Oświęcim

The Polish town is Oświęcim, about an hour west of Krakow. The German name is Auschwitz. A former army barracks, it was transformed, along with nearby Birkenau, into a factory of death. 

We have seen these images so many times in books and films. Strangely, it looks exactly the way I expected. 

I knew it would be difficult to go here but feel strongly that we must honor the memory of those who died. We must also ensure that the fact of this place is not forgotten and we must educate each generation that these horrors occurred. Hannah Arendt described the Holocaust's perpetrators as the banality of evil. Auschwitz has a utilitarian banality. 

Through this portal, boxcars arrived with human cargo:

Growing up in a post-WWII, secular Jewish world, the Holocaust was a frequent topic, a reference point. My family lost relatives in the Holocaust. But for younger people, and for non-Jews, this is not familiar territory. I was surprised and heartened by how my tour mates absorbed the experience. Many had questions. Many bought books in the book store and started reading them on the bus to our next stop.  

There are countless searing images but, for me, this was the most heartbreaking:

These are tallit, prayer shawls confiscated from Jews when they arrived. Why these survived is a mystery. But the deeper mystery is why any of this occurred. What magic would happen when all the Jews were gone? It is such an unfathomable question.