Thunderbolts and Lightning, Very Very Frightening

Truman needed atomic bombs to create the "shock and awe," that destroyed Japan. Hitler needed lights, marches, and valiant speaches to create an army. The technique of presenting something that is much larger, much more glamorous, or much more apalling in order to gain the attention of others is not a unique or complicated tactic. We went to Dachau last week and I simply felt like I was walking around another museum filled with artifacts from some forgotten time. I don't mean to discredit our tour guide who was immensely knowledgeable and a very friendly man, but there was no "shock and awe," to his presentation of the atrocities committed during Holucast. My first tour guide made it very clear the prisoners were not living in anything similar to the camps we know today. 450 men slept in quarters desgined for only 60. The weakest prisoners lived at the back of the camp so they were forced to walk further to roll call and then back to the barracks for a shower. By the time they were ready, they didn't have any time for breakfast and were immediately sent to work. Eventually men slept on each other and were awoken at 3 a.m. so they could switch positions and avoid cutting off one another's circulation. Eventually after the men dropped below 100 lbs. and lost control of bodily functions they slept in large puddles of defecation. The conditions were beyond description. We haven't the slightest idea of what it felt like, what it smelled like, and how painful the experience must have been for all of them.

I think it is necessary for tourists to get a glimpse of this pain, otherwise, we take for granted what the prisoners were put through. We end up having picnic lunches on former barracks and taking family portraits for Christmas cards in the gas chambers. These places aren't museums filled with artifacts for our amusement. They are still there to remind us of a not so distant past that should be avoided at all costs in the future. I hope that even though our tour was not so grim that all of you realize the gravity of the situation the prisoners were in and are able to stand up to movements that have beginnings similar to that of the Nazi party. We may be facing a revival of these beliefs before we know it.