70th Anniversary of liberation of Auschwitz Prison camp
It is hard to
imagine
Luckily I
remember
As a nine year
old
Reading the
papers
Seeing the
pictures
Swallowing hard
At such an
atrocity
How glad that I
was
That it didn’t
happen
To my loving
family
But it could have
done
It still happens
today
We turn a blind
eye
So don’t look on
coldly
Yes, it is far
away
But it’s also at
home
Look around you
Don’t close your
eyes
You are powerful
By doing nothing
You’re just as
depraved
As the perpetrators
Image found at www.isurvived.org
Thank you for using the prompt to remind us of that terrible time. Sadly atrocities continue to dominate the news agenda. Will we ever learn?
ReplyDeleteThat is right. One gets all the info on the horrors against the the Jews but sparingly on what's the sufferings imposed on present-day victims of violence! Great write oldegg!
ReplyDeleteHank
You are exactly right. I am waiting for Voices of Auschwitz to come on on CNN this evening......I have always been fascinated with this period of history, and appalled at what human beings can do to one another with apparent impunity. Great write, Robin. Important to always remember this time in history.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to imagine you being old enough to read a newspaper story about it.
ReplyDeleteI remember going to the deli with my mother when I was very very young and seeing a woman serving with blue tattoo'd numbers on her arm. I don't know if I was channeling my mother's thoughts but I remember being filled with overwhelming horror at the sight of it. I didn't know anything about the holocaust till much later on
You should read Viktor Frankl " Mans Search For Meaning" He was a survivor and it is a balanced account of his life in Auschwitz... Important book.
we shut our eyes
to everything
we always have
this is so true. I remember when I was nine and my dad judged me old enough to tell me about what happened during the war. Then he showed me some pictures they took after some were rescued. I cried and my dad said never forget how you feel now and stand up to injustice even if it makes you uncomfortable.
ReplyDeleteYep, you said it.
ReplyDeleteAuschwitz was a terrible place and the atrocities that happened there should never have had to happen to anyone. A strong poem Old Egg with a message the world should take on board.
ReplyDeleteIt's a terrible way to realize the horrors people can inflict on each other. My first experience of learning of an atrocity through the news was Jonestown. I realized then that senseless slaughter in the name of "good" wasn't just something in the history books. It was a current event and probably always will be.
ReplyDeleteWe visited Dachau in Germany when we were traveling through. It's awesome to stand on the grounds and imagine the horror of being there, never knowing what the next day would bring.
ReplyDeleteI read a book about this internment camp, and I'm happy that this place has been closed down because what they did inside was horrendous, and can't imagine any human doing such acts against another.
ReplyDeleteTouching words.
ReplyDeleteYou have shared such a deep and real point here.
In the holy book of the Hindu, Lord Krishna says that - those who tolerate injustice sin more than those who perpetrate injustice.
May we all rise together and be strong not to allow bad things from happening.