Auschwitz and the Past

The Holocaust in itself has become a star. The events of World War II, and especially those that occurred in Auschwitz are those that will never be forgotten. It is only when we forget history that it becomes dangerous.

Auschwitz is one of the most known Nazi concentration camps from the Second World War, and thus its significance is often highlighted through the medium of cinema in films such as Spielberg’s Schindler’s List. In 1955, an exhibition opened unveiling mug shots, hair, suitcases, and shoes taken from the murdered prisoners; and other objects related to the killings. The death camp is now open to those who wish to see where the horrifying extermination of a barbaric number of Jewish people occurred.

From those I have spoken to that have visited Auschwitz, they have said that the walls are still stained with blood along with indents and scratches of the attempted escape of its prisoners. So why do we want to return to a place where such tragic events and murders took place? Is it because we want to step back into the period of the war and truly emphasise and understand the experiences of the prisoners? Or is it perhaps we have relatives or descendants that lived through the war and we wish to understand their suffering? Perhaps being in the very place where the murders of millions of Jewish occurred elicits a different kind of response that cinema does not?

Although nostalgia for the past tends to be quite rose tinted – especially when those think
back to their childhood and consider it to be a happier time than it perhaps was – the past of during the period 1939-1945 is definitely not rose tinted. Perhaps Auschwitz being open to the public so raw and true is a reminder that if history is forgotten, we are at risk if it repeating itself. Social media is used to ensure that the events of Auschwitz and its significance are not forgotten and it has become a star in itself whereby the now museum has its own verified Twitter page.

The images I have included in this piece really emphasise how powerful an image can be. This is a matter of opinion, but even by looking at these still images of the no longer functioning concentration camp in the modern day, I can really sense and feel the loss, horror, tragedy and blood shed inside the prison. While searching through these horrifying images, I found many pictures people had taken posing in the gas chambers or in various other places within the concentration camp. We must ask ourselves is it morally right for people to pose next to or in a place as though it is an attraction and a positive experience? Or is this disrespectful to the dead and their memory?