07.27.08

So this last week was pretty interesting and intense. We went to Nurnberg and Munich. While in Nurnberg we took a city tour and saw the Nazi Rally grounds, which was interesting. It was kinda hard to imagine that many people there. The grass has grown over all of the steps but the main side, and there is a soccer field in the middle of the grass... It was just hard to picture even though I was looking at the place where Hitler used to adress the people.

We then went to the Documentation center. When I was there I had an interesting experience I thought. I was expecting to go and be sad at what I saw, and when I looked around that is what I saw in most people's faces that were there. But I didn't feel saddness. I felt anger. I was legitatmately pissed off at everything I was seeing and reading and listening to on our audio guides. It was very weird for me and not at all what I was expecting to feel. I don't really know if anyone else felt that way. It took about 3.5 hours to get through it all, and by that time I was so emotionally exhausted I didn't really want to talk about it at that time. Then there was so many other things that happened this week that I just haven't yet.

We went to Dachau a few days ago which was very intense. It was weird to think about the different people that were there 60-70 years ago and what was going on in the rooms that we were in. The weirdest thing for me was the gas chamber and the creamatorium rooms. I wasn't expecting to see it when I did, I don't think our guide told us what we were walking into, then I turned a corner and bam. There is was, staring me in the face. It was pretty shocking. Out of everything we saw I think that made it more of a reality of what went on there. And then to see pictures that a prisoner took illegally from right where I was standing, with smoke going out of the chimney... which meant the creamatorium was in use... is was eye opening for sure.

This week was pretty emoitionally draining for me really. I'm looking forward to getting back to Dusseldorf and relaxing and letting my mind rest a little. It is something I feel I should have seen and I'm glad I did, but I look forward to getting back to Dusseldorf.