Auschwitz

When Frank realized that Auschwitz was so close to where we were staying in Poland, he decided he would forgo a city tour and go there instead.  The only problem was that the girls were too young to go.  It is recommended that no one under 14 visit the memorial.  Since I didn't need a car to get into the city, Frank and Roman went to Auschwitz and the girls and I went into the city with our friends.  My husband said while he didn't learn anything that he didn't already know, it was extremely powerful to see it up close.  Going to Auschwitz made it more real, and not just something that one sees on tv or learns about in a school textbook.  One cannot imagine how big the facility is and seeing the fingernail scratches on the wall of the gas chamber was heartbreaking.  Having young daughters my husband said it was extremely difficult to keep it together when he saw the braids of the young girls.  Today there seems to be this cancel culture, the only problem is that you cannot re-write history.  A friend of mine said that she was surprised that they didn't just get rid of the whole camp. I expressed to her that not doing so is now a powerful tool to help us remember what not to do in the future.  I pray we will never do anything as horrendous again as what happened in Auschwitz by the Nazis.