Standing tall along the modern street stood the large, brick entrance to an infamous landmark…Auschwitz. Where the pavement disappeared beneath pewter rocks, we took a step into the past… Over 70 years ago, lives were changed on this land, by this place, among these people…
As we gaze across the landscape, the horizon is vast and sprinkled with remains of what were once barracks used to house humans, people, lives. Originally built to accommodate 52 horses, each wooden structure housed 400 prisoners instead, mostly Jews. Upon walking inside, you are taken aback by the strong smell that still lingers in that place… the smell of death, even after half a century…
Lining the perimeter of the camp is a large barbed wire fence, electrocution style, halting anyone who would consider escape. Towers encircled the place ensuring that the inhabitants stick to their tasks lest they be singled out for “special attention.” Nearly a million Jews and countless others lost their lives in this place synonymous with death…
In school, I learned about the concentration camps that Hitler set up during WWII. It was a surreal experience to finally visit one. I think it is one atrocity that the human mind can’t really fully grasp; the extent to which human life was systematically extinguished. As I wandered through the barracks, it was difficult to take it all in…
Auschwitz actually had two locations. Before the Nazis commandeered it, Auschwitz I had been a military garrison used by the Polish military. Above the entrance to the camp hangs a metal banner reading, “Arbeit Macht Frei,” which translates into, “Work will set you free.”
The second location, Auschwitz II – Birkenau, was built later and is exactly what comes to mind when you think of a concentration camp. The tire irons led directly into the barracks and ended where the crematoriums stood. Between 70-75% of all who disembarked from the cattle cars that rolled in were led directly to the gas chambers. Those that were chosen for work endured many unthinkable days.
Now where the rubble of those nasty shower halls stood, there is a memorial to all who perished. A monument, along with plaques in every language of those who entered these gates that humanity will never forget what happened here. Nearby, there is a small pond. The ashes of those killed were dumped in the pond there. Ashes were also dumped in the Vistula River. To this day, the river carries traces of the human remains disposed of there. Even the earth cannot forget all that happened on this land!
Visiting Auschwitz was impactful. I was reflecting upon what had happened there and trying to understand it. But it’s truly incomprehensible. Yet, even among such horrific events, there are testimonies of the goodness of people and the presence of God. After returning from our visit, our hosts introduced us to the life stories of both Irena Sendler and Corrie ten Boom whose lives bear a great testimony from that awful time in Europe’s history.
Irena Sendler was a Polish young woman who risked her life and endured intense torture to save the lives of over 2500 children who were destined for the camps. Her courage was inspiring and convicting. She defied society’s call to obey authority, instead being shrewd and risking everything to do what was right to save many lives! When she was caught, she endured torturous beatings, but never released the names of those helping her. Her story left me wondering if I would have such courage to go against society if society went wrong? Would I have the endurance and courage to endure beatings without betraying the confidence of those doing such good?
Corrie ten Boom was a middle-aged woman who endured the concentration camps, being liberated at Ravensbruk. Throughout her time there, she was witness to God’s power, light, and love. Miraculously, she and her sister were able to sneak a Bible in to the camps and share God’s truth with many who were at death’s doorstep. After being released, by mistake, she went around the world sharing all that she witnessed. In the process, she ran across former Nazi captors and was challenged to forgive them. And she overcame what could have been a life of bitterness through forgiveness. Would I have such courage?
There is much to learn from history… When times grow dark, God’s light shines the brightest… As Isaiah wrote (58:6-9),
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter — when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.”
