Holocaust Memorial Day

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/9827678/Why-you-should-visit-Auschwitz.html

On Holocaust Memorial Day almost 70 years after WW2 ended, isn't it now time that these macabre Death Camp sites where now bulldozed to the ground and replaced by a simple memorial?

[emmie]

no, they should stand as a reminder of these heinous crimes for all to see.

[ChillDoubt]

No. Never. When I served in W. Germany I attended a few. On one I saw soldiers from the Wehrmacht there.
I was told that all their National Servicmen attend as part of their curriculum, in order that the lessons from history are never repeated.

[emmie]

chill, sadly of course those lessons aren't always learned, but perhaps this is one which should stand.

[naomi24]

Unless you’ve seen some of these places, it’s difficult to appreciate the real horror of man’s inhumanity to man – and even then I’d say it’s impossible for anyone who wasn’t there to fully understand what went on. Perhaps they should remain as a stark reminder to the world of what human beings are actually capable of – and if it stops it happening again, then it’s all to the good. We must never forget.

[mrs_overall]

AOG - have you ever been to visit one? Try visiting Auschwitz, it is the most moving experience ever.
Long may they remain so that we never forget.
Demolish them and the holocaust denial brigade will have a field day.

[ChillDoubt]

I meant Bundeswehr of course!

[emmie]

no we mustn't. One thing was i watching the other day, and must admit it was quite a surprise, was that many of these camps were used after the war for displaced persons, those who had been forced to flee from their homelands, and those who had seen their country taken over. I wonder how they must have felt knowing what went on there.

[emmie]

there are already too many who are deniers of the Holocaust, so no they should remain.

[Duncer]

NEVER. Having visited Auschwitz it will stay with me forever.

I felt dirty and disturbed for days afterwards and it hammered home the utter inhumanity of the place. To see rooms filled with childrens shoes, women's hair and assorted suitcases, never mind the sheer scale of the wretched place and the eerie indescribable feeling of the place. No monument could ever encapsulate the horror of the place.

[sp1814]

AOG

I don't think a memorial would have the same emotional resonance as the actual site itself. I've never been to Auschwitz, but I would imagine the feelings of actually being in the place where these atrocities took place to be very powerful.

My only reference point is when me and some friends took a tour around Alcatraz a few years back. When you're actually a place of historical importance and you walk in the steps of those who have gone before you...you strange connection on a level that's quite hard to put into words.

[sp1814]

insert the word 'get' in between 'you' and 'strange' in that last sentence

[naomi24]

Duncer has encapsulated it. Seeing people’s personal possessions – thousands of them - little battered suitcases, clothing, shoes, spectacles, hair, and items made from their skin, hits you hard. These were people – real people – innocent people - men, women and children. For once I am at a loss to express my feelings adequately. No amount of words can ever describe the effect my visits have had on me. Heart-breaking!

AOG, have you read ‘The Boy in Striped Pyjamas’? It’s a book written for young people – but I recommend it to all.

SP, Alcatraz is a great experience, don’t you think?

[Bbbananas]

No. For all the very good reasons already stated above.

[ChillDoubt]

Murray gets some medical treatment for a nasty looking blister. Plenty of iodine there, hope he can get his shoe on over all that dressing!

[ChillDoubt]

OOPS! Wrong thread!

[NOX]

Absolutely not, they must never be destroyed not even after the atrocity itself has fallen from living memory as it is now beginning to do for most first hand accounts. If anything can be achieved by that appalling loss of life it should be that we ensure it never happens again as best we can.

[ludwig]

No, for all the reasons already given above.

[maggiebee]

Ooops, couldn't find this thread earlier, didn't think to look in news. I've started another thread about a TV programme that's on tonight BBC1 at 10.25pm. Read thread titled "Holocaust"

[anotheoldgit]

mrs_overall

/// AOG - have you ever been to visit one? Try visiting Auschwitz, it is the most moving experience ever. ///

No thankfully I have not and have no wish to do so.

Why anyone would wish to see cremation ovens and also gas chambers, I fail to see.

I think after almost 70 years most would now be well aware that certain horrific atrocities happened, without the need for tourists to visit the actual venues where they took place, surely this can only be seen as showing a morbid curiosity?

[sandyRoe]

It's a wonder the Israeli government don't pay for the upkeep of these places. They help give some credence to their claim that as they were victims nearly a 100 years ago they're entitle to victimise and rob the Palestinians now.