Standing In Shock.

Sometimes when we hear and learn about things growing up we don't always completely comprehend. We are molded from a young age to act, think and treat others a certain way. Those lucky enough to have a positive environment grow up to treat others with kindness, act civil and think with an open mind.

From the beginning of school we learn about history. In kindergarten, we learn about the Pilgrims and teachers usually try to make you dress up in some sort of pilgrim, turkey or Indian outfit and do a dance in front of your peers. We will always remember the story, because of that.

As time goes on we are shown other parts of history such as famous inventors, past presidents and such. We remember the story because we every time we turn on a light bulb, there is proof. Every time we tell a lie, maybe you'll remember your 3rd grade teacher telling you the story of the cherry tree.

We know about history because someone took the time to tell us about it. But why do we remember it? It's because we have things like stories, dances and physical proof to prove it.

As if getting older isn't hard enough, they ease you into more historical information with the Dinosaurs roaming the earth to Pilgrims feasting on Turkeys. Things get more brutal as the Titanic is introduced.
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This past weekend was the most eye-opening weekend of my entire life. I had a bucket list of things that I wanted to do and see while I am in Germany. The list was pretty long and I've managed to do everything on it, somehow. One of the things that was on my list was to make a trip to Krakow, Poland. What's in Krakow? An amazing city with one major downfall, its history. Krakow is the city where Auschwitz is located still today. For me, even making a whisper of the name gives me chill bumps.

My flat mate Helen and I decided that it would be worth seeing once and only once. We booked out 10 hour train ticket to Poland last week and on Friday we packed our bag and left. Once we arrived, we checked into our hostel and got to know the city as much as we could while we were there. Krakow is a lovely city full of castles and cathedrals. A newer part of the city is built around the medieval sector of it, giving it a quaint and lovely feel to it. We went to bed pretty early because we knew the next day was going to be a rough one.

We were right. On Saturday we were picked up from our hostel around 9:30am and we watched a documentary giving a very vivid image of what we were about to see. It was about an hour outside of the city and upon arrival we were given headsets so that our guide wouldn't have to yell or speak loudly while we were inside of the camp. The first thing you see when you walk in is the gate made of iron that reads "Arbeit macht frei" or in English, "Work sets you free". In that moment, you know you're there. You're in that place that you've read, learned and studied about since you were around 13 years old. All that was going through my head was "This is the place, I am here...in THIS place." I know it seems like such a simple minded thing to think when in such a ... astonishing (not in a good way) place, but it was too overwhelming. I didn't know what to think, what to say or how to feel. It was the most oppressive thing I have ever gone through.

I deliberated on whether or not I would share my story, because I didn’t know if I would give it the appropriate justice that it deserves when explained. The reason I decided to share, is because sometimes we grow up and we learn things that we are supposed to take more seriously and believe. I think that sometimes learning has become a process; it’s more of a list of things to get through before you get to the finish line. We don’t stop learning after high school or after college or after we get married. I think that the saddest part of the lack of care in the world to learn and understand is that we are given the opportunity; we should grasp it with every ounce and never let it go.

The Holocaust happened, it was real. We cannot ever imagine what those people went through, but the least that our generation can do now is to listen to their stories that they left behind, learn about what happened and not make the same mistake again. The trip was around five hours long; five long and silent hours. At the end of the tour through the camp we were thanked by our guide for visiting. She said (in her broken Polish-English accent) “I want to thank you for coming here; I know this is not an easy place to visit, but I think everyone should visit at least once”

“And only once”, I thought.

I will say though, if you have any questions or a particular interest with this part of history, I would be happy to share what I saw with you. I have photos but I’m not putting them on my blog. If you would like to see them, I would also be happy to share those with you too. My email is kmcarver3@gmail.com .