Getting Started...
O.K, I'm here one mo' gain trying to get this "blogger thing" up and running. Many thanx to Marqas, who continues to encourage me to do this thing, versus the Abraham Lincoln type journaling I've been doing!!!
Yea, I'm on the Great American "back-packing" tour of Europe. Something happened to me that I deem kind of ironic: I was at a festival in Skierniewice, Poland and ended up buying a "I Love Jesus" baseball cap. Being from America it inevitably crossed my mind whether this was/is a dangerous thing considering "all of the terrorism" that's been taking place; especially with the recent episode in London. Note that I say "all of the terrorism", purposely exaggerating it as to be sarcastic. But seriously, it's interesting that that would even cross my mind! I'm still going to sport it, regardless of the fear that is trying to be pushed upon the people of the sun. And no, I'm not wearing it because I want to wear my religion on my sleeve...I want to wear it simply because I want to wear it!!!
On another note, I recently went on a tour of the central, south, and western parts of Poland. I am unable at this point to put into words the experiences that I had visiting various places such as Auschwitz Concentration Camps, Krakow, Czech Rep., and Wroclaw. There is a deep history behind each of these places/cities, such that it is quite overwhelming and exhausting to relate in one sitting! Before I begin to describe my experience at Auschwitz ("Oswiecim" in Polish), I must say that there is an obvious deeper sense of history; moreover, there is a general superior awareness of history that Europeans possess that is endangered in the West, namely America!!! I have spoken with several young people, many of whom are well-educated, and have been able to tell me many things about their culture, history, and so on. I only aspire and am encouraged to know not only my own history, but that of the world's also.
Auschwitz! First of all, I send my deepest condolences to the families of the millions of people that died during those horrifying years of 1940-1945. The victims of such atrocities were of many ethnic descents including Poles, Hungarians, Greeks, French, Russian, and even German. Magda and I walked around for hours looking at the various sites and exhibitions that portrayed what took places during those horrifying years. Some of the buildings still reeked of mens and womens hair that had been cut off at their reception to Auschwitz. Coincidentally, that same hair was used for Germany's textile industry as well as in "arms manufacturing", specifically used as elements that were used in bomb detonation.
The Nazi's exploited their captives in every conceivable way from using their hair for bomb detonation to making them kill each other. There are several rooms where thousands of shoes, eye glasses, and other accessories can be found. Many of the people that were arriving at Auschwitz brought all of their valuable possessions with them. One might not consider this fact, but the Germans were becoming increasingly rich by the pludering of their captives, as if that were not enough. I am currently reading "I Was Doctor Mengele's Assistant" by Miklos Nyiszli, and in one part it descibes how the imprisoned dentists (many captives were well educated) were commissioned to yank out the gold and silver found on the teeth of the deceased. What was found was thrown into a bucket of disinfectant and some other acid like solution to dissolve the teeth/tissue and leave the silver or gold. Afterwards it was put into a smelding pot, which then enabled them to produce gold coins that weighed about 140 grams. On the daily, they produced about 35-40 Kilos of gold and silver.
I thinks that's enough for today... later I will elaborate about the incinerators (crematoriums) that never ceased to burn, day or night. Imagine being in a place where one's death is forthcoming, and the only thing to do is wait or commit suicide by any means necessary. The mass extermination that took place at the various camps in Auschwitz is not to be compared to other atrocities that occured prior to or after it. It is simply erroneous to do so! We must look at this and attempt to never let this happen again...yet it has happened in many places, just with new faces and ways to describe it!!!
