to view the concentration camp and still, that wasn’t enough time, so that should tell you something. I’ll include pictures and videos taken while at the camp.
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AuthorHello Folks! My name is Lavonnie and I am currently a senior studying Childhood Education and Mathematics. Last summer I went to study abroad in Zambia, and this summer you be able to follow my journey in Germany. When I travel I love trying native dishes, going sightseeing immersing myself in the culture, and most importantly, teaching abroad. One of the goals for my blog this IPDS trip is to make it more animated, so I hope you enjoy as I blog my Germany experience. Archives
August 2019
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