I love this picture. Know why? Because on one side, the tracks to Birkinau still run to that dreaded place, complete with all its memories and history and the warning that we cannot and should not forget as a race or species. But on the other side? The tracks are forgotten. The railway is no longer actually used. It is overgrown with grass, thanks to time and nature and there no longer being a purpose for them, and they are now sunken beneath the fresh loam that is flowering with new life and new hope as I walk by. I suppose that’s how I feel about Auschwitz as I leave it. I wrote this in my journal, and share it here now for you as well: “I suppose we can still hope, however, that one day we will be able to look at sites such as this and see hope and encouragement. Hope in that humanity does at least seek to remind itself, in small ways comparatively, to be sure, of the scars it has and why it has them. But encouragement in seeing what it has one day overcome. In a world where the Kingdom of God finally comes into being, when “Up There” truly is made to be present “Down Here”, these things will surely no longer be needed as “warnings”, but as trophies, or, maybe better said, at least viewed as the black felt from which the diamond of a beautiful age shines all the brighter.”
1 comment:
Okay Jack, I barely made it through your posts without crying. I felt nauseous looking at the pictures. Though the odds of my ever visiting this site are slim, I doubt I would be able walk through there without breaking down. Thanks so much for sharing.
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