I am going to be honest (I should really stop saying this because all of my blogs are going to be open and honest) I have tried to write this blog so many times now. I cannot seem to string together the 26 letters of the alphabet into words that form sentences to describe how I felt in that moment. I had so many questions floating in my head and still do, trying to process everything. Yet, I can’t seem to put pen to paper and externally process what I am thinking (probably because I am an internal processor that is trying to be something she isn’t).
So, I decided to forgo the words that I was trying to write, and just show you.
THE VIEW OF THE ELECTRIC FENCE THAT SURROUNDS THE CONCENTRATION CAMP
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33
ONE OF THE WATCHTOWERS THAT IS BY THE ENTRANCE TO THE CAMP
“For evil to flourish, it only requires good men to do nothing.” – Simon Wiesenthal
THIS IS THE SIGN ABOVE THE ENTRANCE. IT READS ARBEIT MACHT FREI, MEANING “WORK WILL SET YOU FREE”
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13
ENTRANCE TO ONE OF THE 28 BLOCKS AT THE CAMP
“Thou shalt not be a victim, thou shalt not be a perpetrator, but, above all, thou shalt not be a bystander.” – Yehuda Bauer
THE ROAD BETWEEN THE MANY BLOCKS AT THE CAMP
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” – Hebrews 11:1
A STAIRCASE IN ONE OF THE BLOCKS THAT MANY PRISONERS WALKED
“I had no real communication with anyone at the time, so I was totally dependent on God. And he never failed me.” — Diet Eman, Things We Couldn’t Say
ONE OF THE MANY CASES OF SHOES TAKEN FROM PRISONERS AND THEIR BAGS UPON ARRIVAL AT THE CAMP
“For we live by faith, not by sight.” – 2 Corinthians 5:7
THE AREA BETWEEN BLOCK 10 AND 11, WHERE EXECUTIONS WOULD TAKE PLACE IN FRONT OF THE DEATH WALL
“Surely there is no more wretched sight that the human body unloved and uncared for.” — Corrie ten Boom, The Hiding Place: The Triumphant True Story of Corrie Ten Boom
A VASE OF HUMAN ASHES THAT REMAINS IN REMEMBRANCE OF ALL THE PRISONERS WHO DIED AT THE CAMPS
“Therefore, brothers and sisters, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith.” – 1 Thessalonians 3:7
ONE OF THE ROOMS IN A BLOCK THAT ACTUALLY HAD BEDS, MOST DID NOT
“We must be listened to: above and beyond our personal experience, we have collectively witnessed a fundamental unexpected event, fundamental precisely because unexpected, not foreseen by anyone. It happened, therefore it can happen again: this is the core of what we have to say. It can happen, and it can happen everywhere.” — Primo Levi
THIS IS THE LOCATION WHERE 12 PRISONERS WHERE HANGED DUE TO AN ATTEMPTED ESCAPE
“If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” – 1 Corinthians 13:2
ONE OF THE OTHER GALLOWS LOCATED WITHIN THE CAMP
“I don’t want to have lived in vain like most people. I want to be useful or bring enjoyment to all people, even those I’ve never met. I want to go on living even after my death!” — Anne Frank
THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE GAS CHAMBERS THAT WHERE LOCATED AT THE OLDEST OF THE AUSCHWITZ CAMPS
“Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.” – 2 Corinthians 1:24
ONE SIDE OF THE AREA THAT AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU CONSISTED OF
“Fiction cannot recite the numbing numbers, but it can be that witness, that memory. A storyteller can attempt to tell the human tale, can make a galaxy out of the chaos, can point to the fact that some people survived even as most people died. And can remind us that the swallows still sing around the smokestacks.” — Jane Yolen
THE ENTRANCE TO AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” – 2 Timothy 4:7
ONE OF THE TRAIN CARS THAT WAS USED TO TRANSPORT PRISONERS INTO THE CAMP
“I grew up in Brooklyn and my parents were Holocaust survivors, so they never taught me anything about nature, but they taught me a lot about gratitude.” — Louie Schwartzberg
REMAINS OF FIREPLACES FROM THE MANY BARRACKS AT THE CAMP
“See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright – but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness -.” – Habakkuk 2:4
THE REMAINS OF THE LARGEST OF THE GAS CHAMBERS AT AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU; THEY WERE DESTROYED BY THE NAZI IN AN ATTEMPT TO HIDE THE CRIMES COMMITTED
“To forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.” – Elie Wiesel
CHIMNEY REMAINS THROUGHOUT THE CAMP
“because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” – James 1:3
THE INTERIOR OF ONE OF THE BARRACKS SPECIFICALLY FOR THE CHILDREN THAT WERE IMPRISONED AT THE CAMP
“Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart.” – Anne Frank
As always, I invite you to make my journey, your journey. Here are three simple ways:
- The most important, PRAY.
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Also, if you are feeling called to support the World Race in a financial way, a couple of my teammates are still in need of help. Click on their names below if you would like to know more about them!
