Grey skies greeted us today together with a stiff cold northerly wind. Robert was keen for a slow, quiet day, so we ventured out on our own. We headed downtown to Battery Park and visited the Museum of Jewish Heritage. The special exhibit we visited was Auschwitz.  We were both a little worried about what we might witness and prepared ourselves.  As we approached the museum a train carriage designed for cattle transport during the 1940s loomed large outside the museum.  A stark reminder of the vehicle used by the Nazis to take so many to their death.  It caught us both by surprise.

We entered the museum and began our tour.

We walked down a long corridor which had video screens above our heads.  Images of ordinary people enjoying ordinary lives were shown on all screens.

We then moved into the exhibition halls. From the first image and story the sensitivity shown was remarkable. The exhibits laid our the historic vilification of people who practice the Jewish faith. From the time of Christ to their almost annihilation at the hand of the Nazis.

The exhibit also traced the rise of the Nazi party and how they came to power, promising a better world for their citizens. Sadly the party’s rounding up of political opponents, the disabled, objectionable, gay and Jews went largely unnoticed by the masses. How can a generation of people witness such cleansing of sectors of society?  The mind boggles. Extreme nationalism as much as from within looks and feels good, isn’t. We are seeing a return of extreme nationalism, it’s main themes being fear and loathing.

I’m reminded of a line from “To Kill A Mockingbird” as penned by Aaron Sorkin: a mob is where a man hides from his conscience. Never a truer word has been written when thinking about the Nazis. The mob mentality, brutality and hatred they incited against Jewish people is unimaginable.

The exhibit then brought the two themes together (nazism and Judaism) and combining this with WWII painted a picture so horrific it was hard to continue. But the exhibits were handled so well we lost ourselves in the personal stories of people who lived in the ghettos, rode the cattle trucks, survived Auschwitz and were liberated. We followed a child’s shoe on a journey. Did he survive, suffer or perish. We saw a film where murders were taking place, casual onlookers watching like we watch a game of local football. It was horrific to see the nonchalant killing.

We were taken on a journey of how man thought up a process for the mass murder of fellow humans. Selection, transportation, record keeping, belongings management, human trafficking/slavery, murder, disposal. While at all times going to extreme lengths to keep it quiet. Think about that for a minute. The Nazis were so forthright in their anti-Semitic ways, why go to such lengths to hide the mass murder. They knew what they were doing was despicably wrong and exhibits of this nature are a stark reminder of how easily it all happened.

We saw photos from inside the camp, personal belongings stolen by the Nazis, the tools of murder and how people lived, well existed inside the camp. Full sized models of living quarters were on display as well as how the chambers and ovens operated. Finally a model of the entire camp had been created. It’s size was beyond belief.

The slogan for the display is: Not long ago. Not far away. Furthermore, the opening quote is:

For more, see: https://mjhnyc.org/discover-the-exhibition/about-the-exhibition/

Out of respect I didn’t take any photos.

We left the exhibit abruptly as the museum was closing, we’d lost track of time. Afterwards we walked quietly for a while and eventually grabbed some lunch, it was 4pm. We had a quick bite and separated for a while. I took some sunset photos over the Hudson and Mardi sat warmly in a café.

We met up again shortly afterwards and headed home.

Later that night we caught up with Robert and had dinner at Toloache. It’s Mexican that serves great tacos. We introduced Robert to a variety of Tacos, which he enjoyed.  After dinner we wandered around the Rockefeller precinct, watched some ice skating and got lost in the cavernous shopping areas beneath the building searching for ice cream. Ice cream in hand we emerged onto the street and called it a night.

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