Remembering Auschwitz

There is a section of the Divine Mercy Church in Marilao that we have tried to explore, the Little Poland Exhibit. It is always closed whenever we visit. A part of that is a replica of an Auschwitch death camp.

I have read books and watched movies about the Holocaust. The Diary of Anne Frank is one of the books that inspired me to explore more. The Pianist and Schindler's List are just two of the movies produced that tackled WWII in Eastern Europe. I also chanced upon a National Geographic special which features an Aryan nursery home (somewhere in Nuremberg,Germany), where Eastern European kids are being raised away from their parents . At work, we opened a "Children of the Holocaust" exhibit where the horrors of a semitic ghettos are highlighted. When the Prime Minister of Poland visited the Philippines, I met Sandra, our counterpart in the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She mentioned that they celebrated 50 years of Auschwitz were SecGen Kofi Annan, VP Dick Cheney and President Jacques Chirac (France) were among the guests. It was a chilly November that Cheney sat on a seat with a heater. I really don't know what Auschwitz was that time.

Then it suddenly dawned on me. One Saturday, I chanced upon an Oprah Episode featuring Eli Wiesel ( author of Night, a book on the death camp) a survivor of Auschwitz. Oprah visited chilly Auschwitz with Mr. Wiesel (pronounced 'Vizel'). Upon entrance at the camp, the women and children were separated from the males and were directed to gas chambers. The gas chambers will be filled with cyanide gas and their bodies would be burned on a crematorium. Those who lived are healthy males who are either forced to work or be guinea pigs in a medical laboratory. Seven tons of human hair (in sacks, to be woven as textile) mountains of baby clothes, shoes, cyanide cans and suitcases were recovered after the Auschwitz raid of the Allied Forces. The valuables are now encased in an aquarium-like eerie display showcases in the museum that haunted me until now.

I cried over the lives lost in Auschwitz. I know it sounds crazy but..

For those who have perished, we remember

For those who survived, we heard you

For the next generations, don't forget.

POSTCRIPT:

I made the blog without seeing what's inside the death camp replica in Marilao. Two weeks ago I had a chance to tour it (at last) the pictures below would speak for themselves

I came, I saw, I Conquered

I was brought up in a town in Bulacan where November 1 is really something big. All Saint's Day is marked with a lot of food in the table, new clothes, lengthy and fat candles and flowers that are intricately arranged in the tomb of my ancestors. Everyone was there as early as 7 am, have a hearty lunch at home and retire at about 8 pm. We would meet our old friends, school chums and sort of renew ties with old acquaintances. We all seem to grow up so fast during the last 5 years. Only the "oldies" (my mom, aunts and uncles) stay in the cemetery. While I was still sleeping till 12 noon, because of my annual Malate revelry every All Hallows Eve, my cousins are just at home with their kids taking advantage of the holiday.
This year, I planned to do the same (oh, except the Malate Halloween Party, it’s boring anyway). I will just stay at home and not bother to go to our family crypt. The sight of a wake, tombs, catacombs, urn, funeral, wreath and everything dealing with death just freaks me out after my long vacation at the hospital from June till August. My cousins found that as a very clever excuse, but honestly, I do freak out. I’m afraid I’ll just read my name in one of the epitaphs. And just being in that family crypt where I’m supposed to be interred if I died gives the creeps.
So there I was lounging at home busying myself with the Skywalkers, Yoda and Obi Wan Kenobi and figuring out how the Evil Galactic Empire would end. During lunchtime, I was so alone, while they were having a field day at the All Saint’s Day picnic. I told myself I should conquer my own fear. So when my cousin Au went back to the cemetery I joined her and went there. I was so quiet while staring at the candles and my eyes became misty. Finally, I conquered Death, and I could say that I could face him anytime he comes.
P.S. I was wearing a new shirt that time and I reinvented my look (just keeping up with the tradition hehe).