Yad Vashem

October 16^th, 2018

               I am really behind in keeping up with my blogging because of the work load here. We have been slammed with readings, assignments, and quizzes the last couple of weeks and midterms this week. I felt like I should at least write something about my thoughts and feelings of the last few trips we’ve taken. Today we went to Mt Herzl and Yad Vashem. This mount is a memorial and final resting place for notable Israeli leaders, but more importantly a memorial and museum dedicated to the victims, and heroes, of the Holocaust. Walking through that memorial is something I will not soon forget.

               We talked about what it would have been like in Israel before, during, and after the Holocaust. It is so sad to think about those survivors who made it into the holy land yet couldn’t talk about their experiences and trials.

               The first memorial we visited was the children’s memorial that pays tribute to the 1.5 million children that were killed. We walked down into a dark room where pictures of sweet innocent faces hung illuminated. As we followed the guardrail further into the rooms we could hear names and ages being read off like so: Mendel Adler … Poland … 5 years old. This room is incredibly hard to describe. The room is very dark, with clear panels hung and assembled together. In the middle there were candles, the light of which reflected and refracted off the clear panels which made it look like endless light, numerous stars. This is meant to symbolize millions of stars shining in the firmament. Truly a somber and reflective place.

               Next, we went into the Museum. I wish I had more time to read every journal entry, and sign, but we only had two hours. I stopped at many of the exhibits and watched videos they had playing of people telling their stories. There honestly are no words to describe how I felt as I wandered through the rooms and exhibits. More than anything, my heart ached, and I felt an overwhelming sense of compassion. The thing that hit me the hardest was listening to stories of those who survived. Especially when they tell of how young they were when the war began and the horrors and the treatment of the young children. It is really difficult for me to fathom anyone, let along a huge group of people, who can hate people so much that they are seen as “parasites” and no longer human. Where killing is nothing and to see death everywhere and not be phased. It is a world that I fear will return, more so than it already has, and people won’t see each other as humans.

To finish off the day we had a guest speaker come talk with us. He is a sweet 101-year-old man who lived through the Holocaust. He survived/ escaped from 7 or 8 different camps and lost all his family.  His story is incredible and heart wrenching. Can you imagine coming home after a couple years of working and frantically search through your house only to find that your family is no where to be found? To this day he chokes on his words and holds back tears when talking about his family and the things that he has gone through. His message though was that he was happy and grateful to be alive and we should choose each day to find gratitude and joy in life. I am so grateful for this sweet gentleman and his attitude toward life and example to me of perseverance. It also gives me great joy and comfort to know that when he passes away he will have many loved ones eagerly waiting to greet him and the pain and suffering he faces will go away.