Our day at Auschwitz

Today we went to Auschwitz. I had lots of pictures in my mind of what Auschwitz would be, but nothing could compare to being in such a place. We started out by going to Auschwitz and going through several barracks. These barracks had different displays set up depicting prison life or memorials to those who were killed from particular countries or ethnicities. The museum was very moving seeing people that were just like me yet ending up in such terror and misery before their lives were taken.
The people were brought in to the camp and immediately separated into two groups. The people themselves did not know why they were being separated, but an SS doctor divided them based on their ability to work. Those who were able to work, stayed at Auschwitz until they died or became unable to work any longer. Those who were not able to work, children or those with children or the elderly were sent to Auschwitz Berkenau which meant immediate death in the gas chambers. There were so many painfully poignant reminders that these people who were murdered were innocent of any crime and were in reality people enjoying life just as I do. One section of a barrack had just a mountain of shoes—shoes that were taken from the people before they entered the gas chamber. One big mountain of shoes was just the shoes of little children. There were other things too horrible to even think about including a glass enclosed room of human hair—about 4,000 pounds of it.
During our time there, we saw the awful evidence of how degraded a human heart can become. As we ended our time there, we went to the gas chamber and crematorium. Already, before we ever got there, my heart was already heavy with the inescapable presence of an overpowering evil. It seemed like the whole complex just reeked of death and the stench of it seemed to permeate every inch of the place. When we got to the “showers” as the guards convinced the people that they were, it was almost overwhelming to enter, and I did not want to imagine all the horror that went on in that place. Some places I have to try to imagine the history that took place. In this large, dark room I was only trying to not be overwhelmed with the reality of what did happen there. There were candles lit and a few fresh flowers, but other than that, everything was just how it had been then only we were looking at it from history’s perspective.
I must say that I could not stay in such a place but just a few moments. After seeing the evidences just a few feet back of so many beautiful lives and then seeing their ends, made me have to get back into the sunlight and see if I could sense God’s presence there. As I left, I wondered if the sense of evil and depression that I felt was just because of what I saw. Was this just a human reaction to seeing the depths of depravity that a human heart can sink to? Perhaps almost everyone that comes out of this camp feels much of the same way. The other part of me couldn’t help but wonder if this feeling I had was more than my imagination and that there really was a deep spiritual darkness over this place. I am not a theologian, but somehow I just believe that the heart of God is still deeply grieved over all the hatred that took place there and one cannot help but feel it when you enter the gate.