Holocaust Experiences

During my spring break this year my cousin and I got the chance to visit the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC. The museum was very moving and I was surprised by how much I learned, despite being a history major and having studied the topic for a while. One of the many things in the museum that surprised and angered me was how the Nazi’s took everything from their victems. In the museum are hundreds of suitcases, umbrellas, shoes, and other items that were taken from the Jews as they entered the concentration camps. One section contained the shoes that were taken from prisoners; they were different sizes and styles. Looking at these shoes I could not help myself think of the people who once wore them and the fate that befell them. It seemed that no one was safe from the Nazi’s rampage as men, women and children were treated with equal hatred and disdain by the Nazi’s. In the book, Maus by Art Spiegelman, these scenes are depicted based on Vladek Spiegelman, Art’s fathers, experiences at a concentration camp. There was one particular scene that shocked me where after everything is taken from the Jews, the Nazi’s shave off their hair in order to sell it and use it in wigs and bed stuffing. It seems as if the Nazi’s wanted to take everything from these people and degrade them at the same time. In the Holocaust Museum there was a section where real hair that was shaved off of prisoner’s heads during the holocaust is displayed. I remember standing there wondering how those prisoners must have been terrified not only for themselves but worried about their family and friends. I also thought and hoped that these people hopefully got to survive and live, but then reality hit me and I realized that many did not. Another part of the museum had photos of those who were taken and killed by the Nazi’s. Looking into their faces I realized how they were normal people like you and I, and not the evil beings the Nazi’s made the out to be. Even children were shown and I can not imagine the horrors they witnessed and experienced. I chose the scene in Maus because I feel like today many wish to forget the horrors experienced during the holocaust. However I feel like people need to remember and realize that these stories are not just stories but in fact were real events that occurred. People need to remember that these horrible events did occur and they can happen again if people are not aware of history and what can occur when racism and hatred exists.