There are few words that would do justice to the experience of the Holocaust Museum.
I was struck dumb by the display of Operation T-4, where Nazi health officials argued that "state funds were better spent on loans to newlyweds than on medical care for the permanently disabled." The disabled were the first to be murdered, some used in grisly "medical experiments."
I didn't know what to say to my sons, but we walked quietly through together.
I wished for a weeping room.
I was struck dumb by the display of Operation T-4, where Nazi health officials argued that "state funds were better spent on loans to newlyweds than on medical care for the permanently disabled." The disabled were the first to be murdered, some used in grisly "medical experiments."
I didn't know what to say to my sons, but we walked quietly through together.
I wished for a weeping room.
Oh Elizabeth. I have no words at all.
ReplyDeleteI am in awe that you could even go, especially with your children. I am at such a loss as to how to have conversations with my girls about how human beings can treat each other that horrifically that I often err on the side of putting my head in the sand.
ReplyDeleteA weeping room, indeed.
On my way home from LA I read In the Garden of the Beasts - the family lived on Tiergartenstrasse, up the road from #4, which is where the eugenics program was run from. Knew of it, of course, but not WHY it was called T-4. Turns out it was just an address.
ReplyDeleteSuch horror, tucked under such a banal name.
I've considered going several times. But each time I've felt the grief would be unbearable.
ReplyDeleteI am shocked to hear you say that there isn't a weeping room. How can that be?
But I can think of no better person than you to guide and counsel your boys through it all. I hope you all find peace in being together in the aftermath of your experience.
I never had the courage to go myself but I know when my daughters are the right age, I'll take them and wish for a weeping room too.
ReplyDeleteDear sweet Elizabeth. Sometimes no words are possible. You took them and they saw with their eyes and learned more than anything you could say. More importantly their spirits were touched. You are a good Mom.
ReplyDeleteI must tell you that when I visited I just let the tears flow, I wasn't either conscious or aware of anyone or anything else except a renewed awareness that inhumanity is a too common thread among those who do not believe in Democracy and who will stop at nothing to make their beliefs the law of the land. It is heart wrenching but exposes both the worst and the best of humanity. I am sure the boys will never forget this, and it is a good thing.
ReplyDeleteIt has been a reminder to me that there is indeed a special place reserved in hell for those who do nothing in a time of moral crisis.
So, so sad.
ReplyDeleteA very large weeping room for all the sadness.
I don't know how this has happened, Elizabeth but somehow my comment on your post has become a post on my blog under the title of your blog. Weird.
ReplyDeleteMy comment is:
The horror of eugenics. It's an outrage that seeps into my soul, for aren't we all flawed, and the crazy fantasy that it is good to reach perfection by eliminating anything that is not perfect is one way of annihilating us all, if not in fact then in spirit.
I'm about to edit the post away with apologies to Wind smoke and Birdie who have already commented on this short and cryptic post
I don't know how this has happened, Elizabeth but somehow my comment on your post has become a post on my blog under the title of your blog. Weird.
ReplyDeleteMy comment is:
The horror of eugenics. It's an outrage that seeps into my soul, for aren't we all flawed, and the crazy fantasy that it is good to reach perfection by eliminating anything that is not perfect is one way of annihilating us all, if not in fact then in spirit.
I'm about to edit the post away with apologies to Wind smoke and Birdie who have already commented on this short and cryptic post
I fell over this post after reading Elisabeth's. A weeping room is necessary so humanity can be reclaimed.
ReplyDeleteHaving come completely undone at the Vietnam Memorial Wall, I cannot imagine how it would be at the Holocaust Museum.
ReplyDeleteOne weeping room would not be enough to hold all the tears.
"I wished for a weeping room."
ReplyDeleteSpeechless in understanding.
In the end I wound up leaving the post in place, Elizabeth. It's strange but it seems to have a place over there and I've urged people to travel over here to see what prompted it and it seems several have.
ReplyDeletethere are not enough weeping rooms in all the world for what happened there
ReplyDeleteMy sister was there with her two boys almost three years ago when a white supremacist opened fire at the museum and fatally shot a guard. Her boys, ages 12 and sixteen, were on a different floor of the museum than my sister when the shooting began and the museum was evacuated. Can you imagine?
ReplyDeleteLike you, I enjoy reading. Most of what I read is nonfiction since I find many of the books to be more interesting and sometimes more unbelievable than fiction.
ReplyDeleteMy father was a World War II history buff. Thanks to him, I have read many, many books and survivor stories of the holocaust. I still cannot grasp the magnitude of the autrocities that ocurred to so many throughout the world, the disabled serving as many of the first to be gassed, shot and slaughtered. I have cried many tears reading these unbelievable stories of survival and courage.
Ironically, I just finished reading "How Mankind Committed the Ultimate Infamy at Auschwitz" by Laurence Rees. It is the step by step story of how Auschwitz became one of the most henious death camps the world has ever known. It is an unbelievably appalling true story and one, I believe, every human being in the world should read.
Like you again, I also needed a weeping room!
Those Nazis were a disgusting bunch. May we never forget.
ReplyDeleteyes, a weeping room would be very apt. (we have a small holocaust museum in our town... it is a sobering and yet an inspiring place - especially when you speak to some of the holocaust survivors who still act as docents.)
ReplyDeletei know, i know i know. its beyond heartbreaking. i remember that museum well and remember reading the same thing about the disabled. its beyond tragic. as difficult as it is in there, we NEED to know what happened to pay tribute so i commend your bravery.
ReplyDelete