#22 Thursday, September 15: Off to France with the AJY program! Although this happened to be one of my favorite excursions thus far, the day did not start out as light hearted as it ended.
We began our journey by driving west out of Germany and towards the Vosges mountains in the east of France. The scenery was amazing as we approached the mountains, only to get better as we passed them and were greeted in their valleys with vineyards stretching the length of the mountains beside us. As we began climbing steeper up the mountain range, the bus was filled with chatter and flashes from cameras as everyone tried to capture the view below us. After a few minutes of excitement the bus crossed over a set of train tracks and than started driving parallel to them up the mountain. We were no longer accompanied by little shops and stores, but just alone with the trees at both of our sides. After crossing over the tracks, the bus grew quiet as we were all quickly reminded of exactly what route we were on...what train tracks we were driving along side. Somber thoughts filled all of our minds as we reached the very quiet camp grounds at the peak of the mountain. We silently filed off the bus and walked to the edge of the look out point. We assumed that below us would lie the most beautiful landscape of mountain valleys; however, as we approached the edge...we realized what we were actually about to see. Over the railing, a little ways down the mountain, stood the once all male concentration camp, Natzweiler-Struthof.
I have seen plenty of movie footage and pictures of the horror that took place at these Nazi concentration camps, but never did I expect to feel as moved as a did standing at the base of one. I was consumed with thoughts of sadness and horror, but no emotion stood stronger than my disbelief of what I was actually looking down upon. The idea that the beauty of the mountain valleys below us actually only masked the horror of what lied within them. That such a dark history stood in these woods, and I was actually standing in front of it all....
I don't think I could accurately describe all of the emotions I felt as we walked through the grounds. We learned about all of the unique attributes this camp had, and each one set a new set of chills down my back. We saw the horror of the gas chambers, and the experiment room as well as smelled what will forever be the permenant stench of the infermatory.
The horror and the aptitude of that horror that was experienced at Natzweiler-Struthof is unbelievable. It was very difficult to wrap my head around the numbers of those who lost their lives. Although it was a rough morning, I am glad we were able to make the trip. We specifically were taken to this CC and not Dachau, because they wanted to keep us away from the Holocaust tourism. This camp was silent and it gave us the opprounity to take it all in. Our professor had a very rough time showing us around. He said that being a German, and having to show us Americans this dark history is not something he is proud of, but its apart of the German culture now to be as open with their history as they can. That element of their new philosophy is something I made a mental note to myself to make sure I talk to my future students about.
Overall, a dark morning, but thankfully we were able to escape to Mont St. Odile to clear our brains.
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