Holocaust

In my most recent trip to DC, I wanted my wife to experience something that has always intrigued me. While the main reason we went was to visit my sister, we had a day all to ourselves and I was determined to take my wife to the Holocaust museum.

Like many tragic things in life, you are typically only reminded of them when tragedy strikes your own life. We go about our lives like a ferris wheel - round and round... sometimes things are up and other times down. I love to go to places like this to remind myself of how lucky we truly are and also remember those who suffered for us.

I have always been interested in World War II and many of the events surrounding it. This interest is probably because I grew up around a lot of Jewish people, the Holocaust is something I had learned about very early on.

As you may have guessed by my picture, I am not Jewish. So where does my strong interests in the Holocaust stem from... I'm not really sure, but it is something that I feel should be moving to everyone.

On Friday, I finally brought my wife to the Holocaust Museum. It was my second trip there, but I knew that I would learn even more. In case you haven't been there, there is a lot of information to consume in one trip. The museum is filled with pictures, videos, and other memorabilia. It is so shocking to believe that one man helped to create such a massacre. It is even more shocking to believe that all of these people followed him. Regardless of how poor or misguided the country, how could this be possible?

While there are many eye-opening displays, there are two that really stand out in my mind and will forever stand out. The first is a model of a gas chamber. These gas chambers show how Jews, thousands at a time, many unknowingly, are led into a chamber, told to strip off their clothes, and then gassed. The model also depicts the cremation chambers they used to dispose of the bodies. Secondly, toward the end of the exhibit is a video of the aftermath or liberation of the Jews. There is a video of the mass graves that were created at the concentration camps. The video shows bulldozers having to push hundreds of bodies into these massives holes. The guy driving the bulldozer was clearly having trouble breathing while doing this. How could something like this happen? It was only 60 years ago.

The experience makes me think about a few things, besides the obvious, WTF?!?!!?

Being Jews in Europe, these people were simply born into a religion, they did not have a choice. Even to this day, the year 2006, people still do not seem to understand that we do NOT choose. We do NOT choose whether we are asian, black, or white. We do NOT choose to be gay, lesbian, heterosexual. These things choose us.

Up to this point, I've used the excuse of "they just don't know any better...they haven't experienced certain things...", but, I have to admit, I am sure getting tired of using those excuses.

Why are there still so many people out there that do not grasp this? Is it due to poor education? Is it due to the media portraying certain types of people in a certain way? With all the technology available to us all, I would have figured that much of world has been exposed to things that were once a mystery.

In many cases, the people in this country who are prejudice are the one's that promote love of country. Well, the basis of the United States is that it is open to everyone...freedom...all men created equal...the land of opportunity. So if you are one of those people, get your facts straight and if you don't like it, then leave.

I just hope my children do not have to deal with the racism that I did growing up. However, I am very certain they will.

I will always remember the Holocaust and all the people who sacrificed their lives for us...