Kamia Moore: Stand For What Is Right!

            I didn’t know what to expect walking up to the museum that looked like a prison; I was intrigued by the view while pulling up. In my life time during school, we’ve touch on the Holocaust time and time again, but we never went into depth; everything was general. The museum was heart wrenching; each corner I turned I simply wanted to cry.  I couldn’t simply imagine what those individuals went through on a day to day basis.

            I looked at a lot of the situations from a mother’s point of view, asking myself what I would have done in this situation. There were videos of children starving on the streets, famished with not a hope in the world; there was another video when a holocaust surviver recalled her mother telling her that there was nothing she could do to help her; she just had to suck it up and take it. That absolutely broke my heart; as a mother my only duty is to protect and take care of my children. That is who I am. They complete me, and I am sure many mothers feel this same way, so to not be able to provide for their children is a hurtful pain.  To live in the horrendous conditions, to be stripped of everything you ever owned, to be beaten, starved, attacked by dogs, and ridiculed on a daily basis and not be able to do anything about it is terrible.

            Then there was the Olympics that Hitler held… It disgusted me that he was allowed to get away with all of this foolery. It hurt me that so many people followed this man’s every word, to the point that they were willing to live and die for him, in the name of evil and fear. How could the world fall in line with such outlandish foolishness? How could people be so naïve to look over their wrong doings? This could happen again; this hatred people have for one another could build into the same type of situation with different types of people. It is scary how much influence one person can have on the entire world.

A quote on the wall caught my eye at the end of the museum. The quote read, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” That quote spoke volumes to me. It’s simply the truth: not standing up for what is right even when it doesn’t involve you is simply not right; turning a blind eye to mass murders and executions is unreal to me. This is what happened in slavery, with African Americans, and also the trail of tears with the Indians. Hitler wasn’t the only bad guy in our world’s history, and I am sure there are many more people out there just like him. It is up to us to make sure we stand for what is right.

            There were so many amazing things in the museum! I honestly wished we had more time to explore. I could feel the pain of the mothers. I could feel the fear, when the Nazi soldiers walked through the streets in masses carrying guns and torches chanting and singing songs about hating and killing Jews. How could they fight back? How could they, when everything they did was risking their life? I enjoyed the museum and Martha’s personal insight of what she went through. It gave me a whole new outlook on the Holocaust.

Ashley Folger: A Lesson in Forgiveness

            I always desire to learn about the Holocaust. My favorite part is hearing the stories of the survivors. I have met and talked to other survivors before, but hearing Mrs. Magda Brown was a little different. Magda gave us three pieces of advice that she has learned from her experience, and the one that I could relate to and personalize was to not hate. I’ve had a lot of traumatic events happen throughout my 20 years of living, but mine was nothing compared to Mrs. Brown’s trauma. Hearing what she had to go through made me realize that my life and what happened to me was minor compared to what people like her went through. She helped me to realize that I cannot act like a victim, but that I should learn to forgive. She forgave the Nazi officers for what they did. I can’t imagine being able to accomplish something like forgiving those people, but she did. 

I have experienced a lot of hatred in my life, but after hearing Magda I am able to let go of a little bit of it. It is inspiring how she could forgive the Nazis and live her life like she is today. I have been living in misery and self-pity, and Magda taught me to be different. She made me realize that my life could be way worse and to accept what has happened to me and forgive. Because she has forgiven these people, she is able to live a happy, healthy life. That is what I strive to do, but I have never been able to accomplish that. After hearing Magda I realize that what I am missing in the formula to a happy life is forgiveness. 

Magda Brown is truly inspirational. I couldn’t imagine living the life she did, so it puts my life and what has happened to me in perspective. I have to be thankful for what has happened to me because it could always be worse. Magda’s speech has changed my life and has helped me to start working on forgiving. Like she said, I will never forget what has happened, but forgiving allows me to move on in peace. Magda is living her life in peace, and she has accomplished that by not hating and forgiving. I strive to follow in her footsteps. 

Josette Gipson: Vigilance against Hatred

            Today we visited the Illinois Holocaust Museum in Skokie. I knew before arriving that this would be an emotional day for me, as I often find myself crying when discussing topics such as the Holocaust. When we first arrived, we sat downstairs in the basement to hear Mrs. Magda Brown’s story. While visiting the museum is an amazing experience in itself, talking to someone who actually went through the Holocaust was even more amazing. When Magda explained the systematic way this entire atrocity was done, it became very unsettling. While I was aware of the concentration camps, I was not aware that they started out by talking, moved then to boycotting of Jewish businesses, to relocating Jewish people and confiscating their money and valuables, and then to relocating them again for extermination. I have a hard time wrapping my head around how this happened. It is difficult to understand how human beings allowed this to take place without trying to stop it. People just followed Hitler blindly, and I cannot understand why. Why are the Jewish people always the scapegoat?

            While we were taught about the Holocaust in school, the museum offered more detailed information. I read about Hitler’s rise to power and his insane beliefs about a “perfect race.”  A more detailed account of the horrendous conditions and treatment was also something I had heard very little about when this subject was taught in school. Hearing about people being shoved in a box car with only one bucket for water and one for elimination was absolutely disgusting. How people could treat other people this way is beyond my thought processes. In the museum you are able to view and step inside an actual box car that was used during this time. When I stepped inside I tried to imagine how they shoved eighty plus people in that box car along with two buckets.

            The museum also had information on the world’s slow reaction time to these horrific crimes being committed in Germany. One newspaper article displayed in the museum stated that the other countries considered this an internal problem in Germany, and that’s why they weren’t getting involved. How is cruel treatment and mass murder an internal problem? I cannot understand why it took so long for other countries, and especially the United States, to help the Jewish people.

            At the end of the museum there is a video that in a way sums up what you’re supposed to take away from your visit. I thought they did a fantastic job ending the museum that way. The video discussed how we must never forget what happened and we must continue to openly talk about the events that transpired so that they will never happen again. Unfortunately genocide continues to occur and we have not gotten any closer to ending this vicious cycle. In the video Barbara Streisand states that we must continue to stand up for our freedom as well as the freedom of others. She states that we must also continue to protect this freedom and ensure that we continue to work towards the end of genocide. I hope someday this is no longer an issue. But in order to avoid this, we all need to be vigilant and stand up to anyone who brings hatred in public discourses.