Thursday, April 16, 2015



Liberation of Buchenwald ---continued



This famous picture of prisoners of Buchenwald was taken 70 years ago today.  Reading the date of the photo on different sites, I wondered why the prisoners were still in these dreadful bunks five days after the camp was liberated.  However, when I recall the descriptions by my acquaintance who was one of the commanders in liberating the camps, it is understandable. The atrocities that greeted the American soldiers were so unbelievable that organizing the evacuation while accounting for bodies covering the ground and the survivors who were traumatized must have been daunting.  Just as described in the book Unbroken, even after discovery, it took time to work out a plan to handle all of the starving, abused people.  


Many, who were too weak to stand around, they probably often returned to the bunks that held familiarity, while they awaited processing. 
Some Holocaust deniers say that these pictures were fakes, and that Elie Wiesel is a liar.  When asked why he does not argue with deniers and neo Nazis he has basically said that you cannot argue with hatred.  


However, he also said that   “One person of integrity can make a difference.”
― Elie Wiesel  (https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/1049.Elie_Wiesel)

“My greatest disappointment is that I believe that those of us who went through the war and tried to write about it, about their experience, became messengers. We have given the message, and nothing changed.
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/e/elie_wiesel.html#4r4TTUqD1YOZ4TaH.99


He seems to be correct, BUT, we must keep trying to change and see the beauty in each person and in the world around us.

3 comments:

  1. I just watched a story about this dreadful place a few nights ago. Raw footage shot of thousands of corpes thrown in pits. We cannot even fathom the horrors these people faced. Made me sick. Rita M. K

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  2. As horrible as this was, sharing this information may just help prevent another Buchenwald. Thanks, Gerri!

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  3. Interesting blog Gerri! Very informative, waiting for next publication

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