June 16, 2017 Visit to a former Concentration Camp

Today was one of the few cloudy / rainy days we've seen on our trip.  It seemed apropos for our trip to a concentration camp near Berlin.  It didn't seem right to take many photos of the camp, but there are more at the site.  It was very sad walking through the camp. 

It's one thing to see a documentary or read about the Holocaust, it's another to stand where it actually happened.  It is just difficult to believe that people could do such things to each other !  We spent 5 hours here and still did not see everything.  There are archives of video with survivors of the camp.  Interviews with German neighbors during the occupation, mass graves, barracks, etc.  -- all were horrifying and interesting.  From a psychological standpoint I was able to understand the techniques used on the German population to get them to "go along" with the Reich, but I personally can not fathom how the officers could do and/or command others to do, such horrible things.  What shocked me the most was to learn that this camp was used by the GDR shortly after it was "liberated" from Hitler, to do many of the same things.

Reflections on this are heavy on my heart. It also hurts to know that these things are going on right now in many parts of the world-- right NOW , as I type this blog and enjoy my vacation there are many who are prisoners in their own countries and/or are tortured and/or murdered by their rulers. 😢😢😢

After leaving the camp we got caught in the rain on the way back to our airbnb.  It seemed appropriate.  We stayed in the rest of the night.