Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi Concentration camp

Auschwitz was my one definite destination on this European tour. It is a relatively recent event of unimaginable atrocity that has altered European history and the lives of millions, even to this day. I had to come here to gain some insight as to how one man can cause such severe wrong to humanity in such shocking magnitude . He obviously had supporters and many followers. How did all these soldiers justify killing innocent people en masse? What drove Hitler and his followers?

At Auschwitz, it was certainly heart wrenching to see thousands of personal belongings of the decried Jewish families. Walking through one of the many buildings where they were inspected (like cows being herded for slaughter) or where they slept 6, 8, 10 people to a tiny bunk made my mind whirl. But it was out in the open fields where their ashes were dumped that stop me in my tracks, in my thoughts, where I just started crying. The fields are big. Barracks by the acres. Wide fields of strewn ashes. There is now an eerie peace and stillness.

On the guided tour, a tourist said in aghast that hopefully this was the last of genocide in modern human existence. Sadly, it is not. Khmer Rouge was in power less than 40 years ago! I'd like to think most of us know about the genocide happening today, in Rwanda, Somalia and probably a few other places. But like that tourist, many of us, including myself, tend to skip that part of news as it is quite depressing. And if like me, many probably wonder how one measly person can make any difference. I do not know. But the quote about knowing history so as not to let it be repeated comes to mind as well Pastor Martin Niemölle's oft quote poem on how one man didn't do anything when they came for others, and when they came for him, there was no one left to speak for him.

Am I to dedicate my life to human rights advocacy? I'm not sure. It is one reason why I've been interested in working at the UN. There seems much politicking controversies though within this international organization. I do believe however, that I can help promote world peace through yoga, even if one person at a time, starting with myself.

I'm not sure my questions were necessary answered on this visit to the concentration camp, nor was I expecting to find them. But it did make this piece of history a part of my being and contributed to my deep need to understand human nature. It is the same reason I went to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, two years ago. We learn most about ourselves in relation to others, and ultimately, we are all related. My search continues.