Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day 2014. I first learned about the Holocaust when I was twelve years old. That was when I moved to Germany the first time, and my parents dragged us all over the country. I did not appreciate it at the time, but am so grateful for that now.
One of the places we visited was Dachau, pronounced Da-Cow. Dachau is not as famous as Auschwitz, but it is every bit as evil. I will never forget the pile of shoes. They saved the shoes when people went into the gas chamber, and it was a massive pile of shoes. The sign to the entrance says “Arbeit Macht Frei.” “Work Sets You Free.” Obviously not the case for the many who died here.
Incidentally, the date for the Remembrance Day was chosen because it is the anniversary of the Liberation of Dachau.
Work Makes You Free
That day, that place, changed me forever.
So today is Holocaust Remembrance Day. A day to remember the more than eleven million people who were killed during the Holocaust.
Yes, I said eleven million people.
We hear the number six million many times. That is the number of Jewish people who were killed. Sadly, at that time, that was almost 1/3 of all Jewish people alive at the time. There were also 5 million other people killed in the Holocaust. These included certain groups from Poland and Russia; Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, disabled people, and communists. And of course, anyone who sheltered Jews.
The first victims of the Holocaust were actually people with disabilities. Hitler was bound and determined to “cleanse” the Aryan race of anyone he considered not pure.
It’s horrifying.
So we remember so that we will never let it happen again.
I moved to Germany a second time in 2005 for 2.5 years. My husband’s family came to visit us, and we took them to Dachau. Here are some of the pictures from that trip.
The Memorial inside Dachau
Roll call area
Where the rows of bunkers used to be
Inside cells
My heart is with all the victims and their families. Let us never forget.
How is that for a sobering Monday post?
Speaking of “happy” topics, (please detect sarcasm) next Sunday is International Bereaved Mother’s Day. I am trying to raise money to donate books and care packages to hospitals and bereavement groups for mother’s who have lost a child. Today, my friend Ilene, author of the Fierce Diva Guide to Life, is hosting me to help me spread the word. Please go visit her! And please consider a tiny donation – $5 goes a long way! xoxo
katbiggie
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Janine Huldie says
April 28, 2014 at 7:35 amI very much still remember learning about the Holocaust for the first time when I was younger and in school and still will never forget how much I was affected by hearing all that happened during this time and even though I have never been to this part of the world myself, don’t think I could ever forget what happened to all those poor, innocent people. Thank you for the reminder today here.
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katbiggie says
April 28, 2014 at 9:12 amI know… it is one of those things that is just burned into your mind. But that’s good. We can never let it happen again!
Katie @ Pick Any Two says
April 28, 2014 at 10:42 amThe horror of genocide is unmatched. Thank you for helping us all remember the Holocaust, and to be outraged at the needless killing that continues to happen on a different scale all over the world today.
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katbiggie says
April 28, 2014 at 10:57 amYou are so right Katie. I didn’t even mention the atrocities of late. It is a shame that it is still happening, thankfully to a lesser degree, but that does not make it any less terrible.
another jennifer says
April 28, 2014 at 2:29 pmAmazing and sobering, for sure. As hard as it is to even think about the Holocaust, we cannot forget what happened.
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katbiggie says
April 29, 2014 at 2:37 pmNever.
Tamara says
April 28, 2014 at 3:19 pmI learned about the Holocaust young but I never made it to the museum back at home. My friends went and were sickened. My grandmother is a survivor.
I even took a class on the Holocaust in college which really did a number on my anxiety.
I’d rather know, though, and hope to be involved in remembering and preventing.
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katbiggie says
April 29, 2014 at 2:36 pmWow Tamara. She must have told you some amazing stories. I have a good friend in France who’s father was part of the French resistance and smuggled Jews out of France during the Nazi occupation. That entire generation has some stories to share… I agree. It’s better to know and prevent!
Dana says
April 29, 2014 at 12:33 pmNever forget. I’ve visited the Holocaust Museum in DC – how powerful and tragic, yet we can still find glimmers of compassion and humanity in such a horrific time in our history. Thank you for remembering, Alexa.
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katbiggie says
April 29, 2014 at 2:38 pmthe Holocaust museum in DC is extremely powerful, but something about being where it actually happened sucked the breath out of me. But you are right – there were still people who showed remarkable courage to help others. LIke my friends grandfather, who helped smuggle Jewish children out of France. HIs story is incredible.