I haven't written for awhile so I figured it was about time. I am currently in Munich, Germany and loving it! I didn't know much about Munich, but that is part of the fun. I took a bike tour around the city visiting beer gardens, buildings, parks, monuments, and all of that exciting stuff. Seeing Munich by bike is definitely the way to go. My tour guide, Antonio, was so knowledgable it was incredible. The way he took us around town, told stories, and did so with humor and from a bike was awesome. I think I'm going to start teaching while riding a bike around the classroom.
The kings and princes were interesting to learn about, but it was Hitler and the Third Reich that was absolutely mind blowing. The way we were riding past the exact places and looking at buildings, replicas of the old ones before Munich was bombed, made the history so real. The inside stories and little tidbits of information that no book or movie could teach you or show you made the bike tour one of my favorite things I've done in Europe so far.
Today I went to Dachau Concentration Camp. I met a tour group at the train station, and off we went about 30 minutes outside of Munich. Dachau is a really old town in Germany that happened to have the first concentration camp on the outskirts of the town. I knew it would be a depressing day, but there was no way to prepare for the experience I had today.
I remember reading NIGHT by Elie Weisel in high school. It really painted a picture of life in the concentration camps with Weisel's descriptions and personal story. I also remember an interview from my Oprah DVD's when Weisel told Oprah that it wasn't until he took his son to the camp that he understood what his dad had gone through. Even reading his dad's book wouldn't do it justice, but rather, he had to SEE it. After seeing Dachau today, walking through the front gate, the rooms, the gas chamber, the crematorium, and compound as a whole painted a picture all to clear. And I would agree with Elie Wiesel, you have to SEE it.
You learn about the Holocaust in school, you see movies, you read books like NIGHT, but there is nothing like seeing it all first hand. I remember going to the Pentagon after September 11th, and feeling over powered when I saw the chapel built as a memorial when thinking it was exactly here where the plane came through and all those people lost their lives. The same thing at the slave castle in Cape Coast, Ghana where so many people were dehumanized before even getting on the ship. It was exactly here where all those terrible things happened. Not that any tragedy can be compared to another one, but seeing things first hand paints a picture all too clear. Just like my bike tour not only taught me, but showed me the role Munich played in Nazi Germany- there is something to be said for seeing things first hand to get a clearer picture.
I know it's so easy to turn off the TV, not read the newspaper, and just pretend we don't see the injustices happening in our world. The keyword here is pretend. We know its happening but we pretend like its not. By turning off the TV or not opening the newspaper is not stopping the injustice. And I think Elie Wiesel makes a valid point when he says, "We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." But who am I to make a difference? Who are we to stop all the injustices in the world? Isn't the Holocaust over? Yes, in 1945 American troops liberated those survivors in Dachau. But there are plenty of injustices right here in our neighborhoods as well as in our world that are being ignored or turned off from our minds.
I'm no Elie Wiesel, and I have never gone through anything even comparable to what he did or those did at Dachau. But all of us have gone through some type of injustice at some point in our lives. It's so easy for us to say "Why God?", "Why me?" or something on those lines. I personally think these are the wrong questions. We can't change what happened, why they happened, or why people have so much hatred. But what we can do, is ask "What now?" In Corinthians it tells us that faith, hope, and love will last forever. Yes, injustices happen. But we should stop asking why, and instead do something about it. And if your actions are through faith, hope, or love I'm pretty sure you're on the right track. When it comes to injustices and other people struggling and hard times please don't ignore them. They won't go away. DO something, or better yet, BE something.
BE A LAMP; shed light, help someone understand
BE A LIFEBOAT; save a life, be there in a time of need
BE A LADDER; help out, reach new heights
Sent from my iPad
The kings and princes were interesting to learn about, but it was Hitler and the Third Reich that was absolutely mind blowing. The way we were riding past the exact places and looking at buildings, replicas of the old ones before Munich was bombed, made the history so real. The inside stories and little tidbits of information that no book or movie could teach you or show you made the bike tour one of my favorite things I've done in Europe so far.
Today I went to Dachau Concentration Camp. I met a tour group at the train station, and off we went about 30 minutes outside of Munich. Dachau is a really old town in Germany that happened to have the first concentration camp on the outskirts of the town. I knew it would be a depressing day, but there was no way to prepare for the experience I had today.
I remember reading NIGHT by Elie Weisel in high school. It really painted a picture of life in the concentration camps with Weisel's descriptions and personal story. I also remember an interview from my Oprah DVD's when Weisel told Oprah that it wasn't until he took his son to the camp that he understood what his dad had gone through. Even reading his dad's book wouldn't do it justice, but rather, he had to SEE it. After seeing Dachau today, walking through the front gate, the rooms, the gas chamber, the crematorium, and compound as a whole painted a picture all to clear. And I would agree with Elie Wiesel, you have to SEE it.
You learn about the Holocaust in school, you see movies, you read books like NIGHT, but there is nothing like seeing it all first hand. I remember going to the Pentagon after September 11th, and feeling over powered when I saw the chapel built as a memorial when thinking it was exactly here where the plane came through and all those people lost their lives. The same thing at the slave castle in Cape Coast, Ghana where so many people were dehumanized before even getting on the ship. It was exactly here where all those terrible things happened. Not that any tragedy can be compared to another one, but seeing things first hand paints a picture all too clear. Just like my bike tour not only taught me, but showed me the role Munich played in Nazi Germany- there is something to be said for seeing things first hand to get a clearer picture.
I know it's so easy to turn off the TV, not read the newspaper, and just pretend we don't see the injustices happening in our world. The keyword here is pretend. We know its happening but we pretend like its not. By turning off the TV or not opening the newspaper is not stopping the injustice. And I think Elie Wiesel makes a valid point when he says, "We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." But who am I to make a difference? Who are we to stop all the injustices in the world? Isn't the Holocaust over? Yes, in 1945 American troops liberated those survivors in Dachau. But there are plenty of injustices right here in our neighborhoods as well as in our world that are being ignored or turned off from our minds.
I'm no Elie Wiesel, and I have never gone through anything even comparable to what he did or those did at Dachau. But all of us have gone through some type of injustice at some point in our lives. It's so easy for us to say "Why God?", "Why me?" or something on those lines. I personally think these are the wrong questions. We can't change what happened, why they happened, or why people have so much hatred. But what we can do, is ask "What now?" In Corinthians it tells us that faith, hope, and love will last forever. Yes, injustices happen. But we should stop asking why, and instead do something about it. And if your actions are through faith, hope, or love I'm pretty sure you're on the right track. When it comes to injustices and other people struggling and hard times please don't ignore them. They won't go away. DO something, or better yet, BE something.
BE A LAMP; shed light, help someone understand
BE A LIFEBOAT; save a life, be there in a time of need
BE A LADDER; help out, reach new heights
Sent from my iPad
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