Tag Archives: Holocaust
The World Remembers
Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and also the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, where the full extent of the Nazi genocide came to light. Today a post from five years ago about a different concentration camp. The first question I thought when visiting the Dachau concentration camp was: “How could they not […]
Reminder of the Past
The guidebook says there is nothing to see. I guess it is a little outdated. My wife has been visiting Lippstadt, Germany, since her childhood. She knew there had once been a synagogue, but had never visited. This time she walked right by. The guidebook said what was once a synagogue was behind some garage […]
Stumbling Stones Again
If you look closely, you can see two metal plaques placed among the cobblestones, memorials to two people who used to live at this location. They are a common sight in German cities. So common they are easy to ignore. The weather was a little frosty Sunday, but that didn’t stop us taking a walk […]
Remembering
Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. I wrote down some thoughts to share with you, but have decided to save them for a different day. Instead I’m reposting this one from April 2019. If you look closely, you can see two metal plaques placed among the cobblestones, memorials to two people who used to live […]
Have Times Changed?
In Germany in the 1930s it was the Jews who were the government scapegoats. They were portrayed as being responsible for all the ills of society. Get rid of them and Germany would be a paradise. History tells us what happened. Jews in Germany saw their rights being abridged by the state. Politicians, starting at […]
Uncomfortable Memories
I live in a town haunted by memories. That no-one talks about. At least to me. Sulzburg was once the center of Jewish culture in southern Germany. In the middle of the 19th century, a third of the town of 1,200 was Jewish. There was a synagogue, a rabbinical school, a choral society, a cemetery. […]
Man’s Inhumanity
The first question I thought when visiting the Dachau concentration camp was: “How could they not have known?” Of course, many Germans did know of the concentration camps and bought the lies about what was happening there. It was easier to pretend than to confront the reality. After all, as it said on the gates, […]
Stones of Remembrance
I wish I had brought a stone with me, but I didn’t know. As a small town, Sulzburg has few tourist attractions besides fresh air and hiking trails. However, it is known for its synagogue and Jewish cemetery, both no longer in use. Well, the cemetery is still there. So is the synagogue. It is […]
Uncomfortable Remembrance
Somehow it doesn’t seem right to be a tourist in a place of unspeakable evil. But remembrance is important, so I visited the Dachau concentration camp, the place where the Nazis refined their “final solution” for the Jewish people. These days it is in a Munich suburb. I would think it was more isolated 75 […]
Remembering The Dead
It is a solemn place and a stark reminder that there were no winners in the First World War. Langemark Cemetery is a memorial to young men who fought and died for a cause they believed in. But there are no rows of white headstones here. Instead the markers are black, set into the earth. […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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